宝珀对于技术的追求和革新一直是孜孜不倦的,这也帮助了宝珀走出了一次次的低谷。特别是1929至1933年间的全球性经济危机对宝珀是个重大转折。宝珀研发出第一只自动上链腕表(注:宝珀与Harwodd合作研发自动上链系统,机芯是由宝珀提供,为什么手表上用Harwood的标志,大家应该能理解吧)和第一只滚珠轴承的自动上链女表,公司正在复苏,最后一代传人却于1932年突然逝世。宝珀结束了近2个世纪的家族经营历史,交给了他生前的助手贝蒂 Fiechter和销售总监 Andre Leal来管理。但公司性质却没有发生任何改变。面对着大规模的公司破产和工人失业,宝珀在销售手表的同时,开始作为机芯供应商的角色出现。随后成功的进军了美国市场,并且获得了比欧洲更大的成功。
From the very first pieces created in the 18th
century to the prestige timepieces of today,
the Manufacture Blancpain has built up a true
tradition of innovation. Founded in 1735 in
the heart of the Joux Valley, the cradle of Swiss
watchmaking, Blancpain is the world’s oldest
watchmaking brand. From the earliest years
after Jehan-Jaques Blancpain had set up his
workshop on the upper floor of his house in
Villeret, his creations enjoyed outright success.
By concentrating on top-of-range products, his
heirs perpetuated his art, while modernizing
their production methods. Building on a wealth
of expertise, by the middle of the 19th century
the House of Blancpain had become the most
substantial enterprise in Villeret. It would
remain under the family’s management for two
centuries, until 1932. Then, in the absence of an
heir wishing to make a career in watchmaking,
it was acquired by Betty Fiechter and André
Léal, the two associates who had been closest
to Frédéric-Emile Blancpain, the last member
of the family to take on the management of
the Manufacture. The company was renamed
"Rayville S.A. succ. de Blancpain" ("Rayville"
being a phonetic anagram of Villeret), but its
identity was perpetuated, and the characteristics
of the brand were preserved. Jean-Jacques
Fiechter joined his aunt Betty in 1950 and
took the helm of Blancpain. Among the great
successes of this period are the creation of
the legendary Fifty Fathoms, produced at the
request of the Combat Divers of the French Navy
and soon to become the standard of reference
for diving watches, and the Ladybird, a model
for women equipped with the smallest round
automatic movement of the time.
At the end of the 1950s, Blancpain became
part of the SSIH (Société Suisse pour l’Industrie
Horlogère), joining such brands as Omega,
Tissot and Lemania. It was as a member of this
group that it weathered the quartz crisis and
the difficulties arising from the oil crises of
the 1970s that shook the Swiss watchmaking
industry. In 1982, the Rayville-Blancpain name
was sold to Jacques Piguet, son of Frédéric
Piguet and director of the company of that
name, and Jean-Claude Biver. Until then, many
of the movements made by the Manufacture
had been concealed in its competitors’
watches, relegating the name of Blancpain
to a secondary role. The company decided
to retain exclusive possession of its expertise
and committed itself to the production of
grand complication wristwatches in the purest
traditional style, in the same spirit as those that
Jehan-Jacques Blancpain and his successors had
made more than two centuries earlier. By doing
this, Blancpain made a strong contribution
to the revival of mechanical watchmaking,
rehabilitating traditional complications and
publicising the story of the watchmaking guilds
and the central role played by the masterpieces
that embodied the highest achievements of
the watchmaker's craft. By turning to the
past to bring back to life the beginnings of
watchmaking as it had been practised in the
remote farms of the Jura, Blancpain enabled
both the culture and the art of traditional
watchmaking to survive and make progress.
In 2002, Marc A. Hayek became Chairman and
CEO of Blancpain and gave fresh momentum
to the Manufacture, which set out on a quest
for excellence without ever departing from its
precious inheritance. Considerable investments
were made and the number of world
premieres and patents grew dramatically with
an impressive array of new movements. A
custodian of watchmaking tradition, Blancpain
nevertheless seeks to surprise by its spirit of
innovation and taste for the provocative.
Respect for our own watchmaking tradition is
not seen as an obstacle to innovation. On the
contrary, the past history of the Manufacture
in Le Brassus is an inexhaustible source of
ideas. Taking it as inspiration for pushing
back limits is an ongoing challenge in our
company. Blancpain’s constant innovations
in the field of high-end watchmaking have
brought vigorous expansion in their train,
leading to verticalization of its production
with the acquisition of the Frédéric Piguet
company in 2010. This complete mastery of the
manufacturing process permits total freedom
in the creation of movements, though always
abiding by the aesthetic codes of the brand.
With a high proportion of its components and
tools designed and made in-house, training of
specialists and craftsmen, manual assembly of
each movement by a single watchmaker, and
refined finishes carried out entirely by hand
right down to the finest hidden details, the
strength of the Manufacture lies in its capacity
to create timepieces that are at once innovative
and loyal to the grand Swiss watchmaking
tradition.作者: 独特笨笨 时间: 2012-8-3 14:32:37