Hands-On With The Refined Blancpain Villeret Golden Hour Collection

When a certain car model has been on the market for a few years, but it’s not yet time for the introduction of a completely new version, it receives a facelift. That seems to be exactly what Blancpain has given its Villeret Golden Hour collection. The watches are still very recognizable, but small tweaks in many places make them look slightly more refined. There are two new 40mm versions — the Villeret Extraplate and the Villeret Quantième Complet Phases de Lune. There’s also a 33.2mm model called the Villeret Quantième Phases de Lune. This one always features diamonds on the dial, but you can also add them to the bezel. All models are available in either stainless steel or 18K rose gold.

In his introduction article, Mike already covered most of the specifications and novelties. That gave me the chance to dive deeper into the new Blancpain Villeret Golden Hour collection while the watches were at our office. Let’s see what that was like.

The Blancpain Villeret Golden Hour collection

According to Blancpain, the new Villeret Golden Hour watches feature a slimmer bezel, a bigger crown, and redesigned lugs. I’ve compared them to photos of previous Villeret models, and, to be honest, the differences look small. Still, I’m sure that when you hold the previous and new versions side by side, they’ll be more obvious.

The Villeret Extraplate (three-hander with date) and the Villeret Quantième Complet Phases de Lune (complete calendar with moonphase display) both feature a polished 40mm round case. You can choose between stainless steel and 18K rose gold, and the watches have a 45mm lug-to-lug span. That’s rather modest for a 40mm watch, meaning it’s also suitable for smaller wrists. The Extraplate offers a nice 8.7mm profile, while the more complicated Quantième Complet Phases de Lune still has a very reasonable 10.6mm thickness.

For fans of smaller watches with diamonds, there’s the Villeret Quantième Phases de Lune (time, pointer date, and moonphase complication). It features a 33.2mm stainless steel or 18K rose gold case. This has a 38.5mm lug-to-lug and a 10.4mm profile, meaning it is significantly shorter but almost as thick as the 40mm Quantième Complet Phases de Lune. You can choose between a version with a plain bezel or a diamond-set one.

Clearly refined dials

While the subtle changes in the case design are hardly noticeable, the refinements on the dials are very evident to the naked eye. Previous Villeret models featured applied Roman numerals with a bone-like look. On these new models, the typography is more straightforward and less playful. The “XII” Roman numerals have made way for a “JB” symbol in honor of the brand’s founder, Jehan-Jacques Blancpain. In addition, the narrow, lumed leaf hands used to have a uniform shape, but now they also feature a slight angle at their thickest point. Finally, the calendar windows are now larger and more pronounced for better legibility.

All versions are available with either a grainy off-white opaline dial or a brown sunburst one. If you choose the 18K rose gold case, the applied numerals and hands will also be rose gold. However, if you opt for one of these stainless steel versions, these elements will be made of white gold. Each watch comes on a leather strap in beige, brown, honey, or blue-gray. Fittingly, the spring-loaded folding clasp is the same material as the case.

A new skeletenized rotor

All three versions in the new Villeret Golden Hour collection feature one of Blancpain’s automatic movements. The Quantième Complet Phases de Lune is powered by caliber 6654.4, which runs at a frequency of 28,800vph, features 28 jewels, and holds a respectable power reserve of 72 hours. It also displays the hours, minutes, seconds, day, date, and current moon phase. A nice touch is that the correctors for the different complications are on the back of the lugs rather than on the side of the case.

The Villeret Extraplate houses Blancpain’s caliber 1151, a variation of the 1150 movement inside the Bathyscaphe 38 I used to own. It runs at a frequency of 21,600vph, also features 28 jewels, and offers a comfortable power reserve of 100 hours. The smaller Villeret Quantième Phases de Lune has Blancpain’s caliber 913QL.P on board. This movement also runs at a frequency of 21,600vph, but it features only 20 jewels and holds a more standard 40-hour power reserve. Both these movements display time and date, but the latter does so with a pointer date instead of a more conventional date window.

All three movements feature Côtes de Genève finishing, polished bevels on the bridges, and a new skeletonized rotor. That rotor comes in rose gold for the rose gold models and yellow gold for the stainless steel variants.

What are the watches like in person?

When checking these watches out in real life, it was clear how much they benefited from the refinements to the dial design. I always thought the bone-like Roman numerals were a bit weird. The cleaner and straighter typography matches the Villeret’s sophisticated look a lot better. The elongated, diamond-shaped hands also add more character. However, I do think the three “JB” symbols — at 12 o’clock, above the logo, and as a counterweight on the seconds hand — are a bit over the top.

My favorite model of the three is the Villeret Quantième Complet Phases de Lune. Its 40mm size is perfect for all the information it displays. That’s why the dial layout is easy to read, and there are no big open spaces. Sure, it might be a tad too large for my 17cm wrist, but I’d accept that from a watch with a complete calendar.

I also think the smaller Villeret Quantième Phases de Lune looks nicely proportioned. It’s relatively thick compared to the 40mm models, but it still wears well. The moonphase display at 6 o’clock looks great, and so do the diamond hour markers in combination with the Roman numerals.

Finally, the Villeret Extraplate is my least favorite of the three. Maybe the off-white version we received exacerbated this, but I feel that there is just too much blank space on the dial. I also think its diameter should have been two or three millimeters smaller than it is now, especially for the dress watch that it’s trying to be.

Sophisticated dress watches

The overall finishing on all three watches, though, is well done. Sometimes people ask me whether a display case back is worth it. Well, for these watches, it totally is. The movements look great, and the skeletonized rotors let you enjoy them to the fullest. If you’re looking for a sophisticated dress watch without too many bells and whistles, the new Villeret Golden Hour models from Blancpain are certainly worth a try.

The stainless steel Blancpain Villeret Quantième Complet Phases de Lune costs CHF 15,400, while the gold versions list for CHF 27,200. Next, the stainless steel Villeret Extraplate models retail for CHF 9,900, and the gold references cost CHF 20,500. Finally, there’s the Villeret Quantième Phases de Lune, which lists for CHF 11,600 in steel, CHF 16,400 in steel with the diamond-set bezel, CHF 19,400 in rose gold, and CHF 24,400 in rose gold with diamonds added.

Let me know in the comments below what you think of Blancpain’s refined Villeret Golden Hour collection.

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