The Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate is now available in 38mm – here is why this is important
Zach BlassToday, Blancpain unveils a new 38mm variant of its modern Villeret Ultraplate. These days, such a headline may not command the same instant intrigue as a new Fifty Fathoms might. But the Villeret line, especially at a time when people are finally waking up to the allure of neo-vintage Blancpain, deserves your attention.
If I may: a worthwhile backstory
Woulda, coulda, shoulda. It is always interesting to look back and think about how you would have built your collection differently. The watches you are fortunate to now have. The ones that got away, but you only realise now that they really, really did. Though today, perhaps, Blancpain is most known as the watchmaker behind the Fifty Fathoms, when the brand was brought back by Jacques Piguet and Jean-Claude Biver it was classic, dressy watches and an anti-quartz campaign of sorts that Biver that not only promoted the traditional mechanical watchmaking the new era of Blancpain was about to unveil, but also uplifted mechanical watchmaking across the board as an artform people needed to return to.
These pieces put complications back into the spotlight at a time when quartz still had a strong hold on the market and investing, or doubling down on mechanically complex watchmaking, was thought to be a ludicrous business move. However, such doubters did not realise how ahead of the curve Jean-Claude Biver and Jacques Piguet were. The first watches were launched in 1983, and by 1985, it is said that Blancpain sales totalled CHF 8.9M. Six years later, in 1991, sales had reached CHF 56M. A year after that, the Swatch Group acquired the manufacture for CHF 60M.
So, what was Blancpain doing when Biver and Piguet relaunched it? The pair brought forth a series of 34mm watches, known as the Six Masterpieces, that boasted complications like a split-seconds chronograph or minute repeater and were remarkably slim and compact thanks to the Frédéric Piguet calibres in their arsenal. F. Piguet movements were, and still are, highly celebrated movements – so strong that brands like Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet relied on F. Piguet ébauches for many of their bestsellers up until just years ago. And for the record, Frédéric Piguet later became known as Manufacture Blancpain. So, this DNA lives on even today. But, back to this founding series of watches.
The minute repeater has long been my favourite high-complication, and owning a minute repeater wristwatch continues to be a dream of mine. Blancpain’s Repetition Minutes watch has long been on my radar, and if you knew what such a complex watch was once listed for, you would pull your hair out thinking how did I not know about this?! Approximately 10 years ago, at a time when anything below 38mm, or maybe even 40mm, was largely dismissed, pieces like the Blancapin Reptition Minutes, highly complex and highly limited, were criminally undervalued. So, they were, at least then, somewhat within my reach. An irresponsible amount of money for me to spend, but not impossible to make happen.
I don’t have an elaborate explanation here, but for whatever reason, it must not have felt like the right time or place in my mind for me at the time to reach for one. Now knowing that the Repetition Minutes is going for multiples more than what it once was, though still a great deal for a minute repeater made by a respected watchmaker, and one I have since learned has a case made by the legendary Jean-Pierre Hagmann that only further adds to the allure, it is one of the horological hauntings of my collecting journey for sure.
Though complications were at the forefront, time-only models were also produced, and it is looking at this clean hours and minutes model above that I suspect a light bulb, if it hadn’t already, has gone off in your mind. The Villeret we have today is the direct descendant and throughline to these early models that brought Blancpain back from the dead. Therefore, it is ignorant to think the Villeret line is just some afterthought – a brand just ticking off its dress watch box. This is the collection that was instrumental in not only reviving Blancpain but also the interest in complicated watchmaking.
The cases
Okay, if you’re still reading this, thanks for enduring my previously on Blancpain recap of sorts. I felt the contextual detour was important. The new Villeret Ultraplate models debuting today notably bring a 38mm case into the fold, coming down from 40mm and presenting a size that in today’s marketplace is likely what a 34mm case was to the market back in the ’80s and early ’90s: a Goldilocks, or just slightly below Goldilocks size. With more and more watch buyers embracing smaller cases again, though there is still ample demand for larger watches, I think having a 38mm size is a wise move – particularly in the dress watch category.
