BRAND/JENAMA: BRUNVIL
MADE IN/BUATAN: SWISS BY BRUNVIL - E. BLANCPAIN & Fils Villeret
CIRCA/TAHUN: 1920's
MODEL: ARTDECO
CRYSTAL/CERMIN: ACRYLIC
MOVEMENT/ENJIN: BRUNVIL 15 JEWELS MANUAL MOVEMENT Cal.23
DIAL COLOR: CREAM
FUNCTION/FUNGSI: HOUR, MINUTE AND SUB SECOND AT 6:00
HANDS/JARUM: BREGUET HANDS
MARKERS/TANDA WAKTU: GOLDTONE ARABIC
CASING : SOLID STAINLESS STEEL
LUGS: 17mm
MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 30mm DIAMETER EXCLUDING CROWN and 34mm LUG TO LUG
DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING:
CROWN: ORIGINAL
STRAP/TALI: BLACK LEATHER BAND
SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: 8.5"
EXCELLENT CONDITION, WORKING, KEEPING TIME, DISCONTINUED MODEL & VERY RARE AND VERY HARD TO FIND
PRICE/HARGA: RM1,300 (NEGOTIABLE)
BLANCPAIN - A TRADITION OF INNOVATION SINCE 1735
Use the words "tradition" and "innovation" to describe Blancpain's philosophy is not an oxymoron. Quite the contrary, both are closely related to the heart of the history of the brand.
True to an ancient tradition, Blancpain celebrates and perpetuates the proven traditional methods of mechanical watchmaking. Far from the production lines, each Blancpain watch is assembled from start to finish by the same watchmaker.
HISTORY OF BLANCPAIN AND BRUNVIL WATCHES BY E. BLANCPAIN & FILS VILLERET
This story begins in the heart of the
Swiss Jura mountains, in the valley of St. Imier. The valley lies
between the Chasseral Mountains and those that form the border to
France. We are in the year 1650. Imérion Beynon, known as "Blancpan",
the ancestor of the Blancpain watch dynasty is born in the village of
Villeret. Villeret already is no longer a simple farm village. The Suze
River which winds along the valley before it throws itself into the
gorges of the Taubenloch (pigeon hole), produces enough energy to power
flour mills, sawmills and mechanical workshops.
In the 17th century, when the
name “Blancpain” makes its first appearance in the person of d’Imer
Blancpain, most of the trades present in the valley of Saint-Imier are
represented in the village. Villeret has blacksmith farriers, nail
makers and locksmiths. Imer Blancpain becomes ashopkeeper and lawyer.
In 1692, the lock- and gunsmith Daniel Jean Richard, son of a blacksmith, establi shes
himself in the city of Locle as a master watchmaker. Other excellent
watchmakers are already present in La Neuveville (ancient name for
Neuchâtel), on the borders of Lake Biel, where political conditions are
particularly favorable for this trade.Their reputation rapidly reaches
Villeret and as of the beginning of the 18th century, families send their most apt sons to learn this craft in La Neuveville.
Under the impetus of the two watchmakers,
the farmers start to install workshops in their farmhouses and produce
or finish watch parts during the long winter months, when the valley is
cut off from the rest of the world. This complementary activity rapidly
takes hold when the farmers realize that it is far more lucrative than
another activity they engage in: iron smelting in their domestic forges.
The
Blancpain family chronicles inform us that Jehan-Jacques Blancpain,
baptized on March 11, 1693, great-great grandson of Imer Blancpain, is
the first Blancpain to become a watchmaker. He establishes himself
officially in 1735 but probably was already
working in this profession previously. It is even possible that he was
one of the two watchmakers mentioned in the 1725 census. In 1760, the
son of the other watchmaker, Adam Bourquin, opens the first watch shop
in Villeret called “Chez le Secrétaire” (At the Secretary's Place).
Despite the difficult times, Blancpain
continues to manufacture and sell watches throughout Europe. In 1815,
due to the excellent state of the business, a fundamental change is
made: Frédéric-Louis Blancpain, a former officer of the Emperor’s army
and one of the five sons of David-Louis Blancpain, transforms the purely
artisan watch production into the first small scale industrial producti on
of watches in a factory that bears the Blancpain name. By then
Blancpain is making its own raw movements and is thus an integrated
“manuf acture”. Over the years, more and better machine tools enable
Blancpain to develop its production and steadily improve product
quality.
The year 1815 is considered the founding
year of the Blancpain Watch Company. Over the years the name of the
Company changes several times:
- 1830 Emile Blancpain
1857 E. Blancpain et fils - 1889 E. Blancpain fils
- 1928 Blancpain, Fabrique d’horlogerie à Villeret.
On February 24, 1888, Blancpain registers its brand with the courts in Leipzig.
Often the watches produced by Blancpain
only carry the name of the retailer or one of the many other trademarks
registered by the firm, hereafter some examples:
Date of registration
|
Brand
|
Specialization
|
August 16, 1889
|
Leonine
| |
April 8, 1890
|
Lion’s Watch
| |
February 10, 1893
|
Lion’s (Standard)
|
Pocket Watches
|
October 1, 1894
|
La Précieuse
|
Pocket Watches (Watch cases, cuvette (bassin), movements, dials, boxes)
|
January 24, 1896
|
Lux
|
Pocket Watches
|
January 14, 1897
|
EBFW
| |
June 14, 1899
|
Masel
|
Pocket Watches
|
March 24, 1900
|
Truena
|
Pocket Watches
|
June 30, 1902
|
L’Etoile d’Or
|
Pocket Watches
|
June 30, 1902
|
L’Etoile Rouge
|
Pocket Watches
|
August 11, 1903
|
Cabane’s Watch
|
Pocket Watches
|
March 17, 1916
|
Lux
|
Watches
|
Mai 16, 1922
|
Blancpain
|
Watches of all sorts and sizes
|
October 14, 1926
|
Bonvil
|
Watches of all sorts
|
Idem
|
Blanvil
|
“
|
Idem
|
Brunvil
|
“
|
Idem
|
Dixvil
|
“
|
September 2, 1926
|
Jar Proof
|
Watches of all sorts and sizes
|
They
finally decide on the Vallée de Joux, in the Jura mountain range of
western Switzerland, a center for fine watchmaking since the mid-1700s,
and still today the birthplace of 90% of all high-end complicated
mechanical movements.
Here, in the village of Le Brassus, stands a fine old Piguet family house, "haunted" by the very soul of watchmaking... Just the place for Blancpain’s new home. It will now turn out watches made in the most genuinely traditional manner, similar
in spirit to those that Jehan-Jacques Blancpain and his descendants
fashioned more than two centuries ago only 100 kilometres away.
I have a fantastic Brunvil art deco watch that I picked up on eBay over ten years ago for a great price, and the lume on the hands as well as the number markers still glow brightly after all these years (though not for as long as they used to, I'm sure). It is almost identical to the one pictured in the article above, but in much better shape. Had it cleaned several years back and the watch tech who cleaned it said it was one of the nicest examples of an art deco watch he'd ever seen. But the best part? The watchmaker, S. Bruner, might turn out to be a relative of mine, as Bruner is my last name. How surprised I was to see my own last name on the watch itself!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add that it keeps perfect time!
ReplyDelete