Reference Talk — Blancpain Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5335

Reference Talk

6 Feb

Blancpain Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5335 — Blancpain 5335, Sotheby’s

Over 10+ years from 1981, under the new ownership of Biver and Piguet, Blancpain designed and launched a number of iconic models including the Villeret collection of classic dress watches. There were a number complications under the Villeret range, most notably the six masterpieces, featuring the likes of tourbillons, minute repeaters, and perpetual calendars. Towards the end of the 80’s and into the 90’s they began to experiment further creating small production runs of combined complications from the masterpiece collection. Ref. 5335 being one of the most notable and complicated.

To discover more about the ‘rebirth’ of Blancpain in the 80’s and the Six Masterpiece collection please find our previous article here.

Introducing the Blancpain Ref. 5335

Circa 1990, after the introduction of ref. 0035, Blancpain’s automatic minute repeater, the company elegantly combined it with a second complication from their six masterpiece collection, the perpetual calendar. This new movement composed of the perpetual calendar module 53 and the automatic minute repeater base caliber 35 thus creating the reference 5335. All of this housed in just a 34mm case with a thickness of just 10.2mm.

A horological masterpiece with some rather interesting and relatively unknown details including a case by Jean-Pierre Hagmann, bracelet by Gay Frères, a variety of dial variants and a race to be the first ever minute repeating perpetual calendar in a wristwatch with the Patek ref. 3974.

Case by Jean-Pierre Hagmann (JHP)

Having earned particular renown for the minute repeater cases he made for Patek Philippe. It is said their sound quality is unparalleled. Today, the watch cases that bear his makers mark, "JHP", have become semi-mythical among collectors.

— A Collected Man

More commonly associated with the likes of Patek Philippe, it is rather unknown to most that Jean-Pierre Hagmann was also responsible for the case of the Blancpain ref. 5335 bringing his masterful sound quality and equally sought after JHP stamp to the model.

Having begun a career in jewellery in 1957 before moving into case making circa 1968 when he joined case maker Gustave Brera, Jean-Pierre Hagmann has now been creating cases for nearly 60 years. In 1984 he opened his own workshop working with many of the big brands we know today, including Blancpain, plus a selection of independents at the time. Mr Hagmann once retired in 2017, now works at Akrivia as a partner in their case-making workshop in the old town of Geneva.

His cases are legendary among collectors and manufacturers alike for their unparalleled sound quality and precision. He is renowned for being one of the very few vertically integrated case makers, tackling the whole process from initial design to the final finishing. All of which calculated and carried out by hand, no automation or machinery at the time. ‘Typical orders were for batches of 200 to 400 case, according to Mr Hagmann, with a minimum of 50. And if the case was for a new, unproven model, the initial order would be between 50 to 100.’ SJX.

For further in-depth reading on his incredible career we would advise you to head over to Watches by SJX for a seriously epic article, ‘Jean-Pierre Hagmann, Case Maker Extraordinaire and a Legend in His Own Time’ , a piece we’ve enjoyed greatly while researching this watch.

JHP and the Blancpain connection to the Patek Philippe Ref. 3974 Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar

One of Hagmanns most notable creations, the legendary Ref. 3974, launched in 1989.

Ref. 3974 was the worlds first minute repeating perpetual calendar, the title claimed by Patek Philippe just ahead Blancpain who released the ref. 5335 the same year just a little later. With both models featuring a JPH case it’s conceivable that they were worked on in close proximity and at somewhat the same time by the master case-maker himself.

Patek Philippe 3974 — 3974 JHP case, Philip’s

Both models feature a very similar trigger mechanism with the Patek protruding slightly more prominent from the front. Comparisons in the lug design can also be drawn.

Movement Composition of the Ref 5335

1 — Blancpain Ref. 5395 Perpetual Calendar

This model was based on the Cal. 95 and the perpetual module 53. The watch features a triple register dial with deep-set moon phase at 6 o’clock. The design is extremely pleasing on the eye with symmetry and simplicity at its core. To note, Ref. 5395 did not have the leap year indicator on the dial. and neither does the ref. 5335 minute repeating perpetual calendar.

Blancpain 5395 — Perpetual Calendar 5395, Marks Uhren GmbH

2 — Blancpain Ref. 0035 Minute Repeater

Circa 1988 Blancpain introduced one of the smallest minute repeaters ever made based on the cal. 33. The minute repeater is undisputedly the most outstanding achievement of traditional watchmaking. How it works in short, two hammers briefly strike two carefully tuned gongs, chiming the number of the hours, quarter hours and minutes.

The automatic cal. 35 was an extension of the original cal. 33 with the addition of a winding mass. Interestingly the ref. 0035 is rarely seen for sale, more commonly seen is the manual ref. 0033, common being relative in this scenario.

