Blancpain

Today, Blancpain is still named for its 18th century forebear, Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, who began making watches in the township of Villeret in 1735. His grandson, Frédéric-Louis, was an equally significant figure in the history of watchmaking; having modernised the original Villeret workshops for serial production and introduced such technical innovations as the cylinder escapement.

Although the Blancpain family’s direct involvement ceased in 1932, the brand has gone on to foster a multitude of leaders in the watch industry - the most famous of these being Jean-Claude Biver, who purchased the company at its nadir in 1983 before transforming it into a $60 million business.

Since 2002, Blancpain has been overseen by Marc Hayek - grandson of Swatch Group founder Nicolas George Hayek. 

A name steeped in centuries of history, as well as the horological culture of the 20th century, Blancpain is one of Switzerland’s oldest watch brands - split between two manufactures in Villeret and the iconic watchmaking hamlet of Le Brassus.

Best known for creating the world’s first military diving watch, the Fifty Fathoms, Blancpain still remains synonymous with finely crafted complications: something that discerning collectors will attest to whenever the brand’s historic timepieces, like the 1735 Grande Complication, come up.

Following the company’s acquisition by what would eventually become the Swatch Group (in 1992) the latter gained access to F. Piguet - a lauded specialist in ultra-thin movement manufacturing. 

Villeret perpetual calendar Ref. 5585, Fifty Fathoms MIL-SPEC, Rattrapante Ref. 1186