Conservative but not plain: Blancpain

blancpain-watchesBlancpain is one of those companies that, as many of the finer Swiss watch Companies oft-times do, presents its watches in the most conservative of fashion.

The company has been around in some form or another since its founding in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, and is steeped in a tradition that somehow gives it the ability to make “conservatism” hip. Don’t ask me how; just go to the nearest authorized dealer (you may have to look around as only around 49 of them exist in the USA) and strap one of these “underplayed” little beauties onto your wrist.

It really does not matter which one you try on first. You may be one of the rare Type B personalities who can stop at an entry-level steel manual wind model; but you will probably end up trying on (and ultimately buying) one of the 100-hour models; or that rose gold perpetual calendar day-date beauty; or my favorite, the Villaret one-button (or mono pusher) chronograph.

These anti-hip-hop and anti-Arnold watches suggest that the wearer is one who is very secure in his masculinity and even more sure in his sense of style. “Bigger is better” has been the motto in the watch world for more than ten years. Blancpain, however, just keeps making these rather conservatively styled button-down timepieces with streamlined looks that belie the complications and extraordinary movements within.

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