Some major watch brands appear to actually think highly of ceramic as a case substance and Blancpain is one of them. Previously a closely guarded field of experience of Rado and Chanel, ceramic technologies and production techniques have only recently evolved to a point where more manufacturers are entertaining the idea of a ZrO2 case, because a whole lot more control of things like colors and hardness is getting possible. My perception is that achieving color uniformity and keeping adequate hardness at precisely the same time has been the major challenge of incorporating pigments into ceramic. That’s the reason why we mostly see black and white (and grey) ceramic (like, say, this black ceramic Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe). The problem is that when the mixture does not clean up entirely and evenly after the heat treatment process, it will have discolorations and marks inside which will ruin the look — and the piece itself, since these imperfections can’t be removed.It is correct that we have been seeing more and more colours in ceramic bezels from Rolex, TAG Heuer and a few others, and therefore it was possibly only a matter of time before coloured ceramic instances came together. And it kind of additionally suggests a potential future of all types of colors for ceramic watch cases – Speedmaster Muave Side of the Moon, anybody? That may be kind of cool.
The past few years have seen the launch and steady expansion of Blancpain’s Bathyscaphe line up. In 2013, we saw the original three-hander, 2014 gave us the Bathyscaphe Chronograph, and then the beautifully blue Bathyscaphe Ocean Commitment Chronograph came in 2015. This year, Blancpain watch ranking Replica completed the family portrait with the latest iteration of the Bathyscaphe, which quite successfully puts the look and construction of the Ocean Commitment Chronograph into the original three-hand design.
In broad strokes, if you know the standard Bathyscaphe three-hander, you are well on your way to understanding this new version. While the basic form remains thankfully unchanged, this new model is more than just a blue dial and bezel as its 43.6 mm case is made of grey ceramic. This is not the first time that Blancpain watches twitter Replica has used ceramic for the case of a Bathyscaphe three-hander and, much like the preceding Ocean Commitment Chronograph, this version has a lovely brushed blue dial and ceramic bezel with Liquidmetal hour markers.
Until you have it in your hands, you could be excused for thinking that the case was metal, as it carries the warmth of titanium and a beautifully brushed finish. Upon lifting this diver from the table the ceramic feels solid, smooth like glass, and lighter than you might expect. The official reference is 5000-0240-NAOA (with the nato strap) but I wish they had called it something, anything, aside from just Bathyscaphe. I suppose we’ll all just know it as the blue Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe.
Still 13.8mm thick and water resistant to 300m, the blue dial and bezel make for a considerably different vibe than its siblings, perhaps not quite as austere. Less tactical than the monochromatic alternatives, the blue Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe (aside from its ceramic case and 43.6mm sizing) has the demeanor of a watch designed in the early days of diving. Its crystal-clear legibility and razor-sharp detailing is juxtaposed by the warm and inviting blue tones of the dial and bezel. If the Bathyscaphe is an attempt to carry vintage Blancpain design elements into a modern luxury diver, I think this blue version is the most successful iteration we’ve seen to date.
Visible via a display case back, the blue Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe uses Blancpain’s calibre 1315 – the same movement used by all of the three-hand Bathyscaphes. This 4Hz in-house automatic movement uses three mainspring barrels to offer 120 hours of power reserve for its display of the time and date. Designed to be tool-ready, the 1315 is function over form and has been used in several of Blancpain’s dive watches in the past.
I remember loving the original crop of Bathyscaphes back in 2013, and this blue model is an even stronger fit for my tastes while also being an incredibly unrealistic request of my wallet. The ceramic case ensures top billing in the three-hand Bathyscaphe pecking order, and indeed the blue Blancpain watches 1735 Replica Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe claims a tidy $12,800 USD, mounted to either the pictured high-quality blue NATO or Blancpain’s frankly excellent sail canvas two-piece strap. Following the example set by the Ocean Commitment Chronograph, the blue Bathyscaphe offers a similar appeal in a more simplified layout that is certainly eye-catching and should look even better underwater. If you happen to take one diving, I’d love to see the photos. blancpain.com
Each timepiece is constructed entirely by hand in producer’s workshops with one watchmaker. Blancpain watch dealers uk Replica is one of the rare watch manufacturers in which the watchmakers still build each movement by hand from beginning to end.From 2002, Marc Alexander Hayek is the Chairman and the CEO of Blancpain plus he’s given a fresh stimulus to the Manufacture. For the last decade, the amount of world premieres and patents climbed with an impressive display of fresh movements.Significant investments were allocated and the Research and Development division was strengthened to move forward. Among the Most Recent achievements happened in 2008 when Blancpain revived the Karrusel, a negative forgotten for over a century.Blancpain is well-known for Villeret, Le Brassus, Leman, Specialities and Sport, as well as Ladies collections together with Novelties and Fifty Fathoms. The company’s headquarter is in Biel, Switzerland and the brand is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swatch Group.Introduced in 2014 (hands free with this Bathyscaph Flyback Chronograph here), the automated grade F385 runs at 5Hz (that is a “hi-beat” 36,000bph) using a 50-hour power reserve, and comes with a 12-hour flyback chronograph, small seconds, and also the date. The sapphire crystal case-back offers a dang lovely view of the movement and the 18k gold strand together with the Ocean Commitment logo.Price for each of those 250-piece limited-edition Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Ocean beaded watches will probably likely be ï¿¡14,000 (which is now about US$17,000).
