Pre Baselworld 2015: Introducing the Blancpain Villeret Grand Date – Specs and Price

Just a few days before the SIHH starts, press releases from the other watch fair, Baselworld, are also poring in. This is one that we really want to share with you, because it’s from a beautiful high-end watch brand, who finally decided to offer their grand date in a classical timepiece. Here’s the Blancpain Villeret Grand Date, a classically styled dress watch with a large date. 

While Blancpain already offered the grand date, for instance in the Blancpain Grand Date Aqua Lung that Vladimir Putin has been seen sporting on many occasions, this complication is now for the first time available in the classically styled Villeret collection. Its base is caliber 6950, a thin power-house, that is only 4.75 mm thick and delivers 72 hours of power reserve. The self-winding movement has 35 jewels to keep all pivots rotating with as little friction as possible.

The new Blancpain Villeret Grand Date comes in a 40 mm large 18K red gold case, that is just under 11 mm thick. Maybe not as flat as we hoped for, but still quite wearable, even under tight cuffs. The grand date is displayed in  two side-by-side windows for a display affording optimal readability, and at midnight the date changes instantly. Caliber 6950, which can be seen though a sapphire pane in the case back, features a free sprung balance with a silicium spiral. The balance is regulated by gold regulation screws.

• Case: 18K red gold, 40mm in diameter, 10.88mm thick, sapphire crystal on both sides, inter-horn space (or how wide the strap is) is 22mm
• Movement: caliber 6950, self-winding, 2 main spring barrels, free sprung balance with gold regulation screws, silicium hair spring, 72 hours of power reserve, 285 components, 35 jewels
• Strap: chocolate brown alligator strap and 18K red gold tang buckle

Blancpain has not communicated the prices yet, but we’ll when they do. For reference, the Blancpain Léman Aqua Lung in 18K red gold (that sports the same movement with Grand date) had a price tag of around €14k Euro. For the time being Blancpain states the price is upon request…