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An understated Minute Repeater
Among the Six Masterpieces which marked Blancpain's rebirth in the 1980s was the 34 mm diameter Minute Repeater, ref. 0033, introduced circa 1988.
Here's a printed ad from 1989.
The example displayed here features a platinum case and a platinum bracelet made by Gay Frères.
Manual winding calibre 33
Off white dial
But you may prefer this watch on a black leather strap.
And here's the example no. 00, belonging to Jean-Claude Biver.
This reference was also made in yellow gold. The center part of the dial is white, whereas the outer hours ring and subdial seconds ring have an eggshell color.
In the example below, it is the center part of the dial, and not the hours and seconds rings, which has an eggshell color.
credit: @woohoo_time (1-6), Hodinkee (7 & 9-10), Watch Brothers London (8), @best_vintage_watch (11-12) & @theydid (13-20)
The watch came in an imposing wood box.
credit: Ineichen auctioneers
Later, it was given an automatic movement, calibre 35 and became ref. 0035-1418.
credit: Christie’s (1-4) & Swiss Hours (5-14)
I personally find the automatic version less attractive, but I love the minimalist, understated, ref. 0033.
What about you?
Best, Emmanuel
An understated Minute Repeater
Among the Six Masterpieces which marked Blancpain 's rebirth in the 1980s was the 34 mm diameter Minute Repeater , ref. 0033 , introduced circa 1988 . Here's a printed ad from 1989 . The example displayed here features a platinum case and a platinum brace...
Yes, but again, it's Blancpain, not Lang & Heyne!
Industrial watchmaking can't be compared to artisanal watchmaking imho: I find the comparison pointless.
this?
Well looking at the screws, anglage, wheels .... it's not something I would call haute horlogerie Seems not that well finished ...
But it's Blancpain, not Lang & Heyne!
For me, we should only compare what is comparable. In any case, as far as I'm concerned, I like the architecture of the movement and, if I want haute horlogerie and hand finishing, I obviously don't turn to Blancpain.
LOL
But Blancpain can do much better! This seems to be the level of finishing they already offer in a modern 50 fathoms For such a grande complication I want it to be better, much better. Today they do offer great finishing in their grande complication watche...
As I said below, you've convinced me, Bruno.
And I'm sad you did, because I really would love to love this ref. 0033. An understated elegant minute repeater like this is such a rare thing...
but todays price might make it a bargain ;-)
so nothing wrong with that A bit like a Parmigiani Ionica ... VERY expensive early 2000 but today its a bargain and this is a very good reason to look at some Neo Vintage watches nowadays
I didn't know the Ionica was priced very high a quarter of a century ago.
At least the PF 110 is quite nice in terms of finishing.
A similar comparison
That’s close to 2.5 times the price of a patek Calatrava and 8 times the price of a Rolex sub Let’s extrapolate that to today—then the Ionica would be around 80k. ...
Those are some really nice looking Blancpain watches.
Personally I do not care for the complication found in these watches but really do think they are good looking watches as to the questions over the standard of finishing on the movement a lot would depend on the price of the watch. As for me the higher th...
I couldn't agree more with you.
A higher price implies higher expectations. But I'm completely unaware of what was the asking price for these pieces more than 30 years ago. Best, Emmanuel
That’s why I complained about the finishing 😀
Blancpain was always very expensive so also back then the level of finishing was imo not good enough for the price they asked And to be sure I went through my old books and catalogs to check the price From a 1998 book 140.000 is ridiculous Some other watc...
You've convinced me, Bruno!
I was totally unaware of the price asked back then and it is indeed ridiculous for this level of finishing. You are completely right.
I think so too.
But amanico says it doesn't sound good. And Bruno finds it poorly finished. Best, Emmanuel
Thanks for showcasing these 👏🏻🙌🏻👌🏻
They are truly superb - so lovely being this understated 😊👍🏻
Yes, I like this 0033 reference quite a bit.
Alas, amanico says it sounds poorly. And Bruno finds it poorly finished (but I personally find the finishing ok for a watch from an 'industrial' brand). Best, Emmanuel
The expectations to finishing in the 1980s were different…
So with that in mind I would say it was par for the course. But of course it is not something to get one excited in 2026 - the goalposts have simply moved 🤷🏻♂️
Yes, I guess you're right to put things into perspective.
That said, the catalog pages shown by Bruno above reveal the insane $140,000 asked for the watch more than 30 years ago...
Well, JCB was nothing if not ambitious…
And the competition would have been much less back in the day 😊🤷🏻♂️
The mechanism was introduced in the late 80s. The decoration of the ultra-thin Blancpain 033 caliber is not amazing, but did anyone do much better in that era?
Ultra-thin minute repeater mechanism, J.-P. Hagmann case, Gay Freres bracelet... Aren't these characteristics of watches being promoted by popular resources now?
Bruno's argument is that for the exorbitant price they were asking at the time, the finish wasn't up to par,
and I must say he convinced me. That said, the 0033 reference is still full of great qualities, as you rightly point out. Best, Emmanuel
I love these references, definitely high on list. At this price tag (and I mean current prices) it is impossible to find a nice minute repeater (except pocket watches and the Portugieser that does not sound fantastic neither - regulator very loud).
As such, I would be more than happy to add one to my collection, as it looks like your average BP Ultrathin, with one of the most appealing complications, to me it ticks all the boxes, and I would accept a relatively poor sound and average finishes !
I feel very much like you.
But I would need to see one of these in the metal because how a MR sounds is important and I wouldn't like one with a very muted, uninteresting sound. Best, Emmanuel
I just pretend the chimes aren’t working when I wear this
I bought it back when (and kept the other $135,000 in the bank). If I had paid full price, I would expect the movement to have been installed right side up OR the case to have been engraved properly! ...