6595 Blancpain Complete Calendar Moonphase

6595-Blancpain-Complete-Calendar-Moonphase

So you’ve been watching the fall auctions and standout Rolex 6062 lots, pining. Some have used the headline ‘most beautiful Rolex ever made’. But let’s say you don’t have the spare 2M CHF sitting around that one commanded a few days ago. Fret not, JCB and Blancpain’s best ever sequences of releases from the 90s…

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Cloisonné Enamel Dial Blancpain B00Z1-1433-55

There has never been a more 90s Blancpain than what you see before you. Sure, there’s the six masterpiece collection which is probably the most lauded effort the Le Brassus manufacture besides the Fifty Fathoms. But a full cloissonné dial that looks like Piet Mondrian was inspired by the stained glass at St Peter’s Basilica…

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5495 Blancpain Villeret Perpetual in Platinum

5495-Blancpain-Villeret-Perpetual-Platinum

Of all complications, the perpetual calendar might just be the watchmaker’s darling. By that, I mean the essence of what a certain brand or effort represents is often very well captured by their perpetual calendar offering. The complication requires immense skill not just mechanically, but in how to arrange such a wealth of information. I’m…

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0023 Blancpain Villeret Flying Tourbillon

Blancpain-Villeret-Flying-Tourbillon-0023

Nineties Blancpain is a distinct beast entirely, from all of horology. Famously, toward the ceasefire of the quartz crisis, Blancpain ran ads claiming ‘since 1735, Blancpain has never produced a quartz watch and we never will.’ Jean-Claude Biver and Jacques Piguet may not have quite singlehanded dragged Swiss mechanical watchmaking into the modern era, but that…

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5495 Blancpain Villeret Platinum Perpetual

5495-Blancpain-Villeret-Platinum-Perpetual-Calendar

Nineties Blancpain is a distinct beast entirely, from all of horology. Famously, toward the ceasefire of the quartz crisis, Blancpain ran ads claiming ‘since 1735, Blancpain has never produced a quartz watch and we never will.’ Blancpain and Jean-Claude Biver may not have quite singlehanded dragged Swiss mechanical watchmaking into the modern era, but that…

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1 of 100 Montblanc Villeret Monopusher 1858

Montblanc-Villeret-Monopusher-1858

Navy on steel may be a bit cliché in the moment. However, Montblanc preceeded this trend. A there’s no doubt they nailed the aesthetic. Their design echoes early Minerva pilots from after WWI, with modern touches and proportion. For the 1858 collection, Montblanc also redesigned their logo to a less cursive, nowhere-else-seen sans serif mountain…

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