Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel Green Dial

Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel Green Dial Watch Review

The Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel features a glorious spruce green dial inspired by the picturesque Vallée de Joux, a location synonymous with centuries of watchmaking traditions. Angus Davies provides an insight into this handsome timepiece and the rarefied world of Haute Horlogerie.

Watchmaking in the Vallée de Joux

The Vallée de Joux, located in the canton of Vaud, nestles among the Jura mountains and encompasses three enchanting lakes. In winter months, the landscape is coated in a deep layer of white fondant. The temperatures can sometimes be hostile, but the beauty is manifest all year round.

With the advent of spring, the terrain sheds its wintry coat to reveal a verdant vista where cattle graze on rich meadow pastures and tall conifers pierce sapphire-coloured skies. This bewitching environment fuels creativity, culminating in artisans and watchmakers crafting the finest timepieces, also known as Haute Horlogerie. Blancpain, a name synonymous with Haute Horlogerie since 1735, is located in this picture-perfect idyll.

Often a place influences the character of a product. For example, a fine wine is the product of the terroir and the expertise of the wine grower. Likewise, complicated watches are a regional specialty of the Vallée de Joux, drawing on the talents of its gifted craftspeople. Upholding this reputation, Blancpain has just unveiled a watch endowed with a spruce-inspired dial and equipped with a perpetual calendar, widely considered a high complication.

The new Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel is the ultimate calendar watch that’s blessed with a mechanical mind that automatically adjusts the date, taking into account the number of days in each month. Unlike an ‘annual calendar’ which requires manual correction on the 1st March each year, the ‘perpetual calendar’ needs no human tweaking until 2100. Why 2100 you may ask? The Gregorian calendar omits three leap years every 400 years to remain aligned with solar time. This means that a perpetual calendar requires manual correction in 2100, 2200 and 2300 but not in 2400 (a leap year).

As someone with a penchant for high complications and a longstanding admirer of the Maison, I feel compelled to point out the many attributes of this timepiece and explain why I think it would be a worthy addition to any watch collection.

Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel dial

A perpetual calendar imparts much information but, by default, has the potential to appear cluttered. However, no such criticisms can be directed towards the new Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel Green Dial. The dial is effectively divided into four similarly sized segments, conferring a harmonious and legible arrangement.

The subdial positioned below noon serves two roles: month display and leap-year indicator. Located adjacent to the crown, a lone hand points to the prevailing date, while opposite, at 9 o’clock, a further subdial proclaims the day. Each of these subdials imparts information with gold hands and is adorned with snailed detail. Closer examination reveals each hand sports a contrasting mirror-polished silver-hued centre, a becoming feature that perfectly demonstrates the Manufacture’s obsessive attention to detail.

A moon phase display resides in the southern hemisphere of the dial. It displays the complete lunation, namely the period from one new moon to the next (approximately 29½ days). Blancpain’s poetic depiction of the moon with a human-like face, framed with stylised stars, is an elegant and seemly portrayal of the celestial body.

Consistent with other members of the Blancpain Villeret collection, the Villeret Quantième Perpétuel employs a combination of feuille-style hands and Roman numerals to indicate the hours and minutes. In this instance, the hands are partially openworked granting an additional dose of style without impairing readability.

The lush appearance of the dial is embellished with a sunburst finish, evoking thoughts of the dawn breaking over the Vallée de Joux.

Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel case

Since 1982, the Blancpain Villeret has been defined by its ‘double-stepped’ case and restrained proportions. Measuring 40.30 mm in diameter, the new Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel Green Dial upholds this tradition. In a watchsphere blighted by conspicuous consumption, the Villeret Quantième Perpétuel proves wonderfully restrained and is a paragon of good taste.

Classically styled, the Villeret Quantième Perpétuel has a thickness of 10.80 mm. While the model does not claim to be ultra-thin, its complexity would preclude this, it remains relatively slim and doesn’t unduly protrude from the wrist. Known for crafting watches of the highest order, Blancpain has endowed the case with an exhibition caseback granting sight of the 5954.4 self-winding movement.

