Only Watch Auction

Monaco, Sep 20, 2007

LOT 2

Blancpain ?Ultra-Thin? Pièce Unique.

Fantasy defines the mood of this ultra-rare timepiece.Blancpain?s watchmakers have conceived a window flowing like a stream across the centre of the dial and opening onto the going train of the watch. The lucky owner will be unlikely to want to keep his watch tucked away in his pocket out of sight. He will instead doubtless prefer to contemplate the flow of energy from the mainspring barrel through the gear train to balance wheel and escapement, all of which may be admired through the dial of the Blancpain Only Watch. Moreover, the bridges have been skeletonized by hand, reducing their thickness to the minimum and thereby enhancing the view by further exposing the delicate movements of the gears, escapement and balance wheel. The dial itself is a masterpiece of fine handcraftsmanship.Fashioned out of solid gold, the broad surfaces of the dial have been sculpted out to create a basin for a traditional grand feu enamel surface. Layer upon layer of enamel has been spread by hand across the dial, each one individually oven fired. The enamel has been imbued with a warm brown colour applied in multiple layers to endow the dial with a rich patina, in perfect harmony with the yellow gold borders of the dial?s movement windows. The hour indexes, also fashioned out of yellow gold,are set into the enamel surface. The 45 mm yellow gold case is of the half hunter style, featuring a hinged back cover that opens to reveal the reverse side of the calibre 15 ultra-thin manual-winding movement, endowed with a 40-hour power-reserve.