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BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 2 JEHAN-JACQUES BLANCPAIN. - 2 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 3 WITH HIS INTUITION AND DETERMINATION, JEHAN- JACQUES BLANCPAIN RARELY ESCAPED NOTICE IN 18TH-CENTURY SOCIETY. EVER INSISTENT ON IMPECCABLE WORKMANSHIP, THE FOUNDER OF WHAT WAS TO BECOME THE OLDEST WATCH HOUSE STILL ACTIVE TODAY WAS OFTEN HEARD TO CLAIM “WE’RE WRITING TOMORROW’S HISTORY TODAY”. IN 2004, BLANCPAIN HAS REMAINED TRUE TO ITSELF IN STYLE AND SPIRIT, ITS CONVICTIONS AS RELEVANT AND AS SOLID AS EVER – PRIZING TRADITION, HONORING GENUINE VALUES, SHUNNING COMPROMISE AND UNRE- SERVEDLY COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE. BLANCPAIN WATCHES STILL ESCHEW QUARTZ TECHNOLOGY FOR THE ELEGANT CHALLENGES OF MECHANICAL “COMPLICATIONS”. BLANCPAIN’S CREATIVE AND ENTERPRISING SPIRIT OWE THEIR SURVIVAL OVER THE CENTURIES TO THE GENERATIONS OF WATCHMAKERS WHO HAVE FAITHFULLY PURSUED JEHAN-JACQUES BLANCPAIN’S PRIVATE DREAM : RAISING TIMEKEEPING TO AN ART. - 3 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 4 - 4 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 5 * If building a timepiece with parts no thicker than a human hair is no easy matter, think of the challenge its mastery represents. * Master watchmaker. - 5 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 6 THE SIX MASTERPIECES. - 6 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 7 EVERY CRAFT MINDFUL OF ITS OWN TRADITIONS HAS INEVITABLY INSTITUTED TESTS AND TRIALS TO DIFFERENTIATE EARNEST BEGINNERS FROM EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS AND THE LATTER FROM RECOGNIZED MASTERS OF THEIR TRADE. SWISS WATCHMAKERS ARE NO EXCEPTION. OVER THE LAST FOUR CENTURIES THEY HAVE ELECTED TO CALL “MASTERPIECES OF THE WATCHMAKER’S ART” SIX SPECIFIC HOROLOGICAL CONSTRUCTIONS. ALL NATURALLY DEMANDING EXCEPTIONAL SKILL, EACH ADDITIONALLY REQUIRING SPECIALIST EXPERTISE THAT IS EVER RARER TO COME BY. SOME TIMEPIECES WERE THE BRAINCHILD OF A SOLITARY HOROLOGICAL GENIUS, OTHERS RESULTED FROM THE COLLECTIVE EFFORTS OF COUNTLESS GIFTED ARTISANS YET ALL REPRESENT THE PRIDE OF TRADI- TIONAL WATCHMAKING AT ITS FINEST. IT WAS BLANCPAIN WHO FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER WAS ABLE TO PRESENT ALL SIX MASTERPIECES SIMULTANEOUSLY, FITTED IN IDENTICAL WATCH CASES. - 7 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 8 THE ULTRA SLIM. HOURS, MINUTES – THE DISCREET SLIMNESS ITS 3.25 MM-THICK HANDWINDING MOVEMENT ALLOWS – THE QUINTESSENTIAL MECHANICAL WATCH. 0021-3427-55 THE MOON PHASE CALENDAR. ALONG WITH THE TIME OF DAY, ITS SELFWINDING MOVEMENT DISPLAYS THE DAY, DATE, MONTH AND PHASES OF THE MOON, AS PER WITH THE AGE-OLD RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ASTRONOMY AND HOROLOGY. 6553-3427A-55 THE PERPETUAL CALENDAR. ITS MOVEMENT’S SUBTLY INTRICATE MECHANISM HARBORS THE MEMORY OF TIME TO COME, FOR THE PERPETUAL CALENDAR EASILY AND AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTS TO THE CALENDAR OF AN ENTIRE CENTURY, INCLUDING LEAP YEARS. 5453-3427-55 - 8 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 9 THE SPLIT-SECONDS CHRONOGRAPH. AN HOROLOGICAL MARVEL. ITS MOVEMENT INCLUDES A MECHANICAL CLUTCH- AND- MEMORY DEVICE THAT ENABLES THE SPLIT-SECONDS HAND TO STOP WHILE A GIVEN TIME IS RECORDED BEFORE FLYING BACK TO REJOIN ITS TWIN, THE CHRONOGRAPH HAND. 1186-3427-55 THE TOURBILLON. NOT ONLY DOES THIS MOST INGENIOUS OF INVENTIONS CANCEL WATCH-RATE ERRORS CAUSED BY GRAVITATIONAL ATTRACTION, IT ACTUALLY HELPS TO PRESEVE THE PRECISION OF A WATCH MOVEMENT. 