Salmon –first industrialized in the 1920s – has been having a comeback moment in the watch world in the last decade. Several heavyweight brands have created references in this divisive tone, that have gone on to command secondary market premiums. Independents also climbed on board and the color has become a signifier of a taste… until taste moves on of course. With the launch of the Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm, the question worth asking is not whether it looks good (it does) but whether it says something new, or merely repeats something that’s already been said.
Having spent an hour with Christian Lattmann, Blancpain’s VP Head of Product, I think the answer is more interesting than either conclusion.
The salmon dial is new to the Villeret collection. For decades, the Villeret has been known for its opaline and silvered tones, which for me feel like restrained and safe territory, and so I welcome the change. What Lattmann and his team have achieved is to introduce warmth without softness. The dial is sunburst, and as the color is not fixed, it dances through copper and rose depending on the angle and quality of light.
Getting that right, Lattmann explains, required considerably more work than simply choosing from a color swatch. “You cannot just select a singular color because with the finishing of the dial, the result could be different. We made more than ten different versions to find the warmest finishing.” This level of commitment is not a brand merely following a trend, but rather a team that set a goal and worked until it was right.
The indexes also reflect a level of commitment to the customer. There is a detail Lattmann mentions almost in passing, and it is one of the most revealing things he says about how Blancpain approaches the relationship between cost and conscience.
When the team moved the Villeret Ultraplate into 38mm, the question arose of what to do about the gold Roman numerals. The straightforward answer, the answer most brands would reach for, would be to use the same tooling as the 40mm. The tiniest difference in index size is not something a buyer will consciously register. For Lattmann and his team, that just wouldn’t suffice. He explains, “For each index, you have a tool, which are very expensive to make. If you want to reduce the cost, you use the same tool.” He pauses. “But here, we decided to really respect the best size of indexes. So, we had to make twenty new tools just to get the indexes right for the 38mm.” Twenty individual stamping tools, each precision-engineered for a single Roman numeral at the correct proportion for a case two millimeters smaller. The cost is entirely invisible to the person wearing the watch. And that is precisely the point.
It’s the kind of decision that never appears on a spec sheet and will never feature in a marketing campaign because there is no quick and clean way to explain it. Lattmann is not fishing for credit when he mentions this, he frames it simply, almost matter-of-factly, as a refusal to take a shortcut. For him, “It's a way of respecting the customer.”
What it represents is a philosophy in which the standard of the finished object does not vary depending on whether the compromise would be noticed. In an era when margin pressure is visible in the finishing of watches across every price tier, when the hidden components are often the first casualties of a cost reduction exercise, this is no small thing.
The perfectly-sized 18ct gold numerals are treated to a near-black finish that gives a cold, striking note against the warmth of the sunburst dial — a deliberate tension that keeps the watch from being merely pretty. “We tested both versions,” Lattmann says, “and we chose this one because of that tension. And with the strap we created a nice harmony for the whole watch.” The anthracite nubuck strap certainly works. The watch holds together through carefully considered counterpoint.
Moving onto the boutique-exclusive edition, we have a pairing that requires more confidence to defend: yellow-gold numerals contrasting with a stainless-steel case, worn on an olive-green nubuck alligator strap. Steel and yellow gold have historically occupied an awkward position in the market, being too hybrid for the traditional dress-watch buyer and not sporty enough to justify the bi-metal codes that Rolex made legible in the 1980s.
As ever, tastes are changing, and with gold prices having risen sharply over the past three years, younger collectors in particular have grown more comfortable with these mixed-materials. Swiss Watch Federation data shows bi-metal’s share of production has edged upward.
The olive-colored strap is particularly appealing and I ask Lattmann why it earns boutique exclusivity rather than a place in the main collection… is that down to confidence or caution? Lattmann is clear, “It's confidence, not caution” he says smiling, and then surprises me by raising his leg and showing me his classy loafers, also made in almost exactly the same shade of green.
“We couldn't resist to offer this strap,” he states. The leather is saddle-cut and hand-stitched, which adds cost and time for details most buyers will notice less as a specific attribute, more as an impression of overall quality. Asked about this, Lattmann says, “These finer details you cannot always explain technically. The most important thing is that you feel it.”
The watch industry has spent over a decade and a half building strap interchangeability into its value proposition, and Lattmann underlines several times throughout our conversation, how the straps are easily swapped out without complicated tools, which further confirms genuine design-led conviction.
Both watches are powered by the calibre 1150 — a movement measuring just 3.25mm in height with a 100-hour power reserve, now visible through an open-worked rotor in yellow gold. The case sits at 8.35mm total thickness. At CHF 9,600 for the steel salmon reference, in a market where entry-level dress watches from comparable Maisons have drifted steadily upward, that price point is either a statement of principle or a commercial necessity. Lattmann nods to the former. The price has held despite the improvements, he says, because President and CEO Marc A. Hayek decided it should.
When I ask how a collector standing in a boutique should feel about choosing between the two dials, Lattmann waves his hand and smiling again says, “It's purely emotional. You have to listen to your heart.”
These watches attract according to a mood, a wardrobe, a context. The salmon is warmth with an edge. The boutique edition is contrast that has been meticulously studied. Neither is trying to seize attention, but both deserve it nonetheless.
FAQ
Q: What is the Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate?
A: The Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate is a 38mm dress watch from Blancpain, available in a salmon dial stainless steel version and a boutique-exclusive steel-and-yellow-gold edition, both powered by the automatic calibre 1150.
Q: What is the price of the Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate?
A: The Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate in stainless steel with a salmon dial retails at CHF 9,600.
Q: What is a dress watch?
A: A dress watch is a slim, elegant timepiece designed for formal wear, with a clean dial and thin case. The Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm, at 8.35mm thick, is a contemporary example.
Q: What is the movement inside the Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate?
A: The Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate is powered by calibre 1150, an automatic movement 3.25mm thin with a 100-hour power reserve.
Q: What is a salmon dial watch?
A: A salmon dial watch features a warm pinkish-orange dial that shifts between copper and rose tones depending on the light. The Blancpain Villeret Ultraplate 38mm is one of the latest references to adopt this finish.
