For Baselworld 2016, Blancpain is introducing a stainless steel version of their Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT watch, providing a cleaner and more contemporary look. When I’ve looked at this watch in passing as someone rather fond of GMT complications, it took me some time to figure out why the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT just wasn’t giving me the same feeling I get from most GMT watches. Then something clicked in my conscious, and I was sucked in. Basically, it’s because this is a GMT watch that, well, does not look like a GMT watch. Without that additional central hand and accompanying scale, it would be easy to misinterpret the GMT sub dial at 8 o’clock as a sub-seconds dial. Of course, the lack of movement and the scale betrays that, but still…
For me, that is the hook with the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT, in that it sort of hides it’s functionality in plain sight. Then we get into the other complications on the watch. Along with time and GMT time, calendar-related stuff is high on my list of usable functions on a watch; here, on the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT, we have an annual calendar complication. This complication requires adjusting the calendar once between February and March, as opposed to a perpetual calendar where that wouldn’t be necessary.
Now, this sort of complication is not something new or rare. On the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT, what stood out for me is, first, how the display windows are implemented. The date shows up at the normal position, but the day and month take up non-standard positions on the dial, rather than just up at the top. Yes, this unbalances the dial a little bit, but I’ll give that a pass for the uniqueness of the execution. The second thing that stood out for me was where Blancpain put the adjustment pushers. Rather than having these on the left side of the case, they actually hid them under the lugs.
This is a clever option, and I am surprised more brands have not tried this. By putting the calendar adjustment pushers of the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT under the lugs, we are left with a very clean case. Frankly, you will not be fiddling with those pushers very much, provided you keep the watch wound, so why not tuck them away where they are not noticeable?
Blancpain continues to be a strong provider of unique and intriguing movements in what seems like a sea of mechanical genericism, even at the luxury watch industry. Look carefully and you will find in Blancpain watches official website Replica watches genuinely innovative efforts that are creating new assortments of present ideas, in addition to some novel ones. Now, I’d love to look at the Blancpain Villeret Quantieme Annuel GMT watch which we first covered here. It comes from 18k white gold, 18k rose gold, as well as in steel – all with various dial designs. It is upgraded for 2016 based on a movement which started in 2011. In its heart, this watch is about offering a unique design for two negative sets that you don’t frequently find together. That’s a subsidiary GMT hand to indicate a second time zone, in addition to an yearly calendar complication. The latter is rather elegantly laid out with the calendar information being indicated via three distinct windows on the dial. Underneath is a string of three disks which overlap. What’s interesting is that despite the quantity of information on the dial (period, next 24-hour time period, date, day, and month) that the face of the Blancpain Villeret Quantieme Annuel GMT is comparatively sparse and clean.Lovers of only symmetrical dials will probably find the eccentric design on the Blancpain Quantieme Annuel GMT dial bothersome, and people who like a bit of asymmetry in their watches will appreciate the appearance in addition to the pristine legibility. This metal version of the Blancpain Quaniteme Annuel GMT is the cleanest looking of the sequence. The 18k red gold variant has a “sunburst grey” dial, while the 18k white gold model has the maximum intricate-looking dial which is “stamped flinque opaline.”
So far, it would be fair to say that we have not discussed much with the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT that has not appeared for the line already – so what’s new for BaselWorld? Here, it’s the case material. This is the first time that the 40mm case has appeared in stainless steel. Paired to a white dial and black alligator strap (22mm, for those wondering), you have a very classic sort of a look in terms of the color palette. If, for some reason, you want a splash of color, you will get that via the exhibition case back, where you can see the decorated rotor in yellow gold.
On the whole, I like the looks of the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT with its 6054F movement. I am a little uncertain about the Roman numerals on the dial, and I cannot make my mind up if I’d remove them or make them larger, but the rest of the look, and particularly the layout, really have me hooked on the Blancpain line. Price for the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT in steel will be $27,300. blancpain.com