0023-3427-55 THE MINUTE REPEATER. STRIKING ON DEMAND HOURS AND QUARTER-HOURS AS WELL AS MINUTES, THIS HOROLOGICAL DELIGHT DRAWS ON ANCIENT METAL ALLOYING SECRETS AND THE PRINCIPLES OF ACOUSTICS TO CONVEY THE TIME OF DAY AND NIGHT EVEN UNSEEN, EVEN UNTOUCHED. 0033-3427-55 - 9 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 10 THE 1735. - 10 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 11 BLANCPAIN’S EXPERT WATCHMAKERS THEN DEVISED A DAUNTING NEW CHALLENGE: MERGING THEIR SIX EARLIER MASTERPIECES INTO A SINGLE CONSTRUCTION. FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN THE SECRET PLEASURE OF OUTDOING THEMSELVES. DESPITE COUNTLESS DOUBTS AND DEAD ENDS, TALENT AND PERSEVERANCE ULTIMATELY GOT THEM THERE. AFTER SIX YEARS, AGAINST ALL ODDS, FULFILLMENT WAS AT FINALLY HAND. IN HOMAGE TO THE YEAR OF FOUNDATION OF THE HOUSE OF BLANCPAIN, THEY CALLED THE NEW WATCH 1735. ALMOST MAGICAL IN ITS INTRICACY, ITS MOVEMENT’S ORIGINAL DESIGN COMPRISES AN IMPRESSIVE 740 PARTS AND COMPONENTS. A TRULY INSPIRED ACHIEVEMENT, THE BLANCPAIN 1735’S HOROLOGICAL WIZARDRY PROVIDES A RARE AND ALTOGETHER CONVINCING DEMONSTRATION THAT, AT LEAST FOR THE BEST WATCHMAKERS, IMPOSSIBILITY IS ONLY RELATIVE. - 11 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:08 Uhr Page 12 CALIBRE 1735. 31.50 mm in diameter. 11 mm in thickness. 950 platinum rotor. Movement parts : 740. Beryllium alloy balance wheel. Vibrations per hour : 21,600. Adjusted in 5 positions. Jewels : 44. - 12 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 13 1735 1735, GRANDE COMPLICATION. Selfwinding. Caliber 1735. 80-hour power reserve. 950 platinum case. 42 mm in diameter. White dial. Croco leather strap. - 13 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 14 * This evening, time does not exist for me. * Azzedine Alaia. Couturier. Paris. - 14 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 15 Francis Ford Coppola. Movie Director. - 15 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 16 * Time is precious when you don’t have enough of it. * Vladimir Kramnik. Chess World champion. - 16 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 17 * In cities, time, the passage of the seasons, can no longer be perceived. I haven’t seen a swallow in Paris for twenty years. * Patrick Rambaud. Writer and Prix Goncourt Winner. - 17 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 18 COLLECTION LE BRASSUS. - 18 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 19 SITUATED AT THE HEART OF THE VALLÉE DE JOUX, IN THE SWISS JURA HIGHLANDS, THE MODEST LOCALITY OF LE BRASSUS IS IN ITS OWN WAY A CAPITAL. THAT OF MECHANICAL WATCHMAKING AT ITS MOST ELABORATE, NOT LEAST OF INTRICATE HOROLOGICAL MECHANISMS CALLED “COMPLICATIONS”. IT IS HOME TO ANY NUMBER OF WORKSHOPS, SOME HOUSED IN HISTORIC PREMISES. ONLY IN A PLACE LIKE LE BRASSUS COULD BLANCPAIN HAVE FOUND THE MEN AND THE MEANS TO BRING ABOUT ITS RENEWAL, ROUSE ITS TRADITIONS AND GUARANTEE ITS FUTURE. AS IT WAS, BLANCPAIN WAS ABLE TO FIND A FARMHOUSE NOT MUCH DIFFERENT FROM ITS ORIGINAL BIRTHPLACE IN WHICH TO CONCEIVE AND BUILD, LARGELY BY HAND, ITS MOST SOPHISTICATED DESIGNS, BEGINNING WITH THE SIX MASTERPIECES AND THE 1735… WITH THEIR DIAL’S PRONOUNCED “TECHNICAL” LOOK, LE BRASSUS DESIGNS REFLECT THE COLLECTION’S ESSENTIAL CHARACTER : INTRICATE, MULTIFUNCTION WATCHMAKING IN THE GRANDEST HOROLOGICAL TRADITION – AN AREA WHERE BLANCPAIN IS PERFECTLY AT HOME. - 19 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 20 4289Q-3442-55B 4289Q-3642-55B Limited to 50 pieces. SPLIT-SECONDS FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH, SPLIT-SECONDS FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH, PERPETUAL CALENDAR, TOURBILLON. PERPETUAL CALENDAR, TOURBILLON. Selfwinding. Caliber 56F9U. Selfwinding. Caliber 56F9U. 40-hour power reserve. 