Price of Admission: What is the Least Expensive Blancpain?

Blancpain is the oldest Swiss watchmaker in existence, founded in 1735, as well as one of the most respected and, it is fair to say, one of the most intimidating for a newcomer to approach. This is not just because of the uniformly high prices — nearly all fall within a five-figure range — but also because of the vast diversity within the maison’s collection, which has emerged naturally after literally centuries of uninterrupted watchmaking. Many savvy watch enthusiasts, even ones relatively new to the game, are at least passingly familiar with the brand’s Fifty Fathoms dive watch and its place in that popular category’s historical pantheon, but remain largely unaware of other intriguing timepieces within Blancpain’s portfolio — some simple and understated, others paragons of horological complexity. Moreover, some of these aspirational aficionados are likely seeking out their first Blancpain watch, and attempting to decipher exactly what an entry-level timepiece from the venerable brand would be — what it costs and what it offers for that price. Continuing our “Price of Admission” series (which kicked off with Bilal Khan’s spotlight on Cartier), I will be examining the least expensive choices for an entry-level Blancpain, covering dress and sport options as well as a variety of case materials. 

Like most any watch brand in the luxury category, Blancpain’s most approachable models from a price perspective are those in cases of steel, rather than precious metals or other exotic materials. Fortunately, and unlike some other brands at this elite level, the breadth of Blancpain’s steel models is relatively wide and encompasses both sporty, tool-oriented watches as well as dressier models for both men and ladies. 

Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm in steel

As will be made clear as we go along, most Blancpain watches start above a $10,000 baseline in price. The one I found that comes in under that is the Villeret Ultraplate in a decidedly feminine 29mm case, which Blancpain lists on its website at $9,200. For those unfamiliar, Villeret is Blancpain’s largest and dressiest collection, established in the 1980s and named after the Swiss village where the firm was founded back in 1735. Distinguishing Villeret design details include a double-stepped bezel; openworked sage-leaf-shaped hands; a central seconds hand with a “JB” counterweight (those are the initials of brand founder Jean-Jacques Blancpain); and applied Roman numerals for the hours on the sunray-finished dials. The collection includes a vast diversity of materials, sizes, and complications, but at its simple, understated core are the Ultraplate (“ultra-flat”) models, which sport a clean, three-hand dial (with or without date, depending on the size) and named for their noteworthy slender profile. The 29mm steel model is just 9.1mm thick and contains the self-winding, no-date Caliber 913, with a silicon balance spring and a 40-hour power reserve. 

If the 29mm size is just too dainty, as it will be for many, a more unisex 38mm Villeret Ultraplate in steel will run you an extra grand, retailing for $10,200. The larger model actually is slightly slimmer on the wrist, at 8.35mm, and includes a relatively non-intrusive date window at 3 o’clock on its pure white dial. The movement inside is Caliber 1150, also with automatic winding and a silicon balance spring, but here with the power reserve amped up to 100 hours, or more than four days. If one is seeking an added element of sophistication to the simple Villeret dial, an extra hundred bucks will buy you the Villeret Ultraplate with a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. It also buys two additional millimeters of case diameter (40mm) and just a smidgen of extra thickness (8.55mm) to accommodate the movement, the manually wound Caliber 11C5, which duplicates the 100-hour power reserve of its automatic sibling in the 38mm watch.

Of course, many newcomers to the Blancpain brand will have been lured there by its iconic divers’ watch, the Fifty Fathoms, which today represents a substantial collection within the overall portfolio. Here again, case material and size (as well as strap options) will determine where the various models fall on the price ladder. 

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 38mm

The least expensive Fifty Fathoms is the 38mm Bathyscaphe in stainless steel, which matches the price of the 38mm Villeret Ultraplate at $10,200 while delivering a distinctly bolder and sportier experience. Introduced in 2013 as a smaller, more vintage-look supplement to the core Fifty Fathoms line, the Bathyscaphe takes its name from the undersea vehicle invented by Auguste Piccard and its key design inspirations from Fifty Fathoms watches of the later 1950s. The majority of watches within the Bathyscaphe sub-family, which feature a distinctive “skyscraper”  handset, a 4:30 date window, and simple geometric hour markers, are sized at 43mm — pretty big by recent standards, but still smaller than the 45mm of the parent model. But Blancpain has also offered a 38mm option since the beginning, initially in an all-white colorway that spoke to women but eventually also in more subdued, unisex versions. The case is fairly slender at 10.8mm and yet still resists water pressures to 300 meters (remember, it’s descended from one of the pioneers of water-resistant watches). The case houses the same self-winding Caliber 1150 that animates the Villeret covered above, with a 100-hour power reserve and a 3 o’clock date display. 

