2/5/10 Update:  text reflects new details on the watch

Here is a preview from Blancpain this year for Baselworld 2010 – the Blancpain Villeret Moon Phase with “half-hunter” style case.  The watch - a complete calendar model with moon-phase display – has cleverly designed “under-lug” correctors which allow the owner to adjust the calendar indications very easily…not to mention the design benefits of taking buttons off the side of the case!  Also, this model features an also impressive method for adjusting the indications which allows them to be adjusted regardless of the time of day (typically one must be careful when adjusting calendar indications on a watch as doing so at the wrong time can damage the movement). The case is 40mm, red-gold and is hinged on the back side (this is called “half-hunter” style) which allows you to see the Blancpain Caliber 6654 movement.  More below the fold…

Blancpain Villeret Half-Hunter Moon Phase Ref. 6664-3642-55B

 This watch – and hopefully the entire Villeret collection – is a welcome addition to the Blancpain lineup and seems to be a much better direction than some of the watches they released in recent years.  I and others have been less than impressed with some of Blancpain’s dial designs (see my article on FratelloWatches panning brand’s new L-evolution series watches (but praising the Blancpain Caliber 66R9)) but this new Villeret looks pretty good with raised, slightly stylized red-gold roman numerals and a patterned dial.  Here’s a look at the caseback:

(Is it just me or does that perlage finishing around the outer edge looks a bit hurried?!?)

Stay tuned to Perpetuelle.com’s Official Baselworld 2010 Forum for more information on this and other new watches being unveiled in 2010! 

A huge treasure trove of items formerly owned by now disgraced $50 billion-or-so Ponzi scheme ringleader and provacateur Bernie Madoff will be up for auction this weekend in New York.  Sure there will be all the furs, diamonds, and sports memorabilia you can handle (and even a few vintage duck decoys) – but my interest in this one-of-kind auction is, of course, the watches.  Now, being a man of means – that is, a man of means with OPM (other people’s money) – ole’ Bernie managed to assemble himself quite the watch collection.  In fact, The Wall Street Journal reports today that:  “A collection of more than 40 watches, including some women’s watches, 17 Rolexes and several Audemars Piguets, Franck Mullers and Jaeger-LeCoultres, will be auctioned off. ”  The Journal actually singles out one of the more notable big ticket watches, “an 18-karat yellow gold, black-faced vintage men’s Rolex, the Monoblocco, valued between $75,000 and $87,500…” and went on to quote Antiquorum Auctioneers SA Watch Director and Expert Julien Schaerer as saying “It’s a pretty rare watch and it’s pretty desirable” suggesting that an all original timepiece could fetch as much as $75,000 to $100,000.  Not bad for a Ponzi-scheme’s work, eh?

After just a few minutes reviewing the lineup one will see that Madoff had an incredible collection of vintage Rolex watches (I wonder what my vintage Rolex-wearing friends at Hodinkee think?), but he also had quite a few other nice modern and vintage watches as well – Patek Philippe, Blancpain, Hublot, Frank Muller, IWC, JLC….the list goes on and on.  As for all these, I can make not attestations to their authenticity (do you really want to take Madoff at his word?), nor what kinds of prices they may fetch (but don’t expect to steal any of them at bargain prices)…and so while online bids will be allowed, I would highly recommend you preview these watches in person before making a purchase.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the lots that look interesting, shall we?

LOT 237- ROLEX:

Gents 18ky vintage Rolex O.P. “Monoblocco” chronograph wristwatch; aka “Prisoner Watch”; domed plastic crystal; black dial w/ rose tri-sticks &; Arabic numerals; gold hands; polished bezel; 35mm round case; dk brown alligator strap (tang); Model 3525; 17 jewel Rolex mechanical winding mvmt; Serial 380223 (1945).

The meaning of the moniker “Prisoner Watch” – Rolex offered similar timepieces to prisoners of war in Germany during World War II, including those involved in “The Great Escape.”

