13 October

The day in brief

In Lisbon, Blancpain presented the two pieces marking 70 years of the Ladybird and the Bathyscaphe, at a gathering at Bica do Sapato with a menu by chef Rui Paula.

Among the launches, TAG Heuer marks ten years of partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing with a blue-dialled Formula 1 Solargraph. Toledano & Chan engraves the titanium of the b/1 with a pattern inspired by First World War naval camouflage, Pequignet gives the Attitude an onyx dial and Vulcain dresses the Skindiver Nautique GMT in pink, turquoise and green.

In the industry, LVMH released its third-quarter sales: the Watches & Jewelry division grew 6% organically, in a group that advanced just 1%.

Blancpain celebrates 70 years of the Ladybird and the Bathyscaphe in Lisbon

Blancpain presented in Lisbon the two new pieces marking 70 years of the Ladybird and Bathyscaphe collections, both born in 1956. The gathering took place at Bica do Sapato, according to the press release issued by the brand yesterday, with a menu created by chef Rui Paula, who in 2022 became the first Portuguese chef to join the house's circle of "culinary friends".

The Ladybird Lady B, which the Radar reported on 18 September, revisits the idea behind the 1956 Ladybird Bullet: fitting a complete mechanical movement into a tiny watch. The original Ladybird is linked to Betty Fiechter, the first woman to own and run a Swiss watch company, and at the time it housed the smallest round mechanical movement ever produced in series.

The current version uses the in-house automatic calibre 615, one of the smallest round automatic movements in production. The spherical case measures 19 mm in diameter and has a volume of 2.9 cm³. The double-wrap calfskin strap, available in seven colours, passes through an opening in the back of the case and is easy to change. It comes in steel and in 18-carat red gold, both with a beige opaline dial.

In a movement this size, the problem is not just space. A smaller balance has less inertia and is more sensitive to shocks and changes of position, and a lighter rotor winds the mainspring less efficiently. Mechanical miniaturisation therefore remains a compromise between size, autonomy and regularity.

The second watch is a limited edition of the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe (reference 5903 1110 63A), unveiled internationally in August and inspired by a 1960s model. The Bathyscaphe appeared in 1956 as the civilian, more compact version of the Fifty Fathoms, at a time when recreational diving was becoming popular.

The steel case keeps the 37.4 mm of the reference model and is water-resistant to 300 metres. The meteorite-grey sunburst dial, baton hands and indices and the aged-tone luminescence recall the 1960s watch. Inside is the in-house calibre 1150, with two barrels, running at 21,600 vibrations per hour with a 100-hour power reserve, visible through the sapphire caseback. The edition is limited to 300 numbered pieces.

The autonomy comes from the two barrels, which share the energy between two mainsprings and allow more than four days of running without enlarging the diameter of a single barrel. The 3 Hz frequency, lower than the 4 Hz most common today, also helps: the escapement uses less energy per hour.

Find out more on the brand's website.

TAG Heuer marks ten years with Red Bull Racing with a Formula 1 Solargraph

Yesterday TAG Heuer presented the Formula 1 Solargraph x Oracle Red Bull Racing (reference WBY111F.BA0042), marking ten years of partnership with the Formula 1 team. The sandblasted steel case is 38 mm in diameter and 10.2 mm thick, with a bidirectional bezel and water resistance to 100 metres. The blue sunray-brushed dial has a red flange, a yellow central seconds hand and a date at 3 o'clock.

The movement is the TH50-00, a solar-charged quartz calibre. Light passes through the translucent dial to reach the photovoltaic cells beneath it; fully charged, the watch runs for up to ten months in the dark, and ten seconds of light are enough to restart it. The brand quotes a battery life of up to 15 years.

The Solargraph keeps the Formula 1 as the brand's entry point: it costs £1,900 in the United Kingdom, on a steel bracelet with a double-safety folding clasp. Early online access opens on 20 October, ahead of the Austin Grand Prix.

Find out more on the brand's website.

Toledano & Chan engraves naval camouflage on the titanium b/1

Toledano & Chan, the brand of Phil Toledano and Alfred Chan, presented two versions of the b/1 with a pattern inspired by dazzle camouflage, painted on First World War ships to confuse submarines. Instead of hiding the ship, the high-contrast stripes made it harder to read its heading and speed.

The pattern is CNC-engraved on the case, the integrated bracelet and the dial, all in grade 5 titanium, alternating brushed surfaces and diamond-dust frosted ones that reflect light differently. The sapphire crystal is asymmetric and the watch is water-resistant to 50 metres.

Inside is the Sellita SW100, a small-diameter automatic calibre with a 42-hour power reserve, showing hours and minutes only. The b/1 "Dazzle" is limited to 188 pieces at US$7,700; the "Double Dazzle", with a dial set with around 350 natural diamonds, is limited to 12 pieces at US$9,700. Sales begin on 24 October.

Speaking to Time+Tide, Phil Toledano explained that one detail pleases him above all: the pattern was originally conceived precisely to distract and confuse.

Find out more on the brand's website.

Pequignet puts onyx in the Attitude and Vulcain gives the Skindiver GMT three colours

Pequignet, the manufacture based in Morteau, has added the Attitude Onyx (reference 9060448) to its permanent collection. The polished steel case is 39 mm in diameter and 9.2 mm thick, with a domed sapphire crystal and a sapphire caseback. The dial is a slice of black onyx, with 5N rose-gold-plated hands and indices.

The movement is the Calibre Initial, an in-house automatic measuring 28.2 mm in diameter and 4.2 mm in height, running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a 65-hour power reserve. Stone dials require very thin slices to be cut and drilled for the hand arbor, a delicate operation in a brittle material. The price is €3,500.

Find out more on the brand's website.

Vulcain has added three colours to the Skindiver Nautique GMT: pink and turquoise, limited to 100 pieces each, and green, limited to 50. The steel case is 38.3 mm in diameter and 12.2 mm thick, with a bidirectional black ceramic 24-hour bezel and water resistance to 200 metres.

The movement is the Soprod C125 GMT, an automatic running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a 42-hour power reserve. The 24-hour hand is set independently, in an "office" GMT: it tracks a second time zone, but unlike a traveller's GMT, changing the local time means moving the main hands. Each version costs €2,130.

Find out more on the brand's website.

What deserves attention

LVMH's figures confirm that watches and jewellery are holding up better than fashion: the division grew 6% organically in the third quarter and 8% over nine months, to €7,725 million, while Fashion & Leather Goods fell 5% in the quarter. The group does not disclose results by brand, so it is impossible to measure how much TAG Heuer, Hublot or Zenith contributed.

Among the day's launches, dial colour and material are once again the most common way to renew an existing model: onyx at Pequignet, three shades at Vulcain, an engraved pattern at Toledano & Chan. Blancpain goes the other way, reviving two 1956 lines with current in-house movements.

Attention now turns to New York, which hosts WatchTime New York and the Windup Watch Fair from 16 to 18 October. On 9 November, Christie's brings the Watches for ELA auction to Geneva, with some twenty brands; Maurice Lacroix takes part for the first time with a unique 1975 Master Grand Date Retrograde with pink accents.