Description
Incorporating five complications in a watch face can lead to messy results. In fact, some purists maintain a watch that does more than tell the current time is automatically less elegant than a simple three-hand timepiece. For some, even a simple date window is too much a departure from the intended function of a wristwatch. Blancpain puts pause to this with the Quantième Complet. A veritable symphony of complementary complications intermix on the dial, demonstrating that while less is sometimes more that certainly isn’t the case all the time.
To achieve this unified look, Blancpain has arranged the five complications – day, date, month, moonphase, and three-hand timekeeping – in a way that neither overwhelms nor confounds. Placed symmetrically just above the pin are the day and month windows that are clear and easy to read. Opposite them, just below the hands, a hand-painted moonphase wheel slowly turns to indicate the current state of the lunar body. Finally, Blancpain’s signature bent hand extends to show the current date on the circumferential date wheel. The elegance is supplemented thanks to refined and polished applied Roman numeral indices. On the caseback, a sapphire crystal complements the one on the front, making possible a clear viewing of the 72-hour power reserve movement. Together, the simple yet pure design choice makes it no wonder that Blancpain, in its 286th year, has managed to endure longer than any other watchmaker.