Another command performance
A true tool watch, the original Air Command was a product born of the pilot’s timepiece specifications set out by the French military in the 1950s. As such, the watch featured a dark face, two chronograph subdials, at 3 and 9 o’clock, simple hands, a countdown bezel with 12 markers, and a flyback chronograph function. Today, the first run of Air Commands are among Blancpain’s rarest watches and, hence, one of the most collectable models.
Reintroduced as a sell-out limited-edition model in 2019, the Air Command joined the permanent collection last year with two 42.5mm flyback chronograph models in satin-brushed and polished Grade 23 titanium (a higher purity version of the alloy with improved strength and corrosion resistance) or red gold with a blue dial. For 2022, these have been scaled down, with markedly smaller, 36.2mm case sizes.
Following the path set by Betty Fiechter – the company’s CEO from the 1930s through to the 1970s, and the first woman to head up a major Swiss watch company – Blancpain has again proved itself a brand that truly addresses female watch buyers and collectors, by advertising the new Air Command Flyback Chronograph as a women’s watch. The neat and wearable dimensions, however, are certain to appeal equally to men.
Both versions feature a navy calfskin strap, blue sunray dial and a ceramic bezel insert, and within the case beats a F188B self-winding movement with silicon balance-spring. The full movement and its traditional finishing techniques can be viewed through the sapphire-crystal caseback. Blancpain Air Command, from £14,900; blancpain.com