40-hour power reserve. Water-resistant to 50 m (165 feet). Water-resistant to 50 m (165 feet). 950 platinum case. Opaline dial. 18K red gold case. Opaline dial. Croco leather strap. Croco leather strap. 42 mm in diameter. 42 mm in diameter. - 20 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 21 4289Q-4230M-55B SPLIT-SECONDS FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH, PERPETUAL CALENDAR, TOURBILLON. Selfwinding. Caliber 56F9U. 40-hour power reserve. Water-resistant to 50 m (165 feet). 950 platinum case, set with a row of diamonds. Black military dial. Croco leather strap. 42 mm in diameter. - 21 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 22 4286P-3642-55B 4286P-3442-55B Limited to 100 pieces. SPLIT-SECONDS FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH, SPLIT-SECONDS FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH, PERPETUAL CALENDAR, MOON PHASES. PERPETUAL CALENDAR, MOON PHASES. Selfwinding. Caliber 56F9A. Selfwinding. Caliber 56F9A. 40-hour power reserve. 40-hour power reserve. Water-resistant to 50 m (165 feet). Water-resistant to 50 m (165 feet). 18K red gold case. Opaline dial. 950 platinum case. Opaline dial. Croco leather strap. Croco leather strap. 42 mm in diameter. 42 mm in diameter. - 22 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 23 4276-3642-55B FULL CALENDAR, GMT, MOON PHASES. Selfwinding. Caliber 67A6. 100-hour power reserve. Water-resistant to 50 m (165 feet). 18K red gold case. Opaline dial. Croco leather strap. 42 mm in diameter. - 23 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:09 Uhr Page 24 4246F-3442-55B 4246F-3642-55B Limited to 100 pieces. SPLIT-SECONDS FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH, SPLIT-SECONDS FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH, POWER RESERVE, DATE CALENDAR. POWER RESERVE, DATE CALENDAR. Selfwinding. Caliber 40F6. Selfwinding. Caliber 40F6. 40-hour power reserve. 40-hour power reserve. Water-resistant to 50 m (165 feet). Water-resistant to 50 m (165 feet). 950 Platinum case. Opaline dial. 18K red gold case. Opaline dial. Croco leather strap. Croco leather strap. 42 mm in diameter. 42 mm in diameter. - 24 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:10 Uhr Page 25 4223F-3442-55B Limited to 50 pieces. SPLIT-SECONDS FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH, TOURBILLON. Selfwinding. Caliber 23F9A. 40-hour power reserve. Water-resistant to 50 m (165 feet). 950 platinum case. Opaline dial. Croco leather strap. 42 mm in diameter. - 25 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:10 Uhr Page 26 COLLECTION VILLERET. - 26 - BL_Cat_Extrait_Homme_v11.qxd 06.12.2004 13:10 Uhr Page 27 NESTLED NOT FAR FROM BIENNE IN THE ROLLING JURA UPLANDS, THE THEN-TINY HAMLET OF VILLERET NEARLY THREE CENTURIES AGO SAW THE BIRTH OF AN EXCEPTIONALLY DISTINGUISHED HOROLOGICAL DYNASTY AND, LATER, WATCH BRAND, CALLED BLANCPAIN. IT WAS IN A SOLID VILLERET FARMHOUSE THAT ONE DAY IN 1735 JEAN-JACQUES BLANCPAIN LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE BLANCPAIN COMPANY AS IT EXISTS TODAY. AT THAT TIME, WATCHMAKING WAS STILL ESSENTIALLY A COTTAGE INDUSTRY, LARGELY PRACTICED DURING THE LONG WINTER MONTHS.