Blancpain

The story of Blancpain begins in the village of Villeret, having been founded by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in 1735. Although the brand produced many high-quality watches, it was not until the Fifty Fathoms model of the 1950s that it achieved its first great commercial success. However, like many of its peers, the brand succumbed to insolvency during the quartz crisis of the 1970s, before rising like a phoenix in 1983 at the hands of the legendary Jean-Claude Biver.

Biver’s strategy was to reposition the brand as a maker of haute horology and complications—even utilizing the tagline: “There has never been a quartz Blancpain, and there never will be.” During this rebirth, the models that would come to house the brand’s complications were named “Villeret.” The triple calendar moonphase is one of the most classic complications, and it comes as no surprise that Biver sought to produce one. In his own words: “I didn’t want to relaunch Blancpain solely with hours-and-minutes watches.” So, in 1983, the present watch was released. Also known as the “full calendar,” this movement was yet another instance where Biver turned to the great Frédéric Piguet to source the Calibre 95.

Measuring under 3.5 mm thick, it resulted in exceptionally classic and elegant proportions—but more importantly for Biver, bragging rights: this was the smallest and thinnest complete calendar ever produced up to that time.

This original version remained in production well into the 1990s, and the example we have here is cased in traditional yellow gold, with its elegant moonphase smiling back at you—a reminder of what an excellent decision you’ve made in procuring such a watch.