Mumbai, October 2026. As the world’s oldest watch brand, Blancpain has spent nearly three centuries crafting luxury watches. This season, the Swiss Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie unveils two new watches; Blancpain Lady B, a spherical mechanical jewel created for the 70th anniversary of the Ladybird collection, and the new Villeret novelties, led by the Ultraplate in a new 38 mm size and the Phases de Lune in 29.2 mm. Both are fully mechanical, as every Blancpain has been since 1735.
Founded in the Swiss village of Villeret, Blancpain has never made a quartz watch. This historic feminine timepiece was created by Blancpain, under the helm of CEO Betty Fiechter, the first woman to lead a Swiss watchmaking house. She joined the workshop as a sixteen-year-old apprentice and went on to become the first woman to own and lead a Swiss watch manufacture. With her nephew Jean-Jacques Fiechter, they both created two icons that still define Blancpain: The Fifty Fathoms in 1953 and the Ladybird in 1956.
Seventy years after the Ladybird introduced what remains the world’s smallest round mechanical movement ever mass-produced, Blancpain answers with Lady B. Inspired by the rounded, optimistic design of the 1950s, it is a polished sphere just 19 mm across, small enough to rest in your palm like a pebble. There are no lugs and no visible attachments: a double-tour leather strap passes straight through the case and wraps the wrist. In stainless steel or 18K red gold, it is a watch, a jewel and a design object at once.
The Villeret collection speaks in a quieter voice. The collection traces its roots to 1983, when Blancpain introduced the smallest complete calendar moon phase watch of its time, in just 34 mm, as the rest of the industry turned to quartz. Today the Ultraplate arrives in a new 38 mm beside the classic 40 mm, in stainless steel or 18 ct red gold. It is so slim and balanced that you forget it is there. Alongside it, the Villeret Phases de Lune in 29.2 mm brings Blancpain’s signature moon, glowing in gold against a blue ceramic sky and framed by a diamond-set bezel.
“The Villeret has always expressed its character through restraint rather than display.” Marc A. Hayek, President & CEO, Blancpain.
Presence of Mr. Arun Bhutani, Blancpain Brand Manager – India, at this launch event underscores commitment to Indian market and collectors who have grown in knowledge and appreciation for real craft.
The launch marks another chapter in Blancpain’s story in India, where the house has built its presence with selective distribution in India and a growing community of collectors who value mechanical watchmaking. With Lady B and the new Villeret watches, Blancpain offers Indian audiences two ways into its world: a jewel-like watch with a story rooted in women’s watchmaking, and a refined everyday dress watch in the most versatile size yet. Both are available at Blancpain boutiques and authorised retailers across the country.
