The past decade has seen a dramatic uptick (pun intended) in impressive horological innovations.? 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 t [...]

What would Baselworld be without high end divers? Luckily, thanks to brands like Blancpain, we dont have to find out. For 2013, Blancpain has introduced the Bathyscaphe, a new model for their legendary and long-standing Fifty Fathoms range. The Fifty Fathoms was originally introduced in 1953 and the new Bathyscaphe looks to capture some of that history w [...]

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. Today Blancpain is headed by Marc Hayek, the younger son of the late Nicolas Ha [...]

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 Fathoms is the thematic flagship watch in the Fathoms collection. This started with the vinta [...]

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 Bivers 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)-a good thing because today, despite the br [...]

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 Roma [...]

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 meant to be used for measuring decompressi [...]

This is the second tribute model in the Fifty Fathoms watch collection and to get both models straight youll need to pay close attention to the names. This one is the Blancpain Tribute to Fifty Fathoms Aqua Lung watch, whereas last years model is the Blancpain Tribute to Fifty Fathoms watch (note no Aqua Lung at the end).Continue reading

The name of this watch doesnt 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 to be really in this year. In 2011 alone, [...]

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 article on the Bl [...]

2010 sees an interesting release from Blancpain. Given the plethora of vintage or re-release models, I wasnt 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 mo [...]

Classy-ish looks, gold case, Carrousel rather than tourbillon (dont worry if you dont understand what the difference is just watch the video above about 13 times and you might figure it out), minute repeater, highly skeletonized and exposed movement, limited to 10 pieces, [...]

Diamonds for diamonds sake? Maybe not. Dont overlook the importance of ludicrously gilded timepieces in the haute joaillerie watch category. While such timepieces might wreak of excess, they are often times as complex, or more complex than the mechanical creations we so love. The process of choosing and cutti [...]

Wow, I did not expect to see something so bold from Blancpain this year. This is a totally new route for their diving watches. At first I was torn about the look (didnt see to be much more than what Invicta could come up with), but then I began to appreciate the more subtle items. Retained are the [...]

Womens watches usually arent given that much attention by watch enthusiasts. They come in two basic varieties, miniature dolled up versions of mens watches, or some watch richly gilded with jewels. While these watches can be appreciated, they are hardly things rich in innovation or novel interest. Typically, much more time is spent on mens watches wh [...]