Welcome to Issue 14

What does it mean to undertake the development of a watchmaking grand complication? For us at Blancpain it is not simply to produce a complicated timepiece but to expand the art of watchmaking in an important way, to open new frontiers, to create something that has never been achieved before. That is a high calling and a heavy commitment. Every time we undertake a project of this kind, I think of it as if we are embarking upon an adventure where the destination and the time of arrival can never be known at the start. So it is a given that not every year will witness the unveiling of such a watch. But this year at Basel, Blancpain debuted two world first grand complications, the Le Brassus Tourbillon Carrousel and the Le Brassus Carrousel Répétition Minutes Chronographe Flyback. Both of these ultracomplicated timepieces showcase Blancpain’s exclusive flying one minute carrousel—a construction which no other watch company has been able to equal. I hope you will enjoy the stories in this issue that illuminate the ambitious creative path which we followed in the development of these two grand complications.

There is a second adventure which we highlight in this issue: that of Laurent Ballesta and his perilous dives to find, study and photograph one of the rarest and oldest creatures on earth, the prehistoric coelacanth. We at Blancpain are proud to have had the privilege of sponsoring this important scientific study.

Enjoy Issue 14!

Marc A. Hayek
President and CEO Blancpain