Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XVI

8 3 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I T he Villeret collection is named after the beautiful Swiss village that the prestigious manufacture calls home. Blancpain’s most classic collection, the Villeret line honours the historical principle of affording absolute priority to authenticity and respect for tradition. In keeping with that goal, the collection now welcomes a new self-winding three-hand watch featuring a remarkably understated grand feu enamel dial. With performance and mechanics to match its understated and stylish looks, the overall package is something extremely special. With this collection, Blancpain use the sum total of their extensive industry knowledge and expertise alongside their ability to adapt and develop their superior skills into a contemporary and innovative marketplace. The Villeret range offers no compromise between quality, luxury and useability, all with the benefit of the invaluable and remarkably well established thoroughbred watchmaking pedigree that comes assured with the Blancpain name. Reflecting the deep attachment that Blancpain has to historical watchmaking, the watchmakers have elected to use grand feu enamel. This magnificently stable material maintains its radiance indefinitely and is therefore particularly suited to adorning a high- end watch with such classic aesthetic appeal. Several successive layers of enamel are fired at extremely high temperatures to craft this exquisite material. After each operation, the dial is carefully examined and manually embellished to achieve perfection. And since the procedure for this watch is rendered evenmore complex by the cambered shape of the dial, its finishing calls for the distinctive expertise that Blancpain is fully equipped to offer. The exquisitely finished grand feu enamel dial reflects beautifully as the light plays across its surface to reveal the tone-on-tone ‘JB’ logo engraved between selected numerals. This is a nod to the historic tradition of incorporating a secret signature that traditionally allowed enamellists to initial their work. Details like this further reinforce the balance of innovation and historical tradition that Blancpain fuse together perfectly in their timepieces. Wearing a Villeret allows the privileged owner to be part of both watchmaking history and contemporary technological cutting edge design. Effortlessly radiating a powerful aura of thoroughbred luxury and elegance, this evocative piece is immersed in the aesthetic beauty that comes as standard with the Villeret collection. Red gold is abundant in the round, double-stepped case and subtly hollowed leaf-shaped hands. The dial itself is gently adorned with a date display found at 3 o’clock, as well as a central seconds hand. The sapphire crystal caseback provides an opportunity to admire the delicate interplay of the decorative effects, featuring Côtes de Genève on the movement bridges and a honeycomb pattern on the oscillating weight, enabling an insight into the spellbinding inner mechanisms themselves. This impressive mechanical self-winding model is driven by in- house Calibre 1335, the beauty of which is matched by a remarkable eight-day power reserve, demonstrating the expertise of the renowned manufacture and which will doubtless be appreciated as a highly useful empirical aspect by passionate and enlightened horological connoisseurs. Fitted with a chocolate-toned alligator leather strap, this new 42 mm-diameter watch is a powerful new addition to the iconic Villeret collection that reflects a historical quality of design and manufacture that is hard to equal. The classic shape and tasteful lines are matched by the underplayed palette that allows the quality and technological superiority to speak for itself. Style and substance are woven together with astonishing mechanical competence and unrivalled aesthetic form to create a timepiece that will be universally appreciated by the most discerning watch connoisseurs. The Villeret collection is a triumph of design and tradition and will be revered as a pinnacle of the high-end luxury watch market and a classic, timeless design.

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