Blancpain
About The Partnership
As Oceana’s exclusive watch partner, Blancpain is supporting Oceana’s efforts to restore marine ecosystems.
Oceana and Blancpain will lead an expedition in the summer of 2021 to Arrecife Alacranes (Scorpion Reef), the largest reef in the southern Gulf of Mexico. It has been designated by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve and the Mexican government established it as a National Park, home to more than 500 species of fish and 34 species of coral. A recent study identified Arrecife Alacranes as a reef that is healthy and diverse enough to have a better chance at surviving the effects of climate change.
Despite the reef’s current biodiversity and resiliency, there are very few rules in place to protect the habitat from destructive fishing. During the expedition, Oceana and Blancpain will document the reef and marine life present with underwater photos and video and cutting-edge science, including eDNA analysis and 3D photomosaic modeling. Oceana will then use these findings to campaign for the Mexican government to provide further protections for the reef.
Through its Blancpain Ocean Commitment, the prestige Swiss watchmaker has co-financed 19 major scientific expeditions, celebrated its role in doubling the surface of marine protected areas around the world, and presented several award-winning documentary films, underwater photography exhibitions and publications.
About Blancpain
Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in the Swiss Jura, Blancpain is known as the world’s oldest watch brand. Loyal to its tradition of innovation and confirmed by countless horological complications invented over the years, the Manufacture is constantly pushing the boundaries of watchmaking to take this art to places where it has never been before. Embodying a long-term vision, this commitment to the revival of mechanical horology is expressed through the passing on of invaluable expertise from one generation to the next, along with regular investments in human resources, production technologies and research & development. Thanks to its constant stream of innovations and its complete mastery of the manufacturing process, Blancpain benefits from a total creative freedom. With a high proportion of its components and tools designed and made in-house, trained specialists and craftsmen, manual assembly of each movement, and refined finishes performed 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. This philosophy is conveyed through each of the brand’s creations and all its collections, including the classic Villeret, the legendary Fifty Fathoms diver’s watch, the dainty Women models and the one-of-a-kind Métiers d’Art pieces. Blancpain has two production facilities. The Manufacture in Le Sentier houses all the main specialized watchmaking activities: from engineering to quality control along with component testing & approval, production and finishing, as well as movement assembly and final casing-up. The Manufacture in Le Brassus, named “La Ferme”, is dedicated to the most demanding and challenging complications, such as minute-repeaters, carrousels, tourbillons and ultra-complex calendars. It is also within these walls that the Métiers d’Art workshops are gathered, where Blancpain’s master-craftsmen devote themselves to the vast array of artistic forms of expression applicable to craft.
