Blancpain is not a brand often seen on the forum - I have seen a sports chrono in some Friday threads.
What is the general opinion on their dress watches? Is this a brand to consider?
I have been drawn to them partly because they are one of the few makers that manufacture smaller sized watches.
Opinions appreciated.
I like their Villeret range and have come close to purchasing several times as well. The size is one of the draws for me also as i'm purchasing smaller watches. 42mm is now my max.
I have a Blancpain Fifity Fathoms and its the last watch I would ever consider selling (despite its 45mm size).
James
Villeret, no. Leman, yes.
The biggest mistake I've ever made was flipping this ;0(((((
IMG_0737-1 by Dave in Wales, on Flickr
Originally Posted by Dave in Wales
I remember the scrap for this when it sold on SC! Whoever has it now please PM me ;)
Love the Villeret range. Had one for a while. It includes a GMT which will actually work in half hour timezones and some fabulous complications. Exquisitely made and finished
Some lovely Villerets - the 7002 (I think that's the model) has a lovely dial if you can find one - Mike Wood had one a couple of years back (http://www.theoldwatchshop.com/miscarc1.html).
Might be pricy for a breathed on peseux 7001 though..
I never fully understood why is not Blainpain among the pieces like Rolex etc. as it is the brand with longest history, even their diver watch was made before Rolex did it if I remember it right (fifty fathoms). I love this brand and their pieces are truly exceptional and beautifully designed.
Almost no AD's available, no advertising, and to me not really interesting designs but still very pricey..., I'd personally go for a Rolex Cellini or Patek for a dresswatch... Or, perhaps a vintage Omega Pie-pan if budget is of concern.
Like quite a lot of 'old' Swiss watch companies, the modern, present-day Blancpain was created when the name of the defunct company was bought for its brand equity.
New ranges of watches were designed, including Villeret and Leman, the '55' was recreated and they were all marketed as having 'history'.
In the case of Blancpain, this history actually goes back to 1981.
Perhaps the picture is different in Britain, where there are ADs and where secondhand prices are quite reasonable. Blancpain also advertises heavily on the motor racing scene:
The great advantage though was the absorbing of FP into Blancpain for the movements. Lots of history and great movements.
True, but most punters don't know that and it's not where Blancpain's brand equity lies.
Sure, but it doesn't make Blancpain 'inhous' of a sudden. Plus, the most interesting Piguet-movement to me is the chrono, which you can also find in the Vacheron Constantin Overseas, in my view a much more interesting watch (and brand!).
Blancpain has a much stronger presence in Asia than in the UK. They make beautiful watches, and I am also surprised that they have a such a weak market in the UK as a whole. Their Leman Flyback chrono remains one of the all time classics imho.
They still supply FP movements to other watches. However you can't get much more in house than in the same building, under the same ownership and with Blancpain above the door. Having been there I can confirm this.
Buying FP and re-label it as Blancpain doesn't make Blancpain a movement-manufacturer in a sudden. Blancpain died in the '70/'80-ties, and only the name was reborn, the movements are still bought elsewhere as I see it. FP is for the most part still autonomous but with less different clients than before (which is a shame IMO), housing in a building with Blancpain written on the roof makes no difference.
Nothing else than Spyker-cars here in Holland, re-use the name, sketch something with the old design elements and use Audi-engines doesn't make you an alternative for Ferrari. Or, like TAG Heuer in the '80/'90-ties period, more of a design-and assembly company than a 'real watchbrand' (quality watches BTW).
The original Blancpain which introduced the FF back in the '50-ties is still dead. There are much more interesting brands to look at in that pricerange if you ask me, think Breguet, GO, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex... From a horological standpoint much more interesting.
Breguet, come up in just about the same boat as Blancpain historically, and coincidentally use the same FP movements. BP/ FP being under same ownership and actually making the movements in the same builing as they are cased into Blancpain watches make them very much in-house by my reckoning. Slightly more in-house than Breguet, however less in house than GO, who BTW, have never made their own cases, only the movements.
I had that one from the person you sold it to I think, the box alone was bloody epic, sadly long since flipped!
"I looked with pity not untinged with scorn upon these trivial-minded passers-by"
I saw this when it came up on sale and within 5 mins it was gone!! I had a chance to buy one from WoS, but again hesitated - should have gone for it, the 38mm is a great size.
I also like the villeret range, but have always been in two minds as to whether I should go for a vintage Omega instead.
Blancpain is a strange one, there is nothing essentially wrong with their watches, its just when you're looking to spend that sort of money JLC is just better.
A (distant) dream watch of mine is one of the Villeret moonphases with the calibre 6654. If money were no object it would be a 6654-1127-55B. Properly gorgeous, quirky and a stunning movement.
One day...
Well I hope and hoped always that the brands such as Breguet (btw. one of the most respected brands in my watch world) and Blancpain those historic starters will be in the first number 5 best sellers or atleast most talk-about watches in the modern days. New ff bathyscape, is there anything nicer than that? I fell in love with the watch, I really hope the brand will only thrive.
Well yes in the case of Blancpain, because it had stopped producing watches and the name was bought.
Breguet on the other hand has continuously made and sold watches since it was founded. It went through a stagnant period of different ownership before its recent revival under Swatch group, the company can be traced back to Breguet himself. Plenty of its line have history dating back prior to the stagnant period, take the Type XX which was made in the 50s for the French Airforce.
