Blancpain - Thoughts on modern Blancpain

Thoughts on modern Blancpain

Nov 08, 2021,22:29 PM

Hi all, I’m new to the Blancpain forum, and have to say it’s a very nice forum with lots of useful information.

I am thinking about getting a Fifty Fathoms and have spent the last week going through 3 years’ of posts on the forum to learn as much as I can and have found it to be an invaluable resource.

I have never owned a Blancpain watch before, so have also been reading up on the history and heritage of the company, as that’s an important aspect for me. With that in mind, one thing that’s troubling me a little is that today’s Blancpain is not the same company that created the original Fifty Fathoms. As I understand it Blancpain went out of business in the 70s, with nothing remaining of the company. The Blancpain name was sold and a new company was created in the 1980s, but it had no connection to the previous manufacture, other than in name.

I’d be interested to hear any thoughts on how the modern Blancpain was created and its ties to the original company, and to what extent it can be considered to be a continuation of the brand. I haven’t seen this discussed previously, so maybe it’s not generally seen as being important.

Great post and question.

By: MilDiver : November 9th, 2021-06:16

It’s a re creation of a company’s, by J.CBiver. If you’re looking for the continuation of original , search elsewhere. But if the name itself is enough for you, they make really nice watches. And after all, Lange is not much different and re created in ea...

Thank you for the comments.

By: RussW : November 9th, 2021-09:08

I really like the watches themselves, but had no experience of Blancpain so far. I’m calling into the London boutique next week to have a proper look at them.

I think any brand owned by a big luxury group needs to be considered as inherently different and separate from it's past though that isn't always a bad thing.

By: Fastwong : November 9th, 2021-15:07

For Blancpain, the fact they they do service, restore, and authenticate/document just about any watch ever made whether it's from the original company, the JCB years, or the modern Swatch years, is I think about as good as one can expect these days from a...

Thanks Fastwong, you make a lot of interesting points.

By: RussW : November 9th, 2021-15:35

I can’t say I disagree with anything you’ve said. In terms of the rumoured 40mm fifty fathoms are there any views when we might see this - maybe 2023?

I agree with most of your comments. I still have to check that Blancpain has all the archives and informations about their vintage FF... Not so sure about that.

By: amanico : November 9th, 2021-15:41

Good point, I bet they don't have quite the record keeping of some of the other brands especially with the military distribution

By: Fastwong : November 9th, 2021-19:06

I do like that they have the vintage workshop however for service and restoration. At the brand level it is at least an acknowledgement of the importance of older pieces and addresses maybe some of the concerns around brand continuity even if most will ne...

On that I agree.

By: amanico : November 9th, 2021-21:57