For 2014, Blancpain released an interesting new tourbillon piece, known as the Villeret Tourbillon Volant Une Minute 12 Jours timepiece, which I now present to you hands-on here. This is also a good time to mention that at the outset of Baselworld 2014, the aBlogtoWatch team more-or-less declared to ourselves that “we tire of tourbillons.” So why are we going hands-on with one (again)? Well, rumors of the demise of the tourbillon at aBlogtoWatch are greatly exaggerated. It isn’t that we are wholly dismissive of these little expensive machines, but rather that we only want to cover those which make use “feel something.” Death to “boring tourbillons,” then. For me, there is an appealing combination of both elegance, technique, and design in this new Blancpain Villeret Tourbillon Volant Une Minute 12 Jours that makes it worth discussing.
About five years ago, there were rumors that Blancpain would be abandoning the tourbillon for a similar mechanism called a carrousel. Both are varieties of the same concept, which is a system which spins a regulator (escapement + balance wheel) on its own axis in order to theoretically remove the error-creating effects of gravity (as invented by Breguet long ago). Blancpain apparently felt that the tourbillon was becoming to common and too pedestrian, so they gravitated toward the carrousel – for a while. I believe it was their attempt at being a bit different in the then crowded world of tourbillons.
The moon phase work has evolved from its traditional function as an accompaniment to men’s perpetual calendars into some “poetic” complication, utilized more often in women’ watches. It has been reimagined in many ways that leave from the classic blue-sky-gold-moon-and-stars configuration, but Blancpain watches of switzerland Replica finds out a way to maintain tradition whilst upgrading the function for a modern ladies’ watch. The Blancpain Villeret Date Moonphase, introduced at Baselworld 2017, sports the traditional moon phase colors and configuration — as it should in a traditional collection such as the Blancpain Villeret — but with a few little tweaks to make it female, even poetic.If you look closely, you will observe that the moon has eyelashes, lips that look as if lipstick has been applied and, what’s that? — a beauty spot. The artificial analgesic or beauty area (known as a mouche for its resemblance of a fly) was seen in 18th century France as representing a playfully teasing attitude. Mouches were used by coquettish ladies of the Court as messages to their suitors that differed based on where they had been placed.The motion is a next-generation standard created by Blancpain specifically for women’ watches and is an instance of the commitment being made by luxury watch brands to develop a stable of calibers sized for ladies’ watches which are outfitted with all the advancements in watchmaking that are often reserved only for men’s movements. The Caliber 913QL is an evolution of the women’s Caliber 953, a 21mm-diameter movement that’s been a staple of ladies’ watches at Blancpain. It remains the same size but currently has a high performance silicon equilibrium spring. Silicon’s low density makes it lighter and thus more shock-resistant. It is also impervious to magnetic fields and generally more stable, with enhanced isochronism.
A few years ago in 2013, Blancpain even came out with an interesting and, in my opinion, highly collectible watch known as the Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel (hands-on here) that actually contained both a tourbillon as well as a carrousel. It was as though Blancpain was saying “OK, here is a watch with both of these mechanisms, so that you can see how they are (slightly) different. More recently, it seems that Blancpain is learning to love the tourbillon again, since the “tourbillon” term simply has gained too much cache among luxury lifestyle aficionados, and the carrousel – for all its merits – is simply something standing on the sidelines. The irony, of course, is that both of these mechanisms are arguably mostly aesthetic and decorative, offering more value in their craftsmanship and complexity, versus actual horological utility. So with the Blancpain Villeret Tourbillon Volant Une Minute 12 Jours watch, we once again have Blancpain serenading the tourbillon.
