In 2012, the Blancpain Villeret collection welcomes its first model featuring a beautiful flinqué lacquered dial.  Several layers of translucent blue lacquer applied to the dial create a rich depth effect, while preserving the pure lines of its most classic collection.  The watch is housed in a 40mm white gold case, powered by the ultra-slim Blancpain Calibre 7663Q, a new self-winding movement.  In addition to the hour, minute and “serpentine” styled date pointer,  there is also a retrograde seconds function at 6 o’clock.  This watch also features Blancpain’s very slick under-lug corrector at 5 o’clock for fast date adjustment. Fitted on a matching blue alligator leather strap with folding clasp.

Blancpain Villeret Collection

Technical Specifications

6653Q-1529-55B

VILLERET, Ultra-slim, date, retrograde small seconds, flinqué blue lacquered dial, under-lug corrector, self-winding

CALIBER

Thick: 4.57 mm

Diameter: 27.00 mm

Power-reserve in hours: 72

Jewels: 34

Components: 244

CASE

Thickness: 10.83 mm

Diameter: 40.00 mm

Water-resistance: 3 bar

Sapphire crystal back: Yes

Interhorn space: 22.00 mm

A burglary attempt occurred yesterday on our X Fathoms exhibition at “Cité du Temps” in Geneva. It seems like some people are ready to risk their life for our timepieces!

Fortunately, nobody was hurt during the robbery and thanks to the efficient intervention of the security company (SIR) one of the four thieves was quickly arrested and most of our watches were found back. However the damages caused on several pieces gives us no choice but to close the doors of this event earlier than scheduled.

Check out these additional looks…

Update:  See specs below.  Seems the watch is inspired by a 1953 ancestor (of same name?), which I like.  At 55mm, the case size is absolutely enormous — a bit off-putting for me, despite the technical marvel of this watch.  Seriously — 55mm case?   Blancpain also claims a “The most complex injected rubber strap ever conceived” featuring 14 articulated parts to ensure a perfect fit on the wrist and allow water to seep in under the watch in order to come in contact with the membrane under all circumstances.  Alright, OK, good work on the new strap.  This watch is really nothing more than a showpiece, but I guess that’s not such a bad thing.

Blancpain X Fathoms Dive Watch

55.65mm x 24mm satin brushed titanium case, automatic mechanical BLANCPAIN caliber 9918B (based on the Caliber 1315, used in several Fifty Fathoms models),

titanium case

Blancpain X Fathoms Dive Watch

Blancpain X Fathoms Caseback (Spy Shot )

Blancpain X Fathoms (Teaser Video)

Continuing my ONLY Watch 2011 previews (see them all here) — here’s a first look at the Blancpain Villeret Grande Décoration for Only Watch 2011.  The watch is a study in contrast — on the front, its white enamel dial with painted hour-markers and red gold hands suggests simplicity and elegance; on the back, a depiction of the Rock of Monaco and the surrounding landscape is rich in detail.   The hand-decoration on this one-of-a-kind watch was performed by Blancpain’s Master Engraver Marie-Laure Tarbouriech, to whom I say that much credit is due.  The watch is equipped with a Blancpain Calibre 15B, an ultra-thin hand-wound movement.  By the way, this is Blancpain’s seventh ONLY Watch event — it has donated a piece to each event since it was first formed in 2001.

Blancpain Villeret Grand Decoration for ONLY WATCH 2011

Unique Piece

45mm red gold case (8.3mm thick), white grand feu enamelled dial, hand-decorated manual-wind Caliber 15B movement (40 hrs power reserve)

depiction of the Rock of Monaco and the surrounding landscape:

Starting today Perpetuelle will begin its coverage of Only Watch 2011.  Stay tuned in because over the next few months, you will get to see awesome “piece unique” watches from each of the participating brands for the 2011 event:

Click through to see our in-depth preview of each watch:

