Blancpain

Well not about me educating you but me asking to be educated by all of you FF veterans...

The FF has caught my eye thanks to the many postings by Nico and of late Cazeala in Wristscan but there seem to be several variants.  What are the differences between the variants and what should one look out for especially if considering a vintage variants ( I kinda much prefer the hands in the older iterations vis-a-vis the current model).?

Also, any tech spec info on PR, manual/automatic etc?  Is the movement in-house, if not, where did they source the movement from?  Patina versions more collectable etc?  What's the deal with Milspec and US Navy?  More collectable as only a small quantity produced etc?  The story behind no radiation?

Thanks in advance.

If you compare with the Rolex production, the Vintage FFs are much, waaaay much rarer, even if we can't say precisely how many were made, per year.

They were produced for a period of circa 25 years.

The pics you nposted are ALL about Vintage FFs, the last beinfg the later, whuich comes from the Seventies ( Circa 1975 ).

The Rotomatic Incabloc is really cool. Considered as being the first one, with the 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 dial, this is a cool sober, and very elegant watch.

Both the R.I and the 3/ 6 / 9 / 12 are the most affordable, but not the less appealiing. To consider, truly.

Then, you have the Milspec... The link between the Milspec and the US NAVY? Simple, these FF were made according to the US Military Sepcifications.

The big circle above 6 o clock is the moisture indicator.

The movements are all automatic, outsourced ( they are AS movements ), rough, true tractors.

More collectable? It all depends on your own interest. I would say that a nice RI or a 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 are highly interesting.

But the most colectable are certainly those with a story behind: The TR 900, The US NAVY, the first military Milspecs, the Pakistani Milpsec, the AM... A story you can also find with the 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 and the RI as some of them had a military background.

The rarest are certainly the AM, the Pakistani, the US NAVY, the TR 900, the Military Milspecs, the Lip Blancpain.

It is impossible to answer all your questions in one post and in 5 or 10 minutes.

What you are asking here is to sum years and years of research and work...

I deeply advice you to read all you can, posts from Marv, Brian, and me, on this topic... It will take you days  and days, but it is highly enjoyable.

All the best, Arthur, and congratulations on your new passion!

Nicolas.

You will have an idea on the price of the No Rad, even if I find the last prices exagerated.

Not that the No Rad is not a desirable watch, especially the Bund, but the Milspec, the TR 900, the AM, the 3 / 6 / 9 / 12, the R.I are, in my opinion, and according to my tastes, over the No Rad.

As for the AM, type AM in our seach engine, you will have some pics and posts. I am preparing a dedicated topic on this watch.

Best,

Nicolas

Better pics of this Xmas Tree...

Best,

Nicolas.