Cost however, there is a lot to appreciate about this brand new limited-edition entrance to the Fifty Fathoms lineup — that is probably why the watch is currently enjoying dive watch lover “sleeper hit” standing post-Baselworld. Largely released without major fanfare, element of this Blancpain Tribute to Fifty Fathoms Mil-Spec watch’s allure are its conservative dimensions and faithful adherence to the layout codes of their original Mil-Spec. But a vital measurement of its appeal is probably Blancpain’s inclusion of a important quality of the original: a working replica of the “watertightness” moisture index at 6:00. Back in the morning “when sex was safe and diving was dangerous,” dive watches weren’t the rugged, reliable tools we are knowledgeable about today. Though paramount into a diver’s security, the earliest examples were still prone to damage by shock, plagued by poor visibility in low light, and built with cases ill-equipped to take care of great sea depths. Unsatisfied with issued watches which couldn’t (quite literally) perform under stress, French battle swimmer corps commanders Captain Robert Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud sought from the grandfather of the Fifty Fathoms, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, who was already hard at work on a layout that would tackle these very symptoms.But the opinion that became standard-issue to the UDT teams controlled by Maloubier and Riffaud was not Fiechter’s first provincial Fathoms design, but one which contained an additional safeguard: a unique watertightness indicator that could alert the wearer when their view was compromised. Now, it’s worth noting that such an indicator is a little bit like a smoke detector — it only points out the clear, and does little to protect against the flame. But back in 1957 when the layout was initiated and soon adopted on all dive watches issued to combat swimmers, a diver only wanted to know if his watch could be reliable or not.
He brought a radical innovation to the watchmaking sector by replacing the crown-wheel mechanism with a cylinder escapement. From the mid 19th century, the House of Blancpain became the very substantial enterprise in Villeret.The first Blancpain automatic wristwatch was manufactured in 1926 and four decades after, the manufacturer accommodated the system to watches of small size, and launched the rectangular “Rolls” which became the world’s first women’ automatic wristwatch.
In a nutshell, what you have in a timepiece such as this Blancpain wrist watches Replica Villeret Tourbillon Volant Une Minute 12 Jours is a time-only dial with with an exposed one minute tourbillon in an automatic movement with 12 days of power reserve. There also happens to be a discreet power reserve indicator built into the rear of the pleasantly hand-engraved movement. Once again, Blancpain has been able to include a lot of appealing features in one more-or-less simple design – and for me, that in and of itself is worth taking note of. A timepiece like this under less refined direction could have been a design disaster.
Like I said, on paper, the Blancpain Villeret Tourbillon Volant Une Minute 12 Jours watch sounds excellent – and, of course, the good news is that it delivers in reality. Someone looking for various features will have a lot to enjoy here. Listing off some of the features are: 42mm wide in precious metal, enamel dial, hand-engraved decoration, power reserve indicator, automatic self-winding movement, 12 days of power reserve, tourbillon, silicon balance spring, and available limited edition model. Sounds pretty good, if that is how you quantify what you look for in timepieces.
Let’s focus on the movement for a moment, as it is the Blancpain in-house made caliber 242 automatic. Comprised of 243 parts, it operates at 4Hz (I believe) and has a massive 288 hours of power reserve. That is 12Â days, which puts it in a unique zone between some of the fancier Vacheron Constantin 14 Day Tourbillon movements, as well at the more plentiful 7-10 day tourbillons out there. You also have a lot of typical Blancpain-style parts, such as the way some of the gears are skeletonized, the shape of the balance wheel, and the engraved designs.
Speaking of the balance wheel, you might find it interesting that Blancpain watches usa Replica decided to produce it in a very “anti-traditional” black color, versus in naked brass. Attached to the balance wheel is also a silicon balance spring. Here, is where Blancpain is attempting to assert the modern nature of this otherwise classically composed luxury watch. Literally topping the movement is the automatic rotor which, once again, offers a slightly unique visual interpretation. The working part of the rotor (the weight) is hidden under the caseback, for the most part, and the visible rotor is mostly skeletonized. The idea is to offer the convenience of an automatic movement with the movement view of a manually-wound movement without an obstructive rotor.
