TOTAL AIR SUPERIORITY

The Blancpain Air Command represents a new chapter for the manufacture, and is perhaps one of the most intriguing flyback chronographs in the world. We explain why

- ASHOK SOMAN

Watches are quite possibly amongst the most powerful secular symbols in the world, relative to their size. Even the pocket watch - a much larger object - is quite portentous. Granted, timepieces will have little meaning to most audiences besides being signifiers of status, if that, but in meaningful company, they can really add value. For example, the pocket watch was probably the first object that the wealthy and powerful could easily keep on their persons that demonstrated their status - leaving weapons and jewellery aside. Well, watches are jewellery too, I can almost hear you whisper, dear reader. That may well be, but they might also be precision instruments with barely any ostentation a man with purpose distinguishes himself from the landed gentry thusly. This is of course not a story about pocket watches, but it does include some history, and Blancpain is perhaps the most storied name in contemporary watchmaking. Well, there are a variety of opinions on this, but it cannot be denied that the manufacture was founded 287 years ago.

This all hinges on an understanding of the word manufacture, as it relates to Swiss watchmaking. For this, do yourself a favour and take a look at the Blancpain catalogue on its website. Filter by complication and see what options are available. You may be surprised to find that all complications great and small are on the menu, so to speak. This includes some unique offerings, one of which we looked at for the cover of the Spring 2019, namely the extravagantly named Tourbillon Volant Heure Sautante Minute Retrograde.