Having owned a couple of BPs and many JLC... they feel very different. Fow whatever reason, the BPs always feel more... 'Haute' in what they're offering than the JLCs. Perhaps that is partly the styling and finishing which is much more traditional in my eyes, partly the romance of the name.
However, when I went for my 'ultimate' dress watch to get married in, I considered JLC, BP, PP, VC, AP and so on. Breguet won out for me; bang for buck was huge (second hand!) when everything was taken into account.
For real Dress Watch, I think Lange Saxonia or Breguet Cassique are the best. Vacheron and Patek have lovely dress watches, but they feel more like normal watches from the 50s that have just evolved rather than something that is meant to be rarely worn and come out for a wedding or similar special event. If that makes any sense at all !!
Having only handled the leman, I feel the case finishing is 'better' than JLC.
Yep, Blancpain cases are, in my experience, exceptionally well made. But, then, so are Breguet dials (even though they don't do their own guillochage).
Just because you buy the company that produces the movement doesn't make it in-house, even if they are 'housed' in the same building.
If Swatch put an Omega sign on the ETA building, would that make Omega in-house?
Just because they bought Minerva, does it make Montblanc in-house?
Blancpain produces nice watches. Like all manufacturers, they come at a price that you are prepared to pay, or not, but that bears little relation with the sum of their parts and the labour to assemble them.
To me they are like Panerai, with a better finishing on their calibers. Their history makes the same hollow sound.
Would I have an original Fifty Fathoms? Oh Yes (make that sound like Churchill)
Would I have a new one? If it was free I'd take it, and would flip it the next day.
I love the leman range. I had a great opportunity to get one of those with the big date and 100h power reserve some time ago for a great price. I really regret not getting it then.
I suppose it depends.
Everyone agrees that Breitling is a manufacture now starting the B-01 but Breitling merely bought Kalek.
Lemania was renamed Montres Breguet and F.Piguet Montres Blancpain; both of these manufactures are now producing brand new, bespoke calibres. Are they in-house then? To me, yes.
So is Montblanc to you, then.
That is fine, and strictly speaking I'd also agree with that.
But manufacture, when it comes to watch making, has a romantic connotation which requires a continuity in the storytelling to counteract the marketers' rewriting of their current firm's history. As such, i refuse to adknowledge these companies as 'historical manufactures' and judge their products on what they are. I would probably react differently if they had chosen to keep the name Frederic Piquet and ditched Blancpain. The fact that they transformed a (mainly) utilitarian [military] make into a luxury brand does not help. And Marc is no Nicolas
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I think the whole in-house thing is a very muddy area. If my knowedge of the industry is correct, there's numerous examples of watch houses buying out their suppliers (or even the reverse when PP's dial manufacturers bought the company) to vertically integrate manufacturing and bring things "in-house". Vertical integration clearly didn't matter until recently. Also does headline ownership really matter if the watch houses are given a great enough degree of autonomy? (Nobody seems to mind Ferrari are owned by Fiat and Lamborghini are owner by VW).
IMO there's no point getting too hung-up on such details, and really it just a question of whether the movement is exclusive to that particular brand. (If indeed that's important to you).
Also, in any industry, you'd be surprised what isn't manufactured by the headline brand.
Back on topic, I like the dressy Blancpains, but I think they probably lack a distinct "look" when compared with e.g. Beguet, Lange or even the indies like Journe or Moser which have a strong brand identity.
I would say the Leman, which does have a "look" isn't really a proper dress watch - more of a hybrid - but I'd definitely have one!
You'll get no argument from me there! One of the reasons I have a passion for JLC above all others.
However, walking around the watches and clocks section of the British Museum, there were several Breguets on display... and the modern Classique range very clearly carries the DNA of those pocket watches, there was no mistaking it whatsoever. I guess Swatch just did their job very well!
Agreed, they preserved Breguet very well. It is their true jewel
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Where did you hear that, I am lucky to have been at the manufacture and watched them use 200 year old machines to do there dials and rotors... It is simply amazing.
I do hope you're right! They certainly claim to do it themselves and it really is one of the major selling points.
So back on topic OP - Breguet also make their dress watches in 36mm.
They are almost always gold though and BP do a nice range of steel.
I don't know if the BP aqualung is a dress watch, but it sure looks lovely. Wouldn't mind owning one of those, but all I can find are from 2009 and with no service history.
Absolutely gorgeous watches. Tim and I had a great time visiting them in March '13...
http://halfpastthehour.wordpress.com...factory-visit/
At a trade show in Zurich 14 years ago. Breguet were buying in their guillochage work from a specialist, who was/is also used by other famous names.
From what I remember from the factory visit. They do a great deal of their guillochage work in house . But I understand that they also sub contract some of it. Engraving is a speciality however and one of their engravers , the one below, held first prize in a major world wide competition.
For this kind of work (Just the kind of thing the "Sum of parts" people struggle with valuing)
Her collar tells a story, I believe.
Since in the context this is aimed at me you might want to quote properly:For this kind of work (Just the kind of thing the "Sum of parts" people struggle with valuing)
the sum of their parts and the labour to assemble them.
This type of work doesn't care about the brand name. This is art for art's sake, and the value is not in the watch per se, but in the work of the artist. They are one offs, are sold as such just like a signed piece of furniture or indeed a great painting. Very different from the normal production
The dial could say Omega that it would not really affect the value (although it might affect it if it said PP)
When VC reproduces the ceiling of Paris Opera, not only do they fire Chagall's masterpiece on the dial, but each of the portraits on the pillars are individually sculpted
Same difference
"Meilleur Ouvrier de France"
Or not
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