New Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm | Hands On

Today Blancpain unveils a new 38mm variant of its modern Villeroy Ultraplot. These days, such a headline may not command the same instant intrigue as a new 50 Fathoms might, but the Villeroy line, especially at a time when people are finally waking up to the allure of neo-vintage Blancpain, deserves your attention. We're going to get hands on with the new pieces, but first, I want to make a quick-ish Woulda, coulda, shoulda. It's always interesting to look back and think about how you would have built your collection differently. The watches you are fortunate to now have, the ones that got away, but you only realize now that they really, really did get away. Though today perhaps Blancpain is most known as the watchmaker behind the 50 Fathoms, when the brand was brought back by Jacques Piguet and Jean-Claude Biver in 1983, it was classic dressy watches and an anti-courts campaign of sorts that Biver not only resurrected Blancpain, but also a broader interest in mechanical complications. The pair resurrected Blancpain with what is known as the Six Masterpieces, a collection that rolled out over the course of a decade or so that boasted complications like a split seconds chronograph or minute repeater, and they were remarkably slim and compact thanks to Frédéric Piguet calibers in their arsenal. Now, Frédéric Piguet movements were, and still are, highly celebrated movements, so strong that brands like Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet relied on F.P.G. Abauches for many of their bestsellers up until just years ago. And for the record, Frédéric Piguet later became known as Manufacturer Blancpain. So this DNA lives on even today. But look, back to this founding series of watches, Blancpain's minute repeater watch has long been on my radar, and if you knew what such a complex watch was once listed for 10 or even 5 years ago, you would pull your hair out thinking, how did I not know about this? At a time when anything below 38mm or maybe even 40mm was really largely dismissed, pieces like the Blancpain minute repeater, highly complex and highly limited, were criminally undervalued on the secondary market because they were just 34mm watches. So it was, at least then, somewhat within my reach. An irresponsible amount of money for someone like me to spend, but not impossible to make happen. I don't have an elaborate explanation here, but for whatever reason, it must not have felt like the right time or place in my mind for me to reach for one, but now knowing that the repetition minutes is going for multiples more than what it once was, though still a great deal for a minute repeater made by a respected watchmaker, and one I have since learned has a case made by the legendary Jean-Pierre Haugmann that only further adds to the allure, it is one of the horological hauntings of my collecting journey, for sure. Though complications were at the forefront of the six masterpieces, a time-only model was also produced, and it is looking at this original model that I suspect a lightbulb, if it hadn't already, has gone off in your mind. The Villaret that we have today is the direct descendant and throughline to these early models that brought Blancpain back from the dead, so the Villaret line is anything but just some afterthought or a brand just ticking off its dress watch box, it is the line that walked so that the 50 Fathoms could eventually run. Thanks for enduring my previously on Blancpain recap of sorts, I felt the contextual detour was important, but now let's get into the new watches. The new Villaret Ultra Pot models debuting today notably bring a 38mm case into the fold, coming down from 40mm and presenting a size that in today's marketplace is likely what a 34mm case was to the market back in the 80s and early 90s, a Goldilocks or just slightly below Goldilocks size. With more and more watch buyers embracing smaller cases again, though there is still ample demand for larger watches, I think having a 38mm size is a wise move, particularly in the dress watch category. At 8.35mm thick and 43.35mm lug to lug, the fully polished cases, whether in steel or 18k red gold, wear with a classic sense of elegance and refinement. Thanks to the short lugs of the case, or more accurately, the fact that the lugs feel shorter due to starting from underneath the bezel, the watch in some respects feels like it wears more like a 36mm or 37mm watch, but the thinner bezel and larger dial counters this a little, making the watch have a larger presence. So an interesting offsetting design scheme that ensures the watch does not overwhelm the wrist nor feel too tiny for all you macho men out there. Look, I cannot speak for you, the viewer, but for me, these dimensions are very much my ideal set when it comes to a dress watch. Expanding upon the Golden Hour Villeret watches that debuted back in October, Blancpain is kickstarting the 38mm range with two dial variants. The first is a sunburst salmon dial that is definitely better late than never. Salmon dials were once what Tiffany blue dials are today, and though we're not in a market where salmon dials are at their peak, they are still very much in demand or coveted by collectors. The usage of salmon as a dial tone is notably a first for the Villeret line, and now that it's here, I cannot help but think what took so long because I think it looks fantastic The second is more in line with the roots of the Villeret collection, a gold-toned opaline dial that is more understated and less reflective than the sunburst salmon dial. Both dials have a perfectly color-matched date complication that blends seamlessly into the broader dial, case color-matched 18k gold hands and applied Roman hour indices, and hours and minutes hands filled with superluminova, a modern compromise. To be clear, the salmon dial is only available in a steel case, however the gold-toned opaline dial, though we only have the 18k red gold variant in hand, is also available in steel with color-matched hands and indices, and in a boutique-exclusive model that has case-contrasting 18k yellow gold hands and indices. Each reference within the new Blancpain Villeret Ultra Pot 38mm collection is paired with a nubuck leather strap with the salmon dial variant in steel paired with an anthracite strap, the steel gold-toned opaline dial variant with a beige leather strap, the steel boutique-exclusive with an olive green leather strap, and the 18k red gold version with a honey brown leather strap. These straps are embossed with a crocodile-like pattern, and all of them utilize a case-matching folding clasp that, like the strap itself, leverages a tool-free interchangeable system should you wish to explore and swap for other straps for your watch. Exhibited inside the watch is the in-house Blancpain Caliber 1150. The slim automatic movement, just 3.25mm thick, may seem dainty and pretty with its well-performed variety of finishes to its bridges and openwork rotor, but in a manufactured Blancpain twist and flex, the 3Hz movement boasts 100 hours of power reserve and a silicon hairspring to better resist against magnetism. How many dress watches, especially slim 38mm dresses, can you think of that have this level of endurance? And to be clear, this 1150 movement is the same movement that's inside the 38mm Fifty Fathoms Automatique, so this is a robust movement. Like I said before, these days the Fifty Fathoms is, and will likely continue to be, the main attraction of Blancpain's catalog. The Villeroy line and this new Villeroy Ultraplot 38mm range, however, is the in-the-know option that delivers excellent proportions, a refined, elegant aesthetic for those who want a dress watch that hides in plain sight, and a strong movement that looks nice, performs well, and has an endurance that far surpasses the majority of its competitors. At $12,700 in stainless steel and $26,100 in 18k red gold, the Blancpain Villeroy Ultraplot 38mm, particularly in steel, is well-priced in my book. I mean, well-priced is a phrase I'm starting to say less and less as brands are trending with their retail prices upwards, but I really think for, like I said, particularly the steel model at just under $13,000 for a dress watch with true pedigree and heritage, and coming from a brand like Blancpain, that's kind of hard to beat. But let me know what your thoughts are of this new Villeroy Ultraplot collection in the comments below, and which dial would you go for? Would you go for the sunburst salmon, or would you go a little bit more understated with the gold-toned opaline? I gotta be honest, as much as I do like salmon, I think that creamy ivory look of the gold-toned opaline is probably a bit more my jam, but I'm curious to know your thoughts. The Blancpain Villeroy Ultraplot 38mm collection is available now for purchase, priced at $12,700 in stainless steel and $26,100 in 18k red gold. Thanks so much for watching, be sure to subscribe to the Time and Tide channel for all the latest watch news, reviews, and content, and as always, I'll see you on the next one.