Fifty Fathoms Chronograph Grey Dial

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.