The Blancpain Villeret Golden Hour 2025 collection deepens the Maison’s legacy of discreet sophistication and technical refinement through a trilogy of reimagined models: the Villeret Ultraplate (Ref. 6651N), the Villeret Quantième Complet Phases de Lune (Ref. 6654N), and the Villeret Quantième Phases de Lune (Ref. 6126N). Available in stainless steel or 18-carat red gold and two dial tones, grained opaline and warm golden brown. They reaffirm Blancpain’s art of integrating mechanical poise with aesthetic restraint.
Blancpain’s Villeret line has always been the archetype of classical Swiss watchmaking. The Golden Hour iteration looks forward by returning to fundamental codes: luminosity, symmetry, finesse. Every element has been proportionally recalibrated, the bezels slightly slimmer, the lugs refined, and the crowns expanded to heighten comfort and tactility. Beneath the surface, the watches remain powered by manufacture movements restored to full view through sapphire backs, celebrating the Maison’s fidelity to mechanical craft.
The dials embody an evolved Blancpain philosophy, quiet character with visible substance. Each variant introduces two finishes: a finely grained opaline tone that reflects light smoothly, and a golden brown that captures the warmth of autumn. The deep-set character of the Villeret face is defined by applied Roman numerals in 18-carat gold, their brushed tops and polished bevels creating a restrained play of depth. The traditional “XII” is replaced by the intertwined “JB” monogram, marking the piece’s lineage to founder Jehan-Jacques Blancpain.
Hands are slimmer than before, now fitted with delicate Super-LumiNova inserts for discreet night legibility. The moonphase aperture, central to Blancpain’s visual identity, has been widened and its ceramic disc enriched with a domed, satin-finished gold moon whose expressive face bridges the poetic with the technical. Date windows are more generous and balanced, integrated into the dial without disturbing proportions.
Each model is driven by a distinct in-house calibre, all self-winding and all refined with the hallmarks of haute horlogerie. The Calibre 1151 animates the 40 mm Villeret Ultraplate, an automatic movement with twin barrels in series, silicon hairspring, and a power reserve of one hundred hours. Its oscillating weightis now openworked and finely bevelled. It is rendered in red or yellow gold and satin-brushed to reveal traditional decorations beneath, including Côtes de Genève and hand-finished anglage.
In the 40 mm Villeret Quantième Complet Phases de Lune, the Calibre 6654.4 exhibits Blancpain’s refinement of the complete calendar complication. The under-lug correctors patented in 2005 remain present, allowing effortless, tool-free adjustment. This movement’s silicon balance spring, 72-hour reserve, and 4 Hz frequency ensure resilience with chronometric confidence. The moonphase and date displays integrate seamlessly, harmonised by the Ultraplate’s visual codes.
The smaller 33.2 mm Villeret Quantième Phases de Lune is animated by Calibre 913QL.P, a movement of compact stature (23.7 mm diameter, 4.65 mm height), running at 21,600 vph and offering 40 hours of autonomy. Even in this reduced scale, the decoration remains uncompromised: Geneva stripes, polished bevels and a sapphire rotor ensuring light penetrates through its intricate detailing.
Each timepiece carries Blancpain’s double-stepped Villeret case architecture, subtly remodelled for this edition. At 40 mm in the Ultraplate and Complete Calendar, and 33.2 mm for the feminine models, proportions are tightened to enhance handling and presence. The thicknesses: 8.7 mm for the ultraplate, 10.6 mm for the complete calendar and 10.4 mm for the moonphase, reflect the pursuit of balance between slimness and mechanical depth. All models maintain 3-bar water resistance, with sapphire back glazing that grants full movement visibility.
Red gold exalts the visual warmth of the dials, while stainless steel underscores their purity. Alligator leather straps of Mississippiensis origin complement the tones in beige, honey, brown and blue-grey, equipped with Blancpain’s recent interchangeable system for effortless wear flexibility. The natural patina that develops over time strengthens the connection between watch and wearer.
The Villeret Golden Hour collection continues Blancpain’s dialogue between quiet evolution and lasting value. Each reference speaks in deliberate proportion, light reshaped, gold re-contextualised, and mechanics expressed without ostentation. By integrating contemporary nuances such as luminescent hands, opaline grains, and openworked rotors with immemorial craft traditions, Blancpain heightens the legitimacy of its classicism. The result is not a reinvention, but a reaffirmation: of technical rigour serving elegance, and of refinement breathing through restraint.