Climbing up the price ladder by another $1,000 you can acquire the original, 43mm steel version of the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, with a satin-brushed case, a ceramic dive-scale bezel insert, and an automatic, in-house movement, Caliber 1315, which boosts the power reserve to a full five days, or 120 hours. This lowest-priced three-handed model comes on a fabric NATO or a sturdy sail-canvas strap; upgrading to a steel bracelet will boost the MSRP to $14,000. The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe collection also encompasses a range of complicated variants, most of which are of course priced far beyond the three-hand-date models, even in steel, but maybe not as much as you might surmise: both the Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronographe and the Quantième Complet Phases de Lune (Complete Calendar with Moon-Phases) come in at $15,900 in steel on a NATO, just a touch higher than the three-hand on a bracelet. 

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 45mm in steel

If it’s the classic Fifty Fathoms you’re interested in rather than the Bathyscaphe, the price of entry is just a little higher, with the three-handed, 45mm stainless steel model, aka the Automatique, checking in at $11,200. The watch is thicker than its cousin, at 15.5mm, but just as water-resistant, withstanding pressures to 300 meters, significantly more than the 50-fathom depth for which it was named (and which the original model in 1953 was built to withstand). The hefty case of the Fifty Fathoms Automatique is a bit unwieldy for a NATO strap, so this watch is currently offered only on the sail canvas strap and on a steel bracelet, the latter carrying a price upgrade to $18,600.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm in titanium

Blancpain has been turning to titanium — a lighter, harder, and more hypoallergenic alternative to steel — for several newer releases in its extended Fifty Fathoms family. For fans of the metal who might be willing to part with a few more dollars in exchange for its durability and comfort, the entry-level Bathyscaphe model, mounted on a fabric NATO strap and equipped with Caliber 1315, carries a price of $12,400. Earlier in 2024, Blancpain added, for the first time, new 42mm versions (actually 42.3mm, and 14.3mm thick) of the core Fifty Fathoms line, thus far available only in titanium or gold cases. Somewhat curiously, the titanium version of the Fifty Fathoms Automatique is smaller than the Bathyscaphe and contains the same movement, but costs more, at $16,600.

Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm in rose gold

Gold and other precious metals are prominent throughout Blancpain’s lineup, and if your personal watch budget allows for consideration of a gold timepiece as your first Blancpain, there are several options in the dress-watch and sport-watch categories (though it could be argued that anything in gold, even an über-water-resistant dive watch, qualifies as a dress watch). Here again, the elegantly thin Villeret Ultraplate, on a leather strap, comes in at the ground floor of pricing in its 29mm size in rose gold, at $14,000. The watch, like its steel sibling, houses the 3.3mm-thick automatic Caliber 913. (Eyeing the same model on a gold link bracelet reveals an eye-popping price jump, to $28,800.) Stepping up to a 38mm case in rose gold on a brown leather strap brings the price up to $19,800, a $5K-plus upcharge from the 29mm model. At 41mm in the same material, you’ll pay $21,700 but also get an independent small seconds subdial and an indicator on the opaline dial for the 100-hour power reserve, courtesy of the in-house movement, manually winding Caliber 11C5.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm in rose gold

A rose-gold Fifty Fathoms, as one might expect, will run you considerably more, with the 42.3mm Automatique version, containing the same Caliber 1315 as the steel models, listed at $30,900 (and yes, that’s the NATO strap version). As the more accessible Fifty Fathoms sub-family (at least in theory), the Bathyscaphe doesn’t as yet offer a basic three-hand-date model in gold but saves the precious metal for some of its complicated pieces, resulting in what some might consider a bargain, complication-wise. For $32,000, just $2,000 more than a three-handed Fifty Fathoms, you can choose a rose-gold-cased Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback or a Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de Lune, both 43mm and both equipped with automatic movements made in-house by Blancpain. Is a gold dive watch with a complicated movement an unlikely candidate to be someone’s first Blancpain? Surely, but you never know when an enthusiastic newbie to the brand might choose to make a splash (pun intended) with his or her initial investment.