Blancpain

Early history

Jehan-Jacques Blancpain started making watches in 1735 in Villeret, Switzerland. He founded the Blancpain brand, setting up his first workshop on the upper floor of his house at Villeret, in the present-day Bernese Jura. This part of the history is disputed. According to Perezcope, there is no evidence that Jehan-Jacques Blancpain and the following two generations were watchmakers. In 1815, Frédéric-Louis Blancpain, the grandson of Jehan-Jacques, who was head of the family business at the time, modernized the workshops in Villeret. By replacing the crown-wheel mechanism with a cylinder escapement, Frédéric-Louis introduced a major innovation into the watchmaking world.

In 1865, as industrialisation took hold, the prices of watchmaking products were falling and many workshops were fated to close down. To counter American competition, Blancpain built a two-storey hydroelectric plant by the River Suze, and made use of water power to supply the electricity needed for its production processes. By modernizing its methods and concentrating on top-of-the-line products, Blancpain became one of the few watchmaking firms to survive in Villeret.

Re-organization

In 1926, the Manufacture entered into a partnership with John Harwood and started marketing the first automatic wristwatch. The year 1932 saw the end of the family's management of the firm, which had lasted for over two centuries. On the death of Frédéric-Emile Blancpain, his only daughter, Berthe-Nellie, did not wish to go into watchmaking. The following year, the two members of the staff who had been closest to Frédéric-Emile, Betty Fiechter and André Léal, bought the business. As there was no longer any member of the Blancpain family in control of the firm, the two associates were obliged by law as it stood at the time to change the company name. The firm would be called Rayville S.A., succ. de Blancpain, "Rayville" being a phonetic anagram of Villeret. Despite this change of name, the identity of the Manufacture was perpetuated, and the characteristics of the brand were preserved.

Betty Fiechter remained director of Blancpain until 1950, when her nephew, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, joined her. At the end of the 1950s, Rayville-Blancpain was producing more than 100,000 watches per year. To make it possible to meet the continually growing demand, the firm became part of the SSIH, joining such brands as Omega SA, Tissot and Lemania. In 1971, the company's annual production reached the historical peak of 220,000 watches. During the quartz crisis of the 1970s, SSIH was forced to reduce its output by half and to sell off part of its assets. In 1975 SSIH transitioned Blancpain from watch brand to movement manufacturer for Omega and quartz pocket watch maker for Moeris. By 1980 the brand had been dissolved and totally absorbed by Omega, even the factory, was repurposed to serve Omega's jewelry department. In 1982, Omega withdrew from Villeret, Switzerland, abandoning the former Rayville factory completely.

Recent development

In 1983 the current iteration of Blancpain was born when SSIH sold the Rayville-Blancpain name to Jacques Piguet, son of Frédéric Piguet and director of the company of that name, and Jean-Claude Biver, at that time employed by the SSIH. The company set up production at Le Brassus, in the Joux Valley, and from then on traded under the name of Blancpain SA.

In 1992, the SSIH purchased Blancpain back for 60 million Swiss Francs. At that time, Blancpain had annual sales of 50 million Swiss Francs. Biver remained as CEO of Blancpain until 2002. Marc Hayek, the grandson of Swatch Group's founder and chairman Nicolas Hayek (1928–2010), has run Blancpain since 2002.

Later, SSIH became known as Swatch Group, and in July 2010, Frédéric Piguet SA, also owned by Swatch Group, was merged into the firm Blancpain SA. Currently, Blancpain is an active member of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH.

Watch manufacturing

According to their commercial slogans, the company has never produced quartz watches in the past and has stated in its advertisements that it never will, nor have they ever produced watches with digital displays. In comparison to a large watchmaker like Rolex, which makes about 2,000 watches a day, Blancpain produces fewer than thirty watches per day. Each watch is made by a single watchmaker.

Important inventions and patents

In 1983, created the world's smallest moon-phases display.

In 1987, created the world's thinnest self-winding chronograph and the smallest minute-repeater movement at the time.

In 1988, created the world's thinnest split-second chronograph at the time.