*0035 Minute Repeater Automatic,* *Antiquorum*

The Result — Ref. 5335 Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar

Blancpain Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5335 platinum — 5335 Platinum, Christie’s

Compromising of a clean and classic 3 register dial with moon phase at 6 reminiscent of the ref. 5395 perpetual. The ‘Automatic’ text beneath the logo is replaced by ‘Repetion Minutes’, a subtle nod to the complication that lives within however stealthy enough on the wrist to be mistaken for a perpetual only. The lack of leap year indicator on the 12 o’clock sub dial keeps the symmetry clean with the feuille hands being different to the perpetual counterpart.

With a last known retail price of 188CHF for the yellow gold variant, it would be fair to say this was one of Blancpains most expensive and complicated offerings, ref. 1735 to one side (one for another day).

The Repeater trigger is cleverly tucked out of sight from above and created by the great case makers Jean-Pierre Hagmann as mentioned above.

The display case back proudly displays the inner workings and there is a lot to take in. To see the perpetual working in addition to the hammering of the repeater topped off by the winding mass is a treat for horologically inclined eyes.

Specification Sheet

34mm case (Blancpain official case diameter)
38.9mm lug to lug
10.2mm case thickness
188,000CHF last known RRP for the 18k yellow gold case white dial variants on strap (confirmed by Blancpain)
Production numbers unknown however case number seen up to circa 60 for yellow gold and 30’s for platinum.
Mr Hagmann has been quoted, ‘Platinum cases require a quarter more work than the same in gold’ - SJX. An indication that less platinum cases were produced total.

Extract of the archives courtesy of Blancpain for a **ref. 5335** interestingly showcasing last know RRP at 188 CHF

How Does it Sound?

It all comes down to how it sounds, and it sounds pretty damn good in our opinion.

Known Ref. 5335 Variants

Case Material

Identified by the second section of the reference number with the first 2 letters being the case material with the next 2 letters the dial, eg. 5335 - Case & Dial - XX

5335 - 14XX - XX = 18k yellow gold case

5335 - 34XX - XX = Platinum case

All display the ‘JHP’, Jean-Pierre Hagmann stamp between the lugs.

Dial Options

Identified in the second section of the reference code with the first 2 letters being the case material with the next 2 letters the dial, eg. 5335 - Case & Dial - XX

White dial different code between Yellow Gold and Platinum.

5335 - XX18 - XX = White dial (18k yellow gold case 14XX)

5335 - XX27 - XX = White dial (Platinum case 34XX)

Exotic dial variants

5335 - XX28 - XX 12 diamonds (white dial)

5335 - XX90 - XX mother-of-pearl 12 indexes (tritium markers)

5335 - XX92- XX mother of pearl 12 diamonds

*EXAMPLE* MOP 12 diamonds (1492), shown here on a ref. 6595, Bachmann-Scher

Font Size Variation

Small and large ‘Repetition minutes’ on the dial, while most early examples display large font the production no.1 in Platinum (sold by Sotheby’s) actually displays a small ‘Repetition minutes’, so it is still unknown if there is any pattern/time period for each style.

Platinum Moon Phase Disc

Looking at the platinum examples that have come to market it appears the early examples feature a silver moon disc at 6 o’clock, with later examples displaying a yellow variant.

Bracelets & Straps

A number of variants available, leather strap being the most common. The rarer bracelets were produced and stamped by GAY FRÈRES, available in platinum and yellow gold.

5335 - XXYY - 31 = Yellow gold
5335 - XXYY - 34 = Platinum (white gold clasp)
5335 - XXYY - 55 = Crocodile
5335 - XXYY - 58 = Ostrich
5335 - XXYY - 65 = Lizard

White Gold Clasp with Platinum Bracelet

Yellow Gold Clasp and Bracelet

Multiple Leathers

Unique Examples

As with a number of the Blancpain complications there are some wild examples made in unique or very low quantities. From pavé dials to baguette bezels it is hard to know exactly what and how many have been made however every now and again they crop up at auction, here you can see one such piece, a diamond set minute repeating perpetual calendar ft. erotic automata sold by Sotheby’s in 2008, what a watch! This is a manual wind so not a ref. 5335 however features a similar complication.

On that we’ll end the article here, thank you for reading.

Credits

Huge thank you to @watchdilettante & @wu_wuuuuuuuu for their knowledge, time and photos in putting this article together.

Credit again to the incredible articles by SJX, A Collected Man and Hodinkee for the wonderful insight into the legend himself, Mr Hagmann.

Get in Touch

As always this is a working document and any feedback or insights to further the communities understanding of these models would be greatly appreciated. please do feel free to reach out to us directly.

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