FSOT: Blancpain Minute Repeater, 1 of 10 produced

[onefastman]

This extremely rare and collectable Blancpain Ladies Minute Repeater, one of just ten produced is to this day the smallest minute repeater ever produced.

Blancpain has always chosen classical over progressive design and this piece is an exemplar of what Blancpain stands for as a brand. During the 'quartz crisis' of the 1980's when Patek Philippe, Rolex, and nearly every other brand compromised and followed the trend of a battery powered watch, Blancpain was one of just a few who has never made a quartz watch. When mechanical Swiss watches had their renaissance in the 1990's, Blancpain was well positioned as an elite brand and deservedly so.

This piece is a testament to Blancpain's commitment to producing elite watches with classical styling, even when it wasn't considered chic to do so. While classical is and has been the current trend for some time now, it wasn't always and classic pieces with high grade complications from those era's are extremely rare and becoming extremely collectible. This one checks all the boxes on what anyone serious about acquiring rare and desirable watches could want:

1. Blancpain from 1987
2. Minute Repeater
3. The SMALLEST Minute Repeater wrist watch ever produced, at 28mm (still to this day)
4. One of just ten ever produced
5. The Calibre 35 Movement (an engineering marvel: 360 components, many thinner than a human hair and all packed into a 4.85mm thick 23.90mm wide movement)
6. Subtle and classical styling


What I love about this watch is the contrast it offers: understated in appearance yet offering a powerhouse of a complication. It is the horological equivalent of the famous maxim "speak softly and carry a big stick"!

Retail of this masterpiece was over $100,000 in 1987!

Please feel to ask any questions!

[onefastman]

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