Fresh from the Showcase Here at SwissWatchExpo today we have an
ultra-complicated monster of a dress watch from Blancpain.
Fans of horology are people who are just looking to drop the bank on a super complicated
timepiece and tend to venture more toward the Vacherons, the Pateks of the world. One of the
more understated brands I think that is still putting out some of the best work of all time
is Blancpain. They fly a little under the radar one because their production numbers are so small,
but just about every piece I've seen from this brand has been special and none more
so than this incredible perpetual calendar Villeret with an 8-day power reserve. And
it's not just the complications I love about this watch, this is perhaps my favorite dial
layout and dial configuration of any perpetual calendar watch I've ever seen. So let's just go
ahead and describe what makes this watch look so beautiful. First and foremost is gonna be
the size because this is a very dressy shape from a fairly traditional brand.
Blancpain does make sports watches. I do think they're more known for their more
traditional dress pieces in the design. This is definitely one of them. But at 42 millimeters
wide it's a pretty hefty piece. And due to all the complications that you have within here, this has
a 13-millimeter case thickness. So this is gonna be quite prominent on the wrist. So while it is
a traditional design and definitely perpetual calendars tend to be more traditionally shaped
outside of like really sporty models this one is gonna be a pretty hefty piece. So definitely one
for either a larger person or someone who's not afraid of showing off a little bit of prominence
on their wrist. One another thing I love that makes this watch very prominent is the color
of the dial. It is a very bright white, this is not a silver dial or even the least bit shiny.
This is a very bright white dial, which especially with a rose gold case, is gonna offer you a lot
of contrast there. And it is very striking and that's good because there's a lot of information
that this perpetual calendar dial is trying to express. And I think having this very bright
color makes it much more legible than something a little bit shinier. And what it is actually trying
to tell you, Well, first and foremost of the time because it is a watch, and I do love that
we do have pretty legible Roman numerals around the outside of this. So for all the stuff that's
jammed in the middle here, you can still pretty clearly see the Roman numerals on the outside.
So this is a watch that while it's very easy to get lost in all the complications and all
the different registers, is definitely something that, you know, is easy to read at a glance, which
I think is something that is lacking in a lot of super complicated perpetual calendar pieces.
I do love that we do have four registers here, which I think gives it a very symmetrical look. At
the top. We not only have the month indicator, but this also indicates whether or not it is a leap
year. You can see the two Ls 1, 2, 3, and then l actually counts up the number of years. So you'll
know whether or not the year you're looking at is a leap year. Pretty unique complications, a pretty
unique function for a perpetual calendar. And then your pretty standard day of the month,
day of the week at 3 and 9, respectively. But then one of my favorite, favorite complications is
going to be the moonphase indicator. I love that they found room for that in this beautiful dial.
And the second hand is actually located right below there. So they actually included a second
hand too, which I think so many professional calendars I see actually just forego altogether.
So this is why this is one of my favorites I've ever seen, but that is not all that
makes this watch so incredible. First of all, this does have a deployant clasp,
beautiful rose gold deployant clasp, and one that doesn't function like anything
else I've ever seen because this one is magnetized. There is nothing to clip,
nothing like that. Nothing to click-down either. It is actually magnetically held in place,
very strong. In fact, if you put this on, it's still gonna feel very secure. Although I can
definitely understand a little bit of trepidation of having something so valuable on your wrist
being supported by only a magnet. But I trust the people at Blancpain and they're engineering
to put out a good product. And this is passing with flying colors in every other indication.
And I really am excited to see if we have more magnetized deployant clasps in the future because
I think it's just so cool. Last but not least, this is an exhibition caseback, which I think
is super important for super complicated watches. You really wanna see what you're looking at here.
The bridge is pretty much exclusively held on this side of it, but if you'll flip it over,
you can see more of these incredible complications back here that are powering all these different
registers. And again, this has an incredible 8-day power reserve which is great if you're maybe a
little lazy about keeping your perpetual calendars in your watch winder. But let's be honest,
if you're owning this watch, that is definitely something you should consider investing in if
you haven't done so already. So there, if you've watched every single video, you can quote me on
this. This is my favorite perpetual calendar. So if I've done another video on a perpetual calendar
where I said that one was my favorite, I was lying. It's this Blancpain right now. We've got
this and dozens of other brands and a lot more watches most of which are much less complicated
than this. So if this is a little bit daunting, don't let that scare you off. Give us a call,
check out our new arrivals and find out what new piece we can get for you at SwissWatchExpo.com.