LOT 235- ROLEX:

Gents 18ky vintage Rolex Oyster chronograph wristwatch; Monochrome motif; gold dial w/ luminous sticks &; Arabics, 3 gold sub-dials; 35.1mm round case; Brown stitched Alligator strap (tang); 17 jewel Rolex Geneve mechanical winding mvmt; Case 4048; Serial 58105 (1935). Note: Professionally restored.

LOT 255 Audemars Piguet

Gents st.steel Audemars Piguet chronograph wristwatch; silver dial w/ 2 sub-dials (at 3 &; 9 positions); 38.81mm round case; brown alligator strap w/ AP deployant buckle; Automatic mvmt; Serial D99198.

LOT 253- Patek Philippe

Gents 18kw Patek Philippe Annual Calendar wristwatch; black dial w/ silver Roman numerals; date at 6 position; 3 black sub-dials; syn saph crystal front &; back; 36.95mm round case; black alligator band w/ 18kw deployant buckle; Model 5035G; 35 jewel Patek Philippe automatic mvmt, Cal. 315/198, Serial 3059777.

LOT 254- Audemars Piguet

Gents 18ky Audemars Piguet Huitieme chronograph wristwatch; crème colored dial &; sub-dials (3); date at 3 position; gold hands; 40.4mm round case; dkBrown alligator strap w/ 18ky AP double deployant clasp; Automatic mvmt; Serial C54966.

LOT 265- Jaeger-LeCoultre

Gents st.steel Jaeger-LeCoultre wristwatch; Master Control Collection, Master Geographic model (discontinued); 38mm round case; silver dial, day at 3/24 hour GMT at 6/power reserve at 10; polished bezel; brown crocodile band w/ deployant buckle; automatic mvmt; Case 142.8.92; Serial No 1401

All pictures and lot information from Gaston and Sheehan.  I would also note that the auction is being conducted by Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers on behalf of the U.S. Marshal’s service (not Antiquorum), and I could not yet confirm if all the watches listed are Madoff’s or if other lots are also included (will let you know if not the case).

If you happen to go to the auction, would love to hear your thoughts.

Blancpain is releasing a limited edition 500 Fathoms to commemorate its sponsorship of the Cannes International Boat & Yacht Show for 2009.  Blancpain’s ties to the maritime world are well known, and so I suppose this is a nice way for the brand to mark its fifth year of participation in the prestigious yachting event, as well as to announce the launch of its new 500 Fathoms that was announced at Baselworld earlier this year.

The limited edition 500 Fathoms has a great looking 48mm brushed titanium case that houses a Blancpain Caliber 1315.  The movement is wound by a cool looking rotor and is engraved “Cannes 2009″.

The 500 Fathoms Cannes 2009 model comes fitted with a black rubber-lined sail canvas strap, while an additional rubber strap and a dedicated tool to secure it lend the finishing touch to this set delivered in an ultra-sturdy watertight presentation box designed to withstand extreme conditions.

You can check out some scenes from the 2008 event in the photo gallery below:

(Photo Credit: Jérome Kelagopian & Mathieu Walter)

I have covered several of the unique watches being presented for auction at the Monaco Yacht Show’s “Only Watch” event coming up in September (which you can click over to from the Related Posts section at the bottom of this post), and today I thought it time to take a closer look at the piece from Blancpain.

The Blancpain 500 Fathoms Only Watch N°1/1 is water-resistant to 1000 metres and and is generously sized at 48 mm-diameter.  Most interesting to me about this particular watch is its anthracite grey, semi-translucent dial which is is adorned with a carbon fibre centre.  I really like how the date disc is slightly visible through the use of a translucent,  sapphire blue ring on the dial – it is almost as if the date disc is submerged below a layer of deep, blue ocean water – with just enough penetrating light that you can still get a glimpse of it.  Great design work that fits well the theme and history of Blancpain’s dive watches!

