Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate Boutique Exclusive, Platinum Case & Blue Dial
Blancpain's essential time-only, ultra-thin watch in a noble platinum case.
Time and time only… When Blancpain introduced the new Villeret Ultraplate 6605 at Time To Move, we called it “the most understated of all Blancpain watches“, in a very positive way. Essential, elegant, restrained and at the same greatly executed, this watch was a pleasant surprise. Well, after the steel and red gold models, it is now back in an exclusive platinum version, with a blue dial – a classical colour scheme for the brand. Meet the Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate Boutique Exclusive.
No seconds hand, no date, no additional complication (at least, dial-side). Just a pure dial adorned with applied Roman numerals and two hands, one for the hours, one for the minutes. And, that’s all. Some will say that it’s rather simple, way too restrained… But all the beauty of the Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate lies in this great simplicity, a focus on the essential resulting in a very elegant watch.
Renewed this year, the new Villeret Ultraplate 6605 has some winning arguments when it comes to a time-only ultra-thin dress watch. Its case is nicely shaped, with the signature double-stepped bezel and its short curved lugs. It measures 40mm in diameter – we could live with a few millimetres less, though – and is only 7.39mm in height. And despite this thinness, it remains powerful, both visually and mechanically.
Under its pure, minimalistic dial, the Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate hides a great hand-wound movement, based on the well-known calibre 1150 (launched by Piguet), but without the self-winding mechanism. The in-house Calibre 11A4B is only 2.80mm in height but features two barrels for 100 hours of power reserve (around 4 days) and an anti-magnetic silicon hairspring. In order to keep the dial as pure as possible, the brand has placed the power reserve indicator on top of the movement. The movement’s decoration includes Geneva stripes, bevelling and perlage.
New in the collection is this Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate Boutique Exclusive, now with a 950 platinum case, fully polished, combined with a deep sunray brushed blue dial with white gold applied Roman numerals and hands – a colour scheme found on other boutique exclusive models. The result is a cold but contrasted watch with a more modern elegance. It is worn on a blue alligator strap with a platinum pin buckle.
The Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate Boutique Exclusive (reference 6605-3440-55A) will be limited to 88 pieces, available exclusively at Blancpain boutiques worldwide. It will be priced at CHF 27,000 or EUR 26,950. More details at www.blancpain.com.
6 responses
Nice.
It is nice, but it is an awful lot of money. I wonder what the world-price of that weight of platinum actually is. Assume the watch itself is no more than 100g. About half of that for the case? And platinum bullion is no more than $50/g. So <10% of the price is for the platinum. It really doesn't make sense.
It’s all about what the market will bear I suppose, but you’re right. There’s little connection between cost of materials and retail price.
A few months ago I handled the steel version of this or similar model. A friend brought it to me to change the strap. This is one of those pieces that I naturally gravitate towards, despite the fact that I do not wear suits, nor am I particularly elegant myself. I was extremely disappointed by it. It seemed…..insubstantial and plain rather than minimalist and classy. I certainly would not have paid the asking price. I think the more I look and experience, the less I find that perfect combination of design and manufacturing. This might very well be why it is common to find oneself in a JLC boutique thinking, “Eight grand? That’s not bad”
It is madness!
“I think the more I look and experience, the less I find that perfect combination of design and manufacturing.”
I find that too, but as an impulsive type I’ll get something that comes as close as possible. My tastes in design have changed over the years, though.
Btw, a suit is not required for a dress watch – sacrilege I know. A crisp shirt (white or light blue if it’s a gold watch) and a pair of biege trousers is all you need. No sandals or hat though, or you’ll get ‘the man from Del Monte’ jibes.
I wear a Citizen ‘Eichi II” ultrathin with my biker’s jacket. So as not to stretch the leather.
Last time I wore a “crisp” shirt was…..about 4.5 years ago, when I had to attend a function. In summer it’s so hot in this part of the world that a high performance golfing polo shirt is the way to go and in winter, a technical wicking T-shirt and jumper. (A slim Asian woman in a polo short and golfing shorts is a good look! )But I don’t let it stop me wearing the watch I want.
You can spot an American in summer at 100 yards because they always seem to be wearing a blue shirt, khakis and sweating profusely. A few months ago my girlfriend noticed my “watch area” had totally different pieces on it.
“My summer collection”, I said. She just laughed. With or at I’m not sure. 😉