Blancpain

Press Release

Famed Watchmaker Vincent Calabrese Joins Blancpain SA

Known for his creativity and inspired designs, legendary watchmaker Vincent Calabrese has joined Blancpain in the Research and Development Department. The joining of forces between Calabrese and Blancpain's R&D team promises exciting new innovations in the years to come.

The gestation of the relationship between Calabrese and Blancpain has spanned more than two decades. The first project together, with Calabrese working as an independent contractor produced Blancpain's world record breaking Calibre 23 tourbillon and its later automatic winding version the Calibre 25. No fewer than five world records were established by this first joint project: the world's first flying tourbillon in a wrist watch, the world's first one minute flying tourbillon, the word's first tourbillon with eight day power reserve, the world's first tourbillon to use ball bearings and the world's thinnest tourbillon ever produced.

This year's Basel fair debuts a further hint of the innovations which Blancpain and Calabrese can achieve together, the Blancpain Flying Carrousel. The collaboration between Calabrese and Blancpain has once again shattered a multitude of world records with ground breaking inventions. The flagship of Blancpain's 2008 Baselworld fair is the world's first flying carrousel in any kind of watch, the first one minute carrousel, and the first carrousel to achieve a 100 hour power reserve.

The outgrowth of this second collaboration is the now tighter relationship, with Vincent Calabrese joining Blancpain as a full time employee. With the history of world record accomplishments already established, hopes are set high for astonishing new innovations to come.