The past decade has seen a dramatic uptick (pun intended) in impressive horological innovation. From constant-force escapements to hydro-mechanical movements, mind-blowing complications are the name of the game. And, like timepiece enthusiasts everywhere, I get giddy with excitement learning about each new breakthrough as they are revealed- generally in grand fashion – by manufacturers…
Articles | Blancpain
Baselworld 2013: The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Watch Hands-On
What would BaselWorld be without high end divers? Luckily, thanks to brands like Blancpain, we don’t have to find out. Blancpain has introduced the Bathyscaphe, a new model for their legendary and long-standing Fifty Fathoms range.
Blancpain L-Evolution Split Seconds Flyback Chronograph Watch Hands-On
For the last few years Blancpain has been one of the more curious high-end Swiss watch brands from one of the major groups. It was Mr. Jean-Claude Biver who built the brand up to what it is, and since selling it to the Swatch Group it has moved around a bit in terms of who is running it.
Full Pave: A Collection Of Diamond-Studded Swiss Watches
It wasn’t until I needed to go ring shopping did I really learn to appreciate diamonds. As a guy I just always assumed diamonds were for women.,,
HourTime Show Watch Podcast Episode 114 – Hockey Pucks, Mystery Factories & Dumb Gandalf
John’s boring interest in antique clocks get furthered with the return of his restored factory clock and boy is he excited! Will you be interested in the MetaWatch project on Kickstarter? We talk about the future of Smart Watches and the Pebble. We discuss a nice Breitling Chronomat GMT 44 that I am reviewing. John [...]
Blancpain X Fathoms Watch Hands-On
This Blancpain X Fathoms watch is a piece I was really excited to get on my wrist (at long last!). Not only is it large and very complex, but Blancpain claimed that it was fitted with the most complicated rubber strap ever made for a watch. That alone made me curious about it. The X [...]
Visiting The Blancpain Haute Horology Watch Manufacture
Blancpain is one of the oldest Swiss watch brands but it was on the verge of death before being taken over by Jean-Claude Biver. This was of course before Biver’s purchase of Hublot, and before Blancpain he was at Omega. Biver is said to have pretty much saved Blancpain (just as he did with Hublot) [...]
Blancpain Villeret Grande Decoration Watch
Just a nice large-sized thin watch from Blancpain? Not exactly. On the surface this handsome timepiece in the Villeret collection sports a rather thin manually-wound movement and minimalist looking two-hand dial in black or white enamel. The dial has just those signature Blancpain leaf-style hands in 18k gold as enameled Roman numeral hour markers. It [...]
Blancpain X Fathoms Watch
Blancpain just released the new X Fathoms dive watch that it has been promoting for a while now. Launched in Dubai, the new super diver contains a mechanical depth gauge as well as a few interesting features. One of those is a retrograde five minute counter on the dial that is always running. This is [...]
Blancpain Tribute To Fifty Fathoms Aqua Lung Watch Hands-On
This is the second “tribute” model in the Fifty Fathoms watch collection and to get both models straight you’ll need to pay close attention to the names. This one is the Blancpain Tribute to Fifty Fathoms Aqua Lung watch, whereas last year’s model is the Blancpain Tribute to Fifty Fathoms watch (note no Aqua Lung [...]
Blancpain L-evolution Tourbillon Large Date Watch Hands-On
The name of this watch doesn’t actually include its most thrilling feature. For 2011, this is the Blancpain L-evolution Tourbillon Large Date watch. It is true that it has a flying tourbillon and a big date indicator but turn it over and you see the power reserve indicator on the rotor. Complications on rotors seem [...]
All The Only Watch 2011 Auction Pieces
Here is a (growing) comprehensive list of all the one-of-a-kind watches made and donated by brands to the 2011 edition of the Only Watch charity auction to be held in Monaco in September. As of writing there are 34 participating Only Watch 2011 brands that will offer a piece for auction. The below list will [...]
Auction Watch: Sotheby’s April Auction Shows Tepid Results, But Doesn’t Lose Ground
The following timepiece auction analysis post is by Chris Meisenzahl. He is a long-time watch enthusiast and daily Speedmaster Pro wearer. He blogs at http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/ [update 01-04-2013 - his blog moved to http://www.pretenseofknowledge.com/] and can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/speedmaster. On April 13th, 2011 Sotheby’s held its “Important Watches and Clocks” auction in New York. [...]
Blancpain Villeret Half-Hour Time Zone Watch
For traveling within countries that have half-hour, versus full-hour time zones, Blancpain has released their first half hour time zone watch. It also functions nicely when you are traveling within standard hour increment time zone countries. The watch is 40mm wide in 18k red gold and clearly part of their Villeret collection. See my full [...]
Blancpain Tribute To Fifty Fathoms Watch
2010 sees an interesting release from Blancpain. Given the plethora of “vintage” or “re-release” models, I wasn’t at all surprised to see that Blancpain too had dug something out from their past to share with everyone. This is a model in the Fifty Fathoms collection called the “Tribute to Fifty Fathoms Watch.” It is modeled [...]
The 2010 Watch Buyer’s Holiday Gift Guide
So you want to buy a watch? Be it for yourself or as a gift to someone else, the following guide will help you this holiday season with a number of good choices, brands, and suggestions for various types of people. This guide is designed to lead you in the right direction when making a [...]
