The World's Oldest Watch Brand

Blancpain is the oldest watch brand in existence. Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in the village of Villeret in the Swiss Jura, it predates Vacheron Constantin (1755), Breguet (1775), and Patek Philippe (1839) by decades. For nearly three centuries, Blancpain has maintained a singular philosophy that sets it apart from every other watch brand in the world: Blancpain has never made a quartz watch, and never will.

This is not marketing. It is a constitutional commitment. Even Patek Philippe — universally acknowledged as the finest watchmaker in the world — produced quartz watches during the quartz crisis of the 1970s and 1980s. Blancpain did not. Its motto — “Since 1735, there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there never will be.” — is the most uncompromising statement of mechanical watchmaking philosophy in the industry.

Blancpain is now part of the Swatch Group, alongside Omega, Longines, and Breguet. But its identity as a pure mechanical watchmaker remains intact.

The Six Masterpieces of Blancpain

Blancpain is celebrated for six classic complications — the six most technically demanding achievements in mechanical watchmaking. These are not marketing categories; they are the six disciplines that define the highest level of the watchmaker’s art.

1. Ultra-Slim Watch (ULTRA-SLIM WATCH)

The ultra-slim watch is the most demanding exercise in mechanical restraint. Reducing the thickness of a mechanical movement requires extraordinary precision — every component must be machined to tighter tolerances, every gear must be thinner and lighter, every spring must be calibrated with greater care. Blancpain’s ultra-slim movements are among the thinnest mechanical movements ever produced, achieving a profile that disappears beneath a shirt cuff while maintaining full mechanical complexity.

The ultra-slim watch is the dress watch in its purest form: no complications, no bulk, no compromise. Just the movement, the dial, and time.

2. Moon Phase Date Calendar (MOON-PHASE DATE CALENDAR WATCH)

The moon phase complication displays the current phase of the moon through an aperture in the dial — a rotating disc with two moon representations that advances once every 24 hours. Blancpain’s moon phase mechanism is accurate to one day’s error every 122 years — a level of precision that requires no correction within a human lifetime.

The moon phase is the most poetic complication in watchmaking — a reminder that the watch on your wrist is connected to the rhythms of the natural world. Combined with a date calendar, it creates a dial of extraordinary visual richness.

3. Perpetual Calendar (PERPETUAL CALENDAR)

A perpetual calendar automatically accounts for months of different lengths — 28, 29, 30, and 31 days — without manual correction. It knows that February has 28 days in a standard year and 29 in a leap year. A correctly set perpetual calendar will not require date correction until the year 2100, when the Gregorian calendar’s century exception applies.

The perpetual calendar mechanism requires hundreds of additional components beyond a standard date display. It is one of the most complex complications in watchmaking and one of Blancpain’s signature achievements.

4. Split-Seconds Chronograph (SPLIT-SECONDS CHRONOGRAPH)

A standard chronograph measures elapsed time with a single seconds hand. A split-seconds chronograph — also called a rattrapante — has two superimposed seconds hands that can be started, split, and rejoined independently. This allows the measurement of two simultaneous events — two runners in a race, two laps on a circuit — with a single instrument.

The split-seconds mechanism adds extraordinary complexity to an already complex chronograph. The additional cam, lever, and spring required to control the second hand must be machined to tolerances measured in microns. It is one of the most difficult complications to produce and one of the rarest in the watch market.

5. Tourbillon (TOURBILLON)

The tourbillon was invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801 to counteract the effect of gravity on the accuracy of a pocket watch. A rotating cage — typically completing one revolution per minute — holds the balance wheel and escapement, averaging out the positional errors caused by gravity across all orientations.

In a wristwatch, the tourbillon’s practical benefit is debated — the constant motion of the wrist already averages out positional errors. But as a demonstration of the watchmaker’s art, the tourbillon is without equal. A Blancpain tourbillon cage contains dozens of components, each hand-finished, assembled under magnification by a master watchmaker. It is the ultimate expression of mechanical watchmaking.