Blancpain under-lug correctors

Correctors gracing the flanks of a case are a feature found on many calendar watches. Resembling dimples, they interrupt the otherwise graceful arc of a smooth caseband. Moreover, they require a suitable stylus to make adjustments to various dial indications. And for those individuals tempted to use the tip of a ballpoint pen or sharp implement, a word of caution: the beauty of many fine watches has been marred due to the clumsy use of an unsuitable tool.

Some years ago, Blancpain conceived a far more elegant and user-friendly means of adjusting the dial indications, namely ‘under-lug correctors’. Four correctors, one located beneath each lug, allow the wearer to adjust the month and leap-year (corrector 1 – located at 1 o’clock), moon phases (corrector 2 – located at 5 o’clock, day (corrector 3 – located at 7 o’clock) and date (corrector 4 – located at 11 o’clock). With the crown pulled out to its second position, the wearer can manipulate the correctors with a simple push of the finger. It’s such an elegant solution that mitigates the risk of scratching the case and obviates the need for using a stylus.

Blancpain 5954 self-winding movement

Beyond the beauty of its dial, the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel is fitted with the Calibre 5954.4. This self-winding movement encompasses an array of refined finishes, including anglage, colimaçon, Côtes de Genève, mirror-polished screws, perlage, snailing on the barrels and an intricate honeycomb motif gracing the red gold oscillating mass. Even the jewels and screws reside in polished sinks.

While finishing doffs its hat to watchmaking tradition, removes signs of machining and generally enhances the overall aesthetic beauty of a movement, there are other reasons for spending many hours embellishing components. Firstly, finishing removes burrs which could inhibit the motion of some components. Moreover, polishing parts enhances their corrosion resistance, endowing them with additional durability.

The movement features further refinements worthy of mention. For instance, the balance spring is made of silicon, a material widely associated with the manufacture of semiconductors. In recent years, silicon has become increasingly popular in the watch industry as it confers several benefits, such as it is not liable to corrode, is almost friction-free, it’s light and can be formed into intricate shapes.

In terms of silicon balance springs, there are only a few companies with access to this cutting-edge technology. By using silicon for this particular component, Blancpain is able to achieve high levels of geometric precision. Moreover, the balance spring is insensitive to magnetism, unaffected by temperature changes and less susceptible to shocks. While most watches feature an index-regulated balance, the Calibre 5954.4 is equipped with a superior ‘variable-inertia balance’, a system that can be regulated more precisely.

Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel Green Dial – closing remarks

A leap year, such as 2024, showcases the talents of a watch equipped with a perpetual calendar. However, the benefits conferred with Blancpain ownership surpass one year’s usefulness. Indeed, this is a watch that promises a lifetime of ownership delight.

The dial displays much information without overwhelming the wearer, optimally imparting information in a clear and intelligible format. Eminently handsome, this watch is the product of much thought and is rich in mechanical virtue. For example, the under-lug correctors provide an elegant and convenient means of adjusting the various calendar functions.

This Blancpain timepiece was inspired by the landscape of the Vallée de Joux, a region with a longstanding history of making fine watches and it celebrates the talents of the craftspeople and watchmakers who work within this scenic location. Indeed, should you survey the landscape you may well see the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel Green Dial dwelling on the highest ground, where the air is especially thin and only the most talented souls live; a place called Haute Horlogerie.

Technical specifications

Model: Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel Green Dial
Reference: 6656-3653-55B
Case: 18-carat red gold, diameter 40.3 mm, height 10.80 mm, water resistance 3 ATM (30m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
Functions: hours, minutes, centre seconds, perpetual calendar, moon phases, leap year indication
Movement: Calibre 5954.4, self-winding movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), 32 jewels, power reserve 72 hours, 351 components.
Strap: brown alligator leather strap paired with a folding clasp
Price: £47,100 (RRP as of 5.3.2024)