Blancpain
Reference 0023-1418-55 Villeret Tourbillon | A yellow gold wristwatch with flying tourbillon, date, and 8-day power reserve indication, Circa 1995
Lot Closed
December 10, 04:22 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 20,000 USD
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Read more.Lot Details
Description
Dial: silvered
Caliber: cal. 23 manual winding, 19 jewels
Movement number: 00'280
Case: 18k pink gold, snap on case back
Case number: N° 25
Closure: 18k pink gold Blancpain buckle
Size: 34 mm diameter
Signed: case, dial, and movement
Box: yes
Papers: no
Accessories: Blancpain presentation box with outer packaging and booklets
Toward the end of the quartz crisis, Blancpain ran an ad campaign with the slogan “Since 1735 Blancpain has never produced a quartz watch, and we never will.” What the brand promised, and followed up with, in the 1980s and 90s were “the six masterpieces” a series of mechanical marvels displaying the technological mastery of Blancpain. Perhaps most impressive was the flying tourbillon in a wristwatch, a first of its kind. Developed by Vincent Calabrese and Blancpain, the ‘flying’ means that the dial side of the complication is without a bridge, which gives the complication the illusion of floating. Together with a 288-hour power reserve, the ref.0023, with a movement that’s only 4.85mm thick, is watchmaking at its finest.