Blancpain’s Le Brassus VINTAGE Workshop

To get a feel for this unique specialty of vintage restoration, let’s follow Bert’s Fifty and a few other examples as they progress through the workshop.

When Bert’s timepiece arrived in Le Brassus, it underwent what is standard for all arrivals: a multi-dimensional analysis. Case, dial, and – following opening of the case back – movement, were all carefully examined to ensure that the watch was genuine. In the case of a negative finding, the watch would be returned to its owner. In Bert’s case the watch was determined to be authentic. There is one additional step that is part of this initial examination for all Fifty Fathoms watches: a radiation test. Recall that many Fifty Fathoms were commissioned by military organizations which specified that a radioisotope (initially radium; later replaced by Promethium 147) be used on the dial, bezel and hands in order that a diver could read the watch in darkness. Indeed, this was the reason that Blancpain introduced a series of Fifty Fathoms that bore the legend “No Radiations” on the dial to reassure those owners that the watch was not done to military luminosity specifications. In sharp contrast to the military’s radioactive compounds, for these watches tritium was employed which had only nominal radioactive properties. Measuring radiation emissions is important at this early stage as it determines whether or not the dial and hands can be restored. If the test shows that radioactive compounds are present, then the dial and hands must be left as they are without restoration. As Bert’s watch was most assuredly a civilian model purchased from a local dive shop, as expected, the radiation test showed only the presence of tritium, with its trivially low level of radioactivity.

The technical diagnostic analysis yields a report replete with photographs of the case, dial (including hands), case back and movement. What’s triggered next are decisions which bring the watchmaker and the owner into close contact. How far should the restoration go? Is the case scratched (and certainly a diving watch subjected to both military and professional diving use for nearly a half century will exhibit scratching)? To what degree should the scratches be addressed? Blancpain’s philosophy is to recommend minimum intervention. Polishing to remove all scratches would likely go too far and dull or even remove engravings on the case back and, perhaps worse, alter slightly the shape of the case. Virtually all owners of vintage pieces agree with this light-touch approach. The same thinking applies to the dial. Gentle cleaning is usually the order of the day. To the extent that markings may have slightly deteriorated because of age, they are left alone. Repainting would not only rob the watch of the patina of age, but it would destroy its legitimacy as a vintage piece. These issues and the choices are always presented to the owner for decision.

All of these questions were teed up in the examination of Bert’s watch. The case back was found to have deep scratches. It also bore the inscriptions “Blancpain Stainless Steel Swiss” “Super Waterproof-Shock Protected-Automatic-Antimagnetic”, and, of course, the case number. The wise course was to avoid deep polishing, leaving these important engravings essentially untouched. Like many civilian models, Bert’s Fifty Barakuda featured a date window. Examined under a microscope, the printing of the numbers on the date ring showed signs of minor pitting. After verifying that the painting was not producing debris that might create problems for the movement, the decision was made to leave the printing as is, thus preserving the vintage look. 

There was one mechanical aspect of the case that needed attention. This Barakuda Fifty, adhering to the DNA that defined the line since the first 1952 version, featured a rotating bezel for timing of the dive. The bezel ratcheting mechanism itself incorporated a fine circular spring to hold it in position. That spring had been slightly bent over its already near half century of use. Bringing it back to its original form, the watchmakers in Le Brassus carefully restored its shape by hand and verified that the ratcheting system was once again functioning properly.

Two cosmetic areas called for intervention. First was the crystal. This model of the Fifty Fathoms used thick mineral glass. Sapphire crystal, which is the norm today, would not come into general use in Switzerland until the 1990s, well after this watch was produced. The original mineral glass was badly scratched and chipped. Both of these conditions would jeopardize the water resistance and robustness of any watch after service, particularly so in this instance as this was a timepiece designed to be water resistant to 1,000 meters (and the dial indeed bears the legend “Fifty Fathoms 1000”). Thus, replacement of the mineral glass became necessary. More was involved than simply removing the old worn glass and substituting a new one. Mineral glass crystals today are fabricated in a thinner form than those from the era of Bert’s Fifty. In order to mount the new glass in a secure and watertight fashion, the vintage workshop hand-crafted a special mounting ring that would adapt the thinner new glass to the case. The second aesthetic aspect addressed was the hands. The previous poorly-done service had resulted in hands staked in a way that caused them to rub against one another, badly chipping the paint. Here repainting could be done in a way that would not detract from the vintage feel of the piece. First the watchmakers removed all the original paint and then straightened the hands (which had been deformed during the earlier service), a process done by hand. That was followed by repainting the hands and then applying SuperLumiNova^®. Repainting requires more than painstaking fine brush work. The color must match the aged color of the dial. The vintage workshop stocks a range of tints that can be mixed to bring the newly painted hands into conformity with the rest of the dial.

Both the passage of forty-five years of use without service and a poorly performed service thereafter called for substantial work upon the movement. Not only did the movement exhibit corrosion, but many components needed attention. Those most seriously affected were the cannon pinion, sliding pinions and winding pinion, all of which required replacement. The balance pivots also needed repolishing, as did many screws.