Welcome to Issue 15

In many ways this is the most difficult introduction which I have had to write in the nine year history of Lettres du Brassus. And it has been no easier a task for our editorial team in the preparation of the issue. The reason: we have too much to say! Normally each issue of Lettres spotlights one new watch as the lead story for the magazine. For this issue, there were three watches vying for that honor and, under normal circumstances, each one of those three would surely have been selected as the lead: the new Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback that debuts an entirely new high frequency chronograph movement; the new Villeret Tourbillon 12 Jours that introduces the longest power reserve for an automatic tourbillon movement in the industry; and the Villeret Quantième Perpétuel with its eight day power reserve secured calendar mechanism. Our solution, of course, was to write about all three and leave it to the reader to decide which one, or perhaps all three, “leads the issue”.

But there is more that deserves to be the headline for Issue 15. During the months running up to this issue, we publicly announced our Blancpain Ocean Commitment, which is our way of expressing our many years’ dedication to the preservation and protection of the world’s oceans. In this issue we describe several diff erent ways in which this commitment has manifest itself: our support for ocean focused environmentalists, a new limited edition Ocean Commitment timepiece, a new website, a collectible book and more.

We honor Chinese culture in two articles in our Art de Vivre sections. I hope you enjoy our portrayal of two unique and exotic restaurant destinations in Beijing and the story of the dazzling and remarkable embroidery art which is fl ourishing in Suzhou, located near Shanghai.

Enjoy Issue 15!

Marc A. Hayek
President and CEO Blancpain