FAINT HEART NEVER WON FAIR LADY
Blancpain’s bold commitment to cr eating ladies’ watches that are both beautiful and mec hanically interesting has certainly won the hearts of modern women
Women’s watches occupy a unique niche in the world of timepieces, which focuses most of its energy on creating watches for men. Many women’s watches end up as an afterthought, usually smaller diamond-studded versions of men’s watches. Not so at Blancpain, whose ladies’ watches are always created specifically to cater to the feminine gender. The brand has been a pioneer in the creation of women’s watches since the 1930s, when it presented the world’s first selfwinding watch for women. Its famous Ladybird line, created specifically for women in 1956, was also the world’s smallest round watch when it first launched. And of course, besides its technical innovations, Blancpain’s watches are always a thing of beauty. Here, we highlight three exceptional pieces from the brand’s Women collection.
WOMEN HEURE DÉCENTRÉE
“Since 1735, there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there never will be”—so went the famous tagline decorating Blancpain’s ads following its resurrection in 1983. This philosophy of mechanical excellence naturally extends to creating exceptional movements for all of Blancpain’s watches, including the Women Heure Décentrée (opposite). The watch houses the self-winding calibre 2663SR, which is equipped with a silicon balance spring for greater accuracy. Naturally, the movement is beautifully finished with cotes de Genève, and the oscillating weight is carved in the shape of a five-petal flower. In terms of aesthetics, the watch is alluring and refined, with the decentralised time indications, retrograde 30sec indication, and asymmetric gold and diamond inlay adding visual interest to the mother-of-pearl dial. We particularly like the design of the bezel, which looks like it was formed from four overlapping diamond-studded arcs.
CHRONOGRAPHE FLYBACK GRANDE DATE
Chronograph complications lend themselves more easily to sporty men’s watches, which makes the finesse of the Blancpain Chronographe Flyback Grande Date (above right) all the more impressive. The watch is one of the most elegant and feminine chronograph watches we have ever seen, with a decentralised time display at 12 o’clock and chronograph subdials at 3 and 9 o’clock. The graceful curves of the carved mother-of-pearl, gold inlay, rounded date windows, and smooth chronograph pushers all add to the refinement of the watch’s design. The self-winding calibre 26F8G is housed inside, and has 495 components, with two mainspring barrels.
WOMEN ULTRA PLATE SAINT-VALENTIN 2018
The Women Ultra Plate Saint-valentin 2018 (left) is certainly the most whimsical of all the three watches, having been created to celebrate the love and romance of Valentine’s Day. The mother-of-pearl dial has been studded with diamonds and rubies, and the seconds hand is shaped like cupid’s arrow, complete with a heart speared on its pointy end. Our favourite design element, however, is the face of the moon on the moonphase complication. Not only does the moon’s face have fluttery eyelashes and heart-shaped lips, it also has a beauty mark in the shape of a star. According to Blancpain, this beauty spot is a nod to history, when such marks were used by 18th-century French court ladies as a message to their suitors. At its heart, the watch houses a self-winding 913L movement, equipped with a glucydur balance wheel and silicon balance spring that make the movement more precise and shockresistant. The oscillating weight on the movement echoes the whimsy of the watch’s face, adorned with a heart pierced by an arrow.