• Harry Winston Midnight GMT Tourbillon
• Patek Philippe Ref 3939A Minute Repeater
• Urwerk UR-103 “Phoenix”
• Romain Jerome “Rock the Rock”
• Hublot Oceanographic 4000m dive watch
• MB&F HM-4 “Flying Panda”
• TAG Heuer “Monaco Mikrograph”
• Bell & Ross Pink Gold “Casino”
• Louis Vuitton Tambour Diver Chronograph
• Blancpain Villeret Grand Decoration
• Piaget Altiplano Skeleton
• Breguet Reveil Musical Watch
• Audemars Piguet Gstaad Classic
• Jaquet Droz Petit Heure Minute
• Van Cleef & Arpel “From the Earth to the Moon” Watch
• Girard-Perregaux ww.TC
• Corum Golden Bridge Automatic Titanium
  
• Vulcain Anniversary Heart Watch
• Chanel J12 Marine Watch
• Franck Muller “Totally Switzerland”
• Ulysse Nardin Freak Diavolo
• Vacheron Constantin “Dove” Watch (M.C. Escher-inspired)
  
• Zenith El Primero “Destro” watches
• Montblanc Villeret 1858 Pulsograph
• Ikepod Red Hourglass by Marc Newson
• Bovet Fleurier, Celsius, Chaumet, Chopard, De Bethune, Delacour, De Witt, Frédérique Constant, Hermès, Laurent Ferrier, Maurice Lacroix, Richard Mille
  

Only Watch 2011 will be held September 24, 2011 and managed by watch auction house Antiquorum.  But you don’t have to wait this long — because part of the excitement leading up to the September 24, 2011 event is the release of each participating brand’s special edition watch.

ONLY WATCH 2009

If you are interested in looking back, I covered the Only Watch 2009 auction extensively including blogging about several of my favorites inlcluding:  Piaget Emperador Coussin, MB&F Sage Vaughn HM-2, Bovet 3-in-1 Mona Lisa Watch, Tourneau Jump Hour, Louis Vuitton Tambour, Chanel J12 Joallerie with pink sapphire, and Blancpain 500 Fathoms.   You can see all 34 “Only Watch 2009″ watches here on the Perpeuelle World Watch Forum.  The Only Watch 2009 auction was hosted by Patrizzi & Co.

Blancpain has unveiled some superb looking dress watches this year in Basel.  Unlike the brand’s awful-ugly-dial L-Evolution watches, the dial work on this new Villeret “Demi-Fuseau 8 Jours” is quite nice, though there is one little thing bothering me about it as I note below.  A “demi-fuseau” or “half timezone” complication serves to adjust the second timezone on the watch in 30-minute increments and thus to ensure relaxed travel to countries with half-hour time differences.  The watch displays the reference time at 12 o’clock, the half-hour timezone is in the center, the day/night indication for the reference time at 9 o’clock, date window at 6 o’clock, and the date change or timezone indication at 4 o’clock.  My one critique is the largely cut-off “XII” at 12 o’clock….it looks bad and in fat could be a deal killer for a persnickety buyer.

Blancpain Villeret Demi-Fuseau 8 Days

42mm white or red gold case, Manufacture Blancpain automatic Caliber 5235DF with guilloché-worked oscillating weight

domed grand feu enamelled white dial with  painted hour-markers.

***

Guess Blancpain couldn’t wait until 2011 to share with us its new Villeret Half-Time-Zone watch.  Officially debuting at Baselworld 2011 (March 2011), this watch is a beauty, and I must admit a nice surprise given some of the awful and tacky pieces I have seen from Blancpain in recent years (L-evolution series, anyone?).  To be fair, the Fifty Fathoms collection is still going strong and regular readers here may also recall Blancpain’s much praised and equally beautiful Villeret Half-Hunter Moonphase which debuted at Baselworld 2010 (March 2010).  This new watch will undoubtedly be a nice complement to it and the Villeret collection (and of course share many of the same technical and design elements of).

Blancpain Villeret Half Time Zone Watch

40mm rose gold case

So what exactly does this “half time zone” watch do?  Well, the wearer can adjust the second time zone in half-hour increments — something that will come in quite handy for those who might find themselves in India or other half-hour time zone differences.

Read all about the Blancpain Villerete Half-Time-Zone Watch (and see more pics) over on the Perpetuelle.com Press Release Feed…

and

All my editorial coverage of Blancpain…here…