At 8.35mm thick and 43.35mm lug-to-lug, the fully polished cases, whether in steel or 18k red gold, wear with a classic sense of elegance and refinement. Thanks to the short lugs of the case, or, more accurately, the fact that the lugs feel shorter due to starting from underneath the bezel, the watch in some respects feels or wears more like a 36mm or 37mm watch. But the thinner bezel and larger dial counters this a little, making the watch have a larger presence. So, an interesting offsetting design scheme that ensures the watch does not overwhelm the wrist nor feel too tiny for the macho men out there. Look, I cannot speak for you, the reader, but for me, these dimensions are very much my ideal set when it comes to a dress watch.
The dials
Expanding upon the ‘Golden Hour’ Villeret watches that debuted back in October, Blancpain is kickstarting the 38mm range with two dial variants. The first is a sunburst salmon dial that is definitely better late than never. Salmon dials were once what Tiffany blue dials are today, and though we are not in a market where salmon dials are at their peak, they are still very much in demand. The usage of salmon as a dial tone is notably a first for the Villeret line, and now that it is here, I cannot help but think what took so long – it looks fantastic on a Villeret.
The second is more in line with the roots of the Villeret collection, a gold-toned opaline dial that is more understated and less reflective than the sunburst salmon dial. Both dials have a perfectly colour-matched date complication that blends seamlessly into the broader dial, case-colour-matched 18k gold hands and applied Roman hour indices, and hours and minutes hands filled with Super-LumiNova – a modern compromise.
To be clear, the salmon dial is only available in a steel case, at least for now. However, the gold-toned opaline dial, though we only have the 18k red gold variant in hand, is also available in steel with colour-matched hands and indices and a boutique exclusive model that has case-contrasting 18k yellow gold hands and indices.
The straps
Each reference within the new Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm collection is paired with a nubuck leather strap, with the salmon dial variant in steel paired with an anthracite strap, the steel gold-toned opaline dial variant with a beige leather strap, the steel boutique exclusive with a olive green leather strap, and the 18k red gold, gold-toned opaline dial variant paired with a honey (brown) leather strap. The straps are embossed with a crocodile-like pattern, and all utilise a case-matching folding clasp that, like the strap itself, leverages a tool-free interchangeable system should you wish to explore and swap for other straps for your watch and be able to affix the factory clasp to it with ease.
The movement
Exhibited inside the watch is the in-house Blancpain calibre 1150. The slim automatic movement, just 3.25mm thick, may seem dainty and pretty with its well-performed variety of finishes to its bridges and openworked rotor. But, in a Manufacture Blancpain twist and flex, the 3Hz movement boasts 100 hours of power reserve and a silicon hairspring to better resist magnetism. It is the same movement Blancpain uses in its Fifty Fathoms Automatique 38mm line. That aside, how many dress watches, especially slim 38mm dress watches, can you think of that have this level of endurance? On a full wind off the wrist, after four days, you still have 8 hours to spare to pick your watch up and give it a wind, or wear it and start the self-winding process.
The verdict
Like I said before, these days the Fifty Fathoms is, and will likely continue to be, the main attraction of Blancpain’s catalogue. The Villeret line, and this new Villeret Ultraplate 38mm range, however, is the in-the-know option that delivers excellent proportions, a refined, elegant aesthetic for those who want a dress watch that hides in plain sight, and a strong movement that looks nice, performs well, and has an endurance that far surpasses the majority of its competitors. At US$12,700 in stainless steel and US$26,100 in 18k red gold, the Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm, particularly in steel, is well priced – a phrase I am starting to say less and less, and brands have been trending upwards in retail pricing.
Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm pricing and availability
The Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm collection is now available for purchase. Price: US$12,700 (stainless steel), US$26,100 (18k red gold)
| Brand | Blancpain |
| Model | Villeret Ultraplate |
| Case Dimensions | 38mm (D) x 8.35mm (T) x 43.35mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel 18k red gold |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Salmon, sunburst-finished Gold-toned opaline |
| Strap | Interchangeable nubuck leather strap, case-matching interchangeable folding clasp |
| Movement | Calibre 1150, in-house, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 100 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | US$12,700 (stainless steel) US$26,100 (18k red gold) |