Belying its plain face and minimalist style, up to three hundred minute individual parts, hand made and assembled, form the true masterpiece of engineering which is the mechanical watch.

Centuries before the invention of the motor car, Swiss craftsmen working in mountain villages developed spring-driven engines which not only kept pace with time itself, but were created on such a minute scale that they could be assembled in a case to be worn on the wrist.

Despite the fact that today, enormous nuclear devices measure time to degrees of accuracy unimagined by these early time keepers, only a handful of companies, steeped in the traditions of the Swiss industry, still possess the expertise necessary to create fine examples of the watchmakers art. Most of these companies have long been prestigious leaders of the Swiss trade, however, one name which is at the forefront of a renaissance of the traditional art; was all but forgotten many years ago. Only fifteen years since it was rescued from obscurity, Blancpain, the oldest watch brand in Switzerland and thus the world, is again displaying the exquisite refinement and artistry that characterises the work of the true masters of watchmaking.