Switzerland · Founded 1735
Blancpain
The Fifty Fathoms was developed in 1953 for French Navy combat swimmers.
Swatch Group manufacture in Le Brassus, known for the Fifty Fathoms diver's watch and classical Villeret complications. The brand dates itself to 1735 in Villeret, a claim historians dispute. Since its revival in 1983 it has focused on mechanical watches. Core models cost roughly EUR 12,000–35,000.
History
Blancpain dates its founding to 1735, when Jehan-Jacques Blancpain is said to have registered as a watchmaker in Villeret in the Bernese Jura. The original record has never been published, and researcher Jose Perez argues that the documented family business begins with Frédéric-Louis Blancpain around 1815. Frédéric-Louis modernised the Villeret workshops and replaced the verge with the cylinder escapement. In 1865, facing American competition, the firm built a two-storey hydroelectric plant on the river Suze to power production.
The family line ended with the death of Frédéric-Emile Blancpain in 1932. Two employees, Betty Fiechter and André Léal, bought the business in 1933 and, with no Blancpain left in the firm, had to trade as Rayville S.A., succ. de Blancpain. Fiechter's nephew Jean-Jacques Fiechter joined in 1950 and led development of the Fifty Fathoms, a diver's watch tested for French Navy combat swimmers under Captain Robert Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud in 1953. By the late 1950s output exceeded 100,000 watches a year.
Rayville-Blancpain later joined SSIH, the group of Omega and Tissot, and reached a peak of 220,000 watches in 1971. The quartz crisis halved SSIH's output; by 1980 Blancpain had been absorbed into Omega, and in 1982 Omega left the Villeret factory. In 1983 Jean-Claude Biver, then an SSIH employee, and Jacques Piguet of the movement maker Frédéric Piguet bought the dormant name and moved production to Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux, positioning the brand on traditional mechanical watchmaking.
The revival rested on complications, culminating in the 1735 Grande Complication of 1991, which combined a tourbillon, minute repeater, perpetual calendar and split-seconds chronograph in a series of 30. In 1992 SMH, the future Swatch Group, bought Blancpain back for CHF 60 million. Marc A. Hayek, grandson of Nicolas G. Hayek, has led the brand since 2002, and in 2010 Frédéric Piguet SA was merged into Blancpain. The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe returned in 2013.
Founders
- Jehan-Jacques Blancpain
- Founder (as named by the brand)
- Villeret resident whom Blancpain names as its founder in 1735. No contemporary record of his watchmaking has been published, and the founding date is contested.
- Jean-Claude Biver
- Co-owner of the 1983 revival · 1949–
- Executive who bought the Blancpain name with Jacques Piguet in 1983 and ran the brand until 2002. He later led Hublot and LVMH's watch division.
Milestones
1735
Founding date claimed by the brand
Blancpain dates its origin to Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret; the supporting record has not been published.
1815
Frédéric-Louis Blancpain modernises
The earliest documented phase of the family business; Villeret workshops adopt the cylinder escapement.
1865
Hydroelectric plant on the Suze
A two-storey plant powers production as the firm responds to American competition.
1933
Rayville S.A., succ. de Blancpain
Employees Betty Fiechter and André Léal buy the business and must change its legal name.
1953
Fifty Fathoms
A diver's watch developed with French Navy combat swimmers; it was shown at the Basel fair in 1954.
1971
Output peaks at 220,000 watches
Within the SSIH group, Rayville-Blancpain reaches its highest annual production.
1983
Biver and Piguet revive the name
Jean-Claude Biver and Jacques Piguet buy the dormant brand and restart production in Le Brassus.
1991
1735 Grande Complication
Tourbillon, minute repeater, perpetual calendar and split-seconds chronograph in a series of 30.
1992
Acquired by SMH
The future Swatch Group buys Blancpain for CHF 60 million.
2010
Frédéric Piguet merged into Blancpain
The Swatch Group folds its Le Brassus movement maker into Blancpain SA.
Three things collectors know
Rayville is Villeret
From 1933 the company legally traded as Rayville S.A., succ. de Blancpain. Rayville is a phonetic anagram of Villeret, the village where the firm began.
A name for CHF 20,000
When Biver and Piguet bought Blancpain from SSIH in 1983 they acquired the name only, reportedly for CHF 20,000. Nine years later SMH paid CHF 60 million for the revived company.
US Navy order
Diamond dealer Allen V. Tornek brokered the Fifty Fathoms for the US Navy; the 'Milspec 1' version resulted, with an initial order of 611 watches.
Signature models
- Fifty Fathoms1953
Diver's watch built for French Navy combat swimmers, with a locking rotating bezel and double-sealed crown.
- Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe2013
Smaller Fifty Fathoms derivative revived at Basel in 2013, echoing a model Fiechter created around 1956.
- 1735 Grande Complication1991
Automatic grand complication with tourbillon, minute repeater, perpetual calendar and split-seconds, 30 pieces.
Questions
- Is Blancpain the oldest watch brand?
- Blancpain claims 1735, which would make it the oldest watch brand. The claim rests on a record that has never been published; independent research dates documented Blancpain watchmaking to about 1815.
- Who owns Blancpain?
- The Swatch Group, which bought it in 1992 under its former name SMH. Marc A. Hayek, grandson of Swatch Group founder Nicolas G. Hayek, has led the brand since 2002.
- Was the Fifty Fathoms the first modern dive watch?
- It was one of the first. Blancpain developed it with French Navy combat swimmers in 1953 and showed it at Basel in 1954, the same period in which Rolex introduced the Submariner, so the title is contested.
- Where are Blancpain watches made?
- In Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux, where production moved after the 1983 revival. The brand's historic home, Villeret, is in the Bernese Jura.