You can see what I mean in this closeup of the dial:

The watch has a sapphire crystal case-back for viewing the self-winding Calibre 1315, as well as its entirely hand-decorated oscillating weight shaped like a boat propeller (wish I had a picture of this!).   Here is a pic of the entire watch:

Again, this is a one-of-a-kind piece and all proceeds will go to support medical research for Duschenne Muscular Dystrophy – so all you deep pocketed, deep sea watch collectors out there who will be at the event – bid high!

Hayek-Knox Duo takes the podium at Silverstone; 4 races down, 2 to go

In what must be making for a spectacular thrill-filled summer for Blancpain President Mark A. Hayek and his team, Blancpain continues to “roll on” “roar on” through the 6-race Lamborghini Super Trofeo circuit as only a 570 horsepower decked out Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 can.  Have a look for yourself!

Hayek and team are turning out to be quite the brand ambassadors and are generating great publicity for the event not to mention the Blancpain brand – of course being the lead sponsor also helps  As well, Blancpain continues to get great “mileage” (bad pun? sorry) for its limited edition Blancpain Super Trofeo Chronograph watches, pictured below.  The exclusive Blancpain Super Trofeo Chronographs feature a DLC-treated steel case featuring a design inspired by the front profile of the Lamborghini Gallardo and is fitted with a strap made from alcantara – just like the Gallardo upholstery.  Pretty cool, eh?

As for the Silverstone race, says Hayek:

“I am particularly proud of competing on the historic Silverstone track. The world’s greatest champions have raced here, and the whole place is pervaded by a competitive spirit that extends well beyond the track itself! This challenge is all the more stimulating in that the race course is extremely fast and very demanding.”

So what’s next?  Well, given that the six event 2009 Lamborghini Super Trofeo is now 4 races down, we can all look forward to the season’s last two events which are to be held at Catalunya (Spain) on September 18th-20th, and on the Paul Ricard track (France) from October 2nd to 4th.

Stay Tuned – First In Watches will be bringing more of the action your way!

570 horsepower and 398 lb/ft torque = over 186 mph = AWESOME!

For the third Super Trofeo competition, Blancpain brought its high-speed Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium. Blancpain (title sponsor of the series) President and CEO Marc A. Hayek, racing in the company of co-driver Peter Kox from The Netherlands took third place in the 1st race of this leg.

Here at First In Watches we think pictures are nice, but video is nicer – and so we turned to our friends and partner TheTimeTV.com for their super-sweet video production of the event – which puts you behind the VIP tents and then right in the middle of the high horsepower action!  $20 if you can avoid wincing when you see a couple of these super-sweet Lambo’s sideswipe the wall and spin out!!

Next up?  The fourth of the six competitions scheduled for 2009 will take place on the Silverstone racing track in UK on August 15th.  Stay tuned!

Only Watch is a charity auction of unique watches created by many of the most important watch brands in Switzerland. This exceptional event is held every two years in Monaco during the Monaco Yacht Show and is under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert 11. All the proceeds from Only Watch go to support research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The next Only Watch auction is organized in close collaboration with Patrizzi & Co and the Monaco Yacht Show, and will take place on 24 September 2009.

Participating brands include Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, BNB Concept, Bovet Fleurier, Breguet Montres, Cartier, Corum Montres, De Bethune, Delacour, Franck Muller, Frédérique Constant, Glashütte Uhrenbertrieb, Hermès, Hublot, Jaquet Droz, Louis Vuitton, Maximilian Büsser & Friends, Mont Blanc, Omega, Patek Philippe, Piaget, Richard Mille, Swatch, Tag Heuer, Tourneau Timepieces, Ulysse Nardin, Urwerk, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels, Zenith International.

Below is a mosaic of their “pieces uniques”  – you can view larger images and a quote from each respective brand about their 2009 “Only Watch” contribution HERE.