Blancpain made a splash (you should pardon the expression) back in May with new/old variations on its iconic Fifty Fathoms divers’ watch as well as the re-release of a nearly-forgotten aviation watch from its archives, the Air Command. Lest we forget, however, the centuries-old Swiss maison is no slouch in the simple, understated dress-watch department either, as evidenced by the latest addition to its elegant Villeret collection, the Villeret Utraplate, a platinum-cased, blue-clad time-only model limited to 88 pieces and offered exclusively in Blancpain boutiques.
The Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate is limited to 88 pieces.
The watch displays all the aesthetic emblems of the Villeret series, established by Blancpain as far back as the 1980s, back when most other heritage Swiss watch brands were either hibernating or struggling through the Quartz Crisis. Among these identifiers are the thin, softly rounded, double-stepped bezel of the 40-mm diameter platinum case; the applied Roman numeral appliques at each hour marker of the sunray blue dial; the hollowed out leaf-shaped hands; and the overall thinness of the case profile (just 7.4 mm thick). The applied Roman numerals and leaf hands are typical of Villeret series models.
On the reverse side of the case is a clear sapphire caseback showcasing the in-house movement, Blancpain?s self-winding Caliber 11A4B, based on the manufacture’s well-known Caliber 1150. Its notable features include two series-coupled barrels, w...