Some major watch brands appear to really think highly of ceramic because a case substance and Blancpain is one of them. Formerly a closely guarded area of experience of Rado and Chanel, ceramic technologies and manufacturing techniques have only recently evolved to a stage where more manufacturers are entertaining the idea of a ZrO2 case, because a whole lot more control of things like colours and hardness is getting possible. The new-for-2016 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Ocean Commitment II see instance is all in blue ceramic – something the likes of which we have not seen before.Why we have not seen it before? My understanding is that achieving color uniformity and maintaining sufficient hardness at precisely the exact same time has become the significant challenge of incorporating pigments into ceramic. The problem is that if the mixture doesn’t clean up completely and evenly after the heat treatment process, it is going to have discolorations and marks in it that will ruin the appearance — and the bit itself, since these imperfections cannot be removed.It is correct that we’ve been seeing an increasing number of colors in ceramic bezels from Rolex, TAG Heuer and a few others, and therefore it was perhaps only a matter of time before coloured ceramic instances came along. And it kind of also suggests a possible future of all kinds of colors for ceramic watch cases – Speedmaster Muave Side of the Moon, anyone?
Cost however, there’s a lot to love about this new limited-edition entry to the Fifty Fathoms lineup — which is likely why the watch is enjoying dip watch buff “sleeper hit” status post-Baselworld. Largely released without major fanfare, element of this Blancpain watch instructions Replica Tribute to Fifty Fathoms Mil-Spec see’s allure are its conservative dimensions and loyal adherence to the layout codes of the first Mil-Spec. But a key measurement of its allure is probably Blancpain’s inclusion of a important quality of the first: a working replica of this “watertightness” moisture index at 6:00. Back in the early days “when sex was safe and diving was dangerous,” dip watches were not the rugged, dependable tools we’re knowledgeable about today. Though paramount into a diver’s security, the oldest examples were still prone to damage by shock, plagued by poor visibility in low light, and constructed with cases ill-equipped to handle great sea depths. Unsatisfied with issued watches which could not (quite literally) function under stress, French battle swimmer corps commanders Captain Robert Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud sought from the grandfather of the Fifty Fathoms, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, who had been already hard at work on a design that would address these exact symptoms.But the opinion that became standard-issue into the UDT teams controlled by Maloubier and Riffaud wasn’t Fiechter’s original Fifty Fathoms layout, but one that contained an added safeguard: a unique watertightness indicator that could alert the wearer when their watch was compromised. Now, it’s well worth clarifying that such an indicator is a little bit like a smoke sensor — it merely points out the clear, and does little to protect against the flame. But again in 1957 when the design was pioneered and soon adopted on all dive watches issued to combat swimmers, a diver only needed to know if his view could be trusted or not.
How do you feel about the power reserve indicator that is on the movement? It is very easy to miss, as its matching color makes it a bit of a complication chameleon. Nevertheless, the addition of a power reserve indicator is very much welcome, especially given the long power reserve of the movement. The icing on the cake is the attractive amount of hand-engraving all over the visible parts of the movement. The decoration style is subtle enough, without making the movement look like an expensive doily. Yet it also adds value to the watch’s prestige overall.
There is nothing amazingly unique about the dial of the Blancpain watches 1735 Replica Villeret Tourbillon Volant Une Minute 12 Jours. It is in white enamel with typical brand-style Roman numerals and skeletonized “leaf-style” hands. The hands are long enough, which is good, and the legibility is reasonably good. Something about the gold version’s hand clashing with the black hour markers makes the platinum version with its 18k white gold hands feel like a better match for the dial. In my opinion, a dial like this could benefit from black oxidized gold hands which would make for an extremely elegant monochromatic dial only interrupted by the brass in the movement gears seen through the tourbillon window.
Does the Blancpain watches Replica Villeret Volant Tourbillon Une Minute 12 Jours watch wear well? It does, like a substantial dress watch that has something to prove to you with its open window on the dial. Note that most similarly designed watches have an exposed tourbillon over 6 o’clock, while the Blancpain Villeret Tourbilon Volant Une Minute 12 Jours has a tourbillon that is open over the 12 o’clock hour indicator. Not totally unique, but something that is certainly on the rarer side. The case is a welcome 42mm wide, and that makes it on the larger side for a dressier watch, but you didn’t come to Tourbillon territory not to show off – at least a little bit.
Blancpain will produce the ref. 66240-3631-55B of the Blancpain Tourbillon Volant Une Minute 12 Jours in 18k red gold as a non-limited edition (it comes on an alligator strap that is lined with alzavel). In addition to the 18k red gold version is a limited edition of 188 pieces ref. 66240-3431-55B Blancpain Villeret Tourbillon Volant Une Minute 12 Jours watch in platinum. Price is $127,400 in 18k red gold and $148,800 in platinum. blancpain.com
