Say what you will about Blancpain, but the small manufacture from the idyllic little farmhouse in Le Brassus can certainly put the color blue to fabulous work. As with the previously discussed Bathyscaphe for Bucherer, this Air Command chronograph injects resplendent, beautiful blue into what is otherwise an already very appealing chronograph both inside and out. The result is a superb high horology wristwatch with interesting mechanical capabilities and a charming vintage-inspired design enhanced by razor sharp color and contrasting textures. One could even argue, somewhat convincingly, that this Blancpain watch represents pretty solid watchmaking value for its luxury asking price in our odd times of hyper-priced luxury. But more about that shortly. Let’s discuss the glamorous, newly attired Air Command Flyback in more detail, and see what makes it a standout.
Fans of Blancpain and chronographs in general will find the piece immediately familiar in form and layout. It shares the same fundamentals in size, flyback chronograph functionality, and movement form the 500-piece limited edition Air Command Flyback Ref. AC01 1130 63A, which saw introduction in 2019 and quickly sold out…now of course available on the secondary market from time to time, at well above its retail price. That watch, as an aside, represented a quite faithful reproduction of an exceedingly rare semi-prototype Blancpain pilot’s chronograph from the 1950s, but it brought to the table an impressively modern self-winding caliber produced by the Manufacture Blancpain and complete with such niceties as column wheel switching, a vertical clutch for stutter-free operation of the start stop and return sequences, and a freely sprung balance wheel in silicon. Being a flyback chronograph gave this rendition of a pilot’s watch extra gravitas and meant that, just as in days of old when such things were in fact instruments of genuine necessity, our hypothetical pilot could trigger the crisply actuated chronograph repeatedly without a stop in between, keeping measurements in moments of airborne daredevilry just a little bit easier.
The titanium blue beauty here does all the same, and is animated by the same F388B mechanism, although the massive central rotor in 18K gold is a little more spare compared to the charmingly thematic plane propeller version inside the coveted steel sibling. Rather than stainless steel, the case of this Air Command is manufactured from an extremely unusual and very high grade of titanium, which the brand has also seen fit to promote in its revised Fifty Fathoms collection. Reserved for very specific applications–surgical/dental implantation, and certain aircraft components being two of the notables–Grade 23 titanium is costlier than, and superior to, other titanium alloys in many respects, to include corrosion resistance, ductile strength and durability. It has a lovely color, and although very difficult to work due to its extremely hard properties, takes a beautiful and lasting polish. That polish is something that Blancpain has lavished with tasteful care here and there, just enough to bring out a bit of glamour, without overpowering the ethos of the fundamental pilot’s tool. The clean and elegant case frames a dial which should satisfy the cravings of the most hopeless addicts of blue dialed watches! Displaying a radial sunburst pattern, this dial will be an absolute stunner in the sun, as well as offering a lot of polychromatic depth in indoor settings. This handsome effect is contrasted well by clear and functional luminous Arabic numbers that forego any faux-aged sort of syndrome, as do the polished white gold hands. This is a spectacular canvas for the time display, yet immediately legible at any time, and beautifully presented in the classic two-counter (or bicompax, if you prefer) manner. Blancpain’s decision to keep dial text minimal is to be applauded, too, as is the choice of a sapphire capped luminous bezel that is deliciously thin and unobtrusive, yet a delight to the eye in both color and luster, to say nothing of being a lovely treat when the lights run low. True to a pilot’s watch functionality, said bezel rotates in both directions, giving you yet another timer on top of your chronograph to play with.
The movement checks a lot of important boxes for me. First, it is an exclusive mechanism, recognizing that the Manufacture Blancpain and Frederic Piguet have been intimately cojoined for a long time now. It is beautifully finished as all modern Blancpain calibers are, with particular mention to the absolutely sumptuous anglage on the edge of every bridge, as well as the rather technical looking yet still very cool grey finished 18K gold rotor. As on the bridges of movements seen in the Fifty Fathoms line, a lack of typical Geneva stripes in favor of a grained texture is clever, and eschews the typical expectations for a “high luxury” movement, while giving up nothing in terms of visual appeal–especially in a watch with such sporting aspirations. Vertically rather than horizontally clutched for efficiency, this chronograph nonetheless has a classic column wheel to satisfy purists who demand only best in construction and resultant crisp pusher feel, and the balance wheel is both freely sprung and mounted on a bridge; these features combined with the fine adjustment Blancpain performs–a full six positions rather than a typical luxury watch standard of five–and you have a very high performance, yet sturdy and resilient, complicated movement. Adding to this menu of excellence is an uber-rapid balance frequency of 36,000 oscillations per hour, meaning that not only is the chronograph central hand possessed of scarcely bested smoothness of sweep, it provides the capability of timing precision to the nearest 1/10th of a second. With all of these points considered together, its clear you have a truly wonderful automatic chronograph movement ticking inside, carrying the high-beat allure of famous competition such as Zenith and Grand Seiko, with the superior finishing of amongst the best of the manufacture level, to include lofty competition like Audemars Piguet and even Patek Philippe, at least as far as more typical volume watches (such as the annual calendar chronographs) from that esteemed brand go. Fear not those precision-destroying magnetic fields either, as the Air Command benefits from the same amagnetic silicon hairspring technology as other esteemed Swatch Group siblings such as Omega and Breguet. Yes, the F388B is a chronograph movement which is beautiful and luxurious, yet high on real world practicality and chronometric excellence. Maybe you can have it all, after all?
Topped off by a supple blue calfskin strap that spices it up with bold white stitching, Blancpain’s Air Command Flyback Chronograph in titanium is a companion redolent of class and charm, while offering some serious muscle behind the sapphire caseback. This is a world class high luxury chronograph without any doubt, and at around $18,500 (US) dollars, the price asked seems more than reasonable when compared against some of the aforementioned big competition. Yes, the retail price is well above an El Primero from Zenith, mind you, but then again, so is the finishing, and that’s a big part of the pricing where high horology is concerned. (Being a Blancpain, it’s also likely that “the number” probably isn’t the number, especially if you ask the lovely folks at the boutique nicely.) And, should you want an even more opulent presentation for this watch’s radiant blue two-counter chronograph dial, Blancpain has you covered there: a red gold variant is available which is gorgeous indeed, as colored golds and blue go together about as well as any two things ever. With the exception of a red gold rotor to match the case, and a price tag some $10,000 greater, it’s the same great timepiece.