Simply Abu Dhabi XXII

2 1 7 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I T he world’s oldest watchmaking brand had another successful Baselworld fair this year, thanks to the usual unveiling of impeccable novelties across various collections. Looking down the centuries, Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, who founded this illustrious watchmaking company in 1735, making his watches in attic rooms above his house, would surely be filled with pride by the ongoing cachet of the brand. To this day, Blancpain retains its ineffable air of prestige through its dedication to quality over quantity. The company create fewer than thirty watches per day and each piece is constructed by a single watchmaker, all under the solid leadership of Chairman and CEO Marc A. Hayek. In Hayek’s own words, “Perpetuating the watchmaking tradition implies thorough knowledge of our origins and strengthening our roots, as well as innovation. Because innovation is another watchmaking tradition, as demonstrated by the countless complications invented over the years by men and women driven by creative curiosity.” The new Villeret Quantième Annual GMT Steel is the first time Blancpain have offered this model in stainless steel, and the effect is crisp and clean. Married with a 22mm black alligator strap and a pure white dial, it’s a classic colour combination. A dash of bright colour is added on the reverse of the watch via the shining yellow gold of the decorated rotor that is visible through the sapphire case back. The beauty of the Villeret Quantième Annual GMT Steel is how simply the functions are captured. There is a lot of information displayed on what, on first inspection, seems like a very uncluttered and simple dial. The date indication provides off-kilter balance and the GMT second time-zone display is discreetly effective. The watch is powered by the self-winding 6054F calibre, a movement that the wearer need only adjust for date once per year, between February and March. For the rest of the year, the watch automatically moves from the 30th or the 31st to the first day of the following month. A small 24-hour counter appearing at 8 o’clock on the dial serves as the reference time. The GMT display local time is provided by the central hours hand to which the date is linked. The final ingenious touch here is seen with Blancpain’s exclusive patented under-lug correctors. You don’t actually need to use the pushers very often, so it’s a simple yet savvy stroke of innovation to locate the correctors under the lugs, meaning they can be operated by hand without a correcting tool such as a stylus. Concealing the pushers also allows for a wonderfully sleek case profile. The pusher at 1 o’clock enables simple manual adjustment of the day of the week, while the other at 5 o’clock adjusts the month. Fast GMT and date corrections, along with time-setting, are all executed with the crown. This is a very welcome addition to an already fine collection. Blancpain V i l l e r e t Q u a n t i è m e A n n u e l GMT S t e e l GMT