6. Minute Repeater (MINUTE REPEATER)

The minute repeater chimes the time on demand — hours, quarter hours, and minutes — using tiny hammers that strike tuned gongs inside the case. Activating the slide on the case side causes the watch to chime: low tones for hours, a double tone for quarter hours, high tones for minutes. A watch showing 3:47 would chime three low tones, three double tones, and two high tones.

The minute repeater is the most acoustically complex watch complication — and the most difficult to produce. The gongs must be tuned to precise pitches, the hammers must strike with consistent force, and the entire mechanism must fit within the watch case without compromising the movement. A Blancpain minute repeater is assembled and tuned by a single watchmaker over several weeks.

The Blancpain 1735: All Six in One

In 1991, Blancpain introduced the 1735 — a grand complication watch combining all six masterpieces in a single timepiece: ultra-slim movement architecture, moon phase, perpetual calendar, split-seconds chronograph, tourbillon, and minute repeater. The 1735 contains 740 components and requires three years to produce. Only 30 examples were made, each priced at approximately 6.36 million Chinese yuan at the time of introduction — making it one of the most expensive watches ever produced.

The 1735 is not a watch for telling time. It is the definitive statement of what mechanical watchmaking can achieve when cost, complexity, and time are no constraint. Only three to five master watchmakers in the world are capable of assembling a watch of comparable complexity.

In 2008, at the Basel World watch fair, Blancpain introduced the “Carrousel de Minute” — reviving the carrousel complication (a 19th-century alternative to the tourbillon) with a one-minute rotation cycle, drawing worldwide admiration from collectors and horologists.

Blancpain’s Design Philosophy

Blancpain’s aesthetic is deliberately conservative. Its cases are almost exclusively round — the classical form that has defined the dress watch for centuries. Its dials are restrained, its bracelets are leather, its proportions are traditional. Critics have called this approach overly conservative; admirers call it timeless.

This conservatism is intentional. Blancpain believes that the movement — not the case — is the watch. The exterior exists to protect and present the movement, not to compete with it. A Blancpain is bought for what is inside, not what is outside.

Why Blancpain Matters in 2026

In a watch market saturated with brands competing on design, celebrity endorsement, and marketing budgets, Blancpain occupies a unique position: it competes only on watchmaking. Its refusal to produce quartz watches — maintained through the darkest years of the quartz crisis, when Swiss mechanical watchmaking nearly ceased to exist — is the most credible statement of mechanical watchmaking commitment in the industry.

For the serious collector, Blancpain represents the purest expression of the watchmaker’s art: no quartz, no fashion, no compromise. Just mechanical watchmaking, pursued with the same dedication since 1735.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Blancpain better than Rolex?

Blancpain and Rolex occupy different positions in the watch market. Rolex is the world’s most recognised and consistently valuable watch brand, producing robust, versatile watches with exceptional value retention. Blancpain is a pure haute horlogerie manufacture, producing watches of greater mechanical complexity and rarity. Most serious collectors consider Blancpain the superior watchmaker; most investors consider Rolex the superior asset.

Has Blancpain ever made a quartz watch?

No. Blancpain has never produced a quartz watch in its 290-year history — not even during the quartz crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, when most Swiss watch brands abandoned mechanical watchmaking. This commitment to mechanical watchmaking is Blancpain’s defining characteristic and the foundation of its identity as a watchmaker.

What is the Blancpain 1735?

The Blancpain 1735 is a grand complication watch combining all six of Blancpain’s classic complications: ultra-slim movement, moon phase, perpetual calendar, split-seconds chronograph, tourbillon, and minute repeater. It contains 740 components, requires three years to produce, and only 30 examples were made. It is one of the most complex and expensive watches ever produced.

What is a tourbillon?

A tourbillon is a rotating cage that holds the balance wheel and escapement of a watch movement, counteracting the effect of gravity on the movement’s accuracy. Invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801, it is the most celebrated complication in watchmaking history and the ultimate demonstration of a watchmaker’s skill.