1990s Blancpain Villeret Perpetual Calendar Chronograph

In 1981, Jean-Claude Biver and Jacques Piguet purchased Blancpain and paved the way for a revival that re-established the brand as a powerhouse in traditional Swiss mechanical watch-making. In response to the Quartz Crisis, Biver and Piguet famously centered their efforts around the slogan: "Since 1735 there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there never will be.” Much of the 11 years of their leadership was spent developing the company’s “six masterpieces”, a collection of classically designed watches that focused on discrete sizes and high complications including an ultra-thin, calendar moonphase, perpetual calendar, minute repeater, split seconds chronograph, and flying tourbillon. The move proved to be a massive success and in 1992 Blancpain was sold to the SMH Group for nearly 3,000 times what the two had originally paid.

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In addition to the six masterpieces unveiled during the 1980s, Blancpain experimented with combined complications including a perpetual calendar minute repeater, a perpetual calendar split seconds, and the perpetual calendar chronograph offered here. The latter was the only one made with two movement options — the hand-wound reference 5580 and the automatic reference 5585. Outside of the power source and a slight difference in case height (~1 mm thinner for the hand-wound option), both watches are identical, featuring a sporty outer seconds track, a leap year indicator, and independent operation of all calendar functions. These “super” masterpieces seem to have been manufactured in lower numbers as examples like this, with its original box and booklets, rarely come up for sale. What’s more, this watch has been fully serviced by Blancpain, ensuring accurate timekeeping and worry-free wear for the next owner.