In a ballsy move, a metal worker at a Russian weapons factory asked the powerful former Russian President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for his wrist watch. More surprising is that Viktor Zagaevsky actually got Putin to hand over the watch, for good.

The story is simple. While in the Russian town of Tula, Putin was touring a weapons factory and doing a speech on the economy of the region. Putin is extremely well regarded in Russia, and his actual place in politics has been debated as it sometimes seems that he does more than merely sit as a former Prime Minister. Another area of inquiry regard how Putin can afford his lavish lifestyle. Russian politicians report their annual incomes, and while they aren't minuscule, they certainly don't allow for a collection of luxury Swiss watches - among other luxuries that Putin enjoys (such as sport diving in a submarine). While the questions are valid, they are a bit naive. As a former Prime Minister, and currently an extremely powerful man in Russian, Putin is bound to have "alternative" sources of income of wealth upon which to draw from. The former KGB man is no novice at secrecy. Still international questions arise as to Putin's actual status in Russia. Nevertheless, the Russian people seem not to mind. Putin is considered a national hero and symbol of Russian pride. He is fiercely nationalistic.

It was not the first time that Putin was known to gift a watch, but he is not exactly known for it. No one is to my knowledge. Putin is known as an avid fan of luxury watches, and is seen wearing them even while engaging in sporty activities where even most luxury watch owners would sport nothing more than a Casio due to fear of timepiece harm.

The watch that Putin happened to have on at the time was his well-loved Blancpain Aqua Lung Big Date, as he has been seen wearing it often. It is a steel cased watch of a modest size and very thin for a mechanical timepiece. It has a big date complication and water resistant to 100 meters with a soft black leather strap. New, the watch goes for about 6,000 euros. For Viktor Zagaevsky, the watch will certainly have a great deal of sentimental value, not to mention be a new luxury for someone who likely has never purchased more than a bargain watch. I feel that Putin made a prudent decision as the good-will attached with the move is invaluable.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

It has been a long road since Q1 of last year when Blancpain teased our eager eyes with the new 500 Fathoms watch. This month the watch will finally see its official release. So far there has been a special one-off 500 Fathoms watch for the Only Watch 2009 charity auction, a limited edition version to celebrate the release of the 500 Fathoms Watch at the Cannes Boat Show, and now the standard watch, that itself seems to be in a limited edition of 500 pieces - at least for the first run.

The biggest change to the final version of the watch from the early renders is in the dial colors (note the nice looking reversal of the colors for the Cannes limited edition). Notice the gray on black sections of the watch? Those gray portions initially shared the same dull green lume color as the four large Arabic numerals. Still, the gray sections are lume covered - so they will glow after being charged by light. There should be lume also in the rotating diver's bezel. Starting with the newer 50 Fathoms watch, Blancpain has has one of the best looking and most durable diver's bezels available, as they are covered with curved sapphire crystals. You also have the optional rubber straps that are uniquely done for the 500 Fathoms watches (seen in the image). Both this and the water resistant canvas strap ought to deal with the 1000 meter water resistance of the watch quite nicely when spending time "in the deep." I have yet to see a brand new metal bracelet for the line. If one comes out, it will look interesting no doubt.

You will finally be able to find the Blancpain 500 Fathoms watches out now where Blancpain watches are sold. It is even a stark departure from their outgoing luxury dive watch line (50 Fathoms and Aqualung). Movement is the in house made automatic Blancpain Caliber 1315 movement with a 5 day power reserve. Price is likely to be over $12,000, but we will see how Blancpain responds to the current stubbornness to pay retail luxury prices.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Not that the newer Blancpain 500 Fathoms watches needed improvements, but Blancpain needed to do something to it if it was going to be used as their unique showpiece watch for the Only Watch 2009 charity auction that will be held this month in Monaco at the yacht show. The release of the consumer version of the new Blancpain 500 Fathoms watch is imminent and the final publicity push for it is this special "piece unique" model for the well-watched charity auction. Aside from "1/1" badging all around, the Only Watch 2009 watch will feature a special dial with carbon fiber and specially skeletonized sections with a semi opaque view of the date wheel. The aperture for the date itself is at 6 o'clock.

The special watch shares the 48mm wide titanium case and awesome Blancpain manufacture Caliber 1315 automatic movement. Having a special watch like this is a great way to get attention for the new line as it will become widely publicly available soon after the auction is over. We can look closely to see what price this one-off Blancpain watch will fetch.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Once again Blancpain is hanging out at the Cannes (32nd annual) International Boat Show. This time to officially release their previously announced Blancpain 500 Fathoms timepiece. In addition, they will release a special limited edition version of the Blancpain 500 Fathoms watch in celebration of the event. The limited edition of 50 pieces watch features a specially engraved caseback. I really love the 500 Fathoms' rotor. Not only do you get a propeller shape, but you also get hand perlage polish on it, and a different style of polish on the bottom that is meant to look like bubbles. The Caliber 1315 movement is extremely accurate and the watch itself is 1000 meters water resistant. The case is 48mm wide and in titanium.

I don't think that the dial of the limited edition is any different than the standard model. That is OK, as I have been a fan of the new dial look for a while. The torpedo hands and lots of lume are an interesting choice for the luxury brand. The titanium make up of the watch will make for a light and strong timepiece, but I am concerned about the case's ability to get scratches. The rotating diver's bezel has a sapphire crystal over it. Prices will likely be around $15,000. The International Boat Show in Cannes will be open September 9-14, 2009.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

This year Lamborghini raced full-speed ahead into new territory: racing. Unlike its arch-rival Ferrari, Lamborghini doesn't have a deep heritage in motorsports, but launched the Super Trofeo series this year to let its most affluent customers exercise their need for speed on the race track. 30 specially-prepared Gallardo LP560-4 race cars are used in the series, which is sponsored by Swiss watchmaking atelier Blancpain, which has in turn launched a special-edition chrono to commemorate its participation. In stark contrast to the wildly-styled Lamborghinis, the Blancpain Super Trofeo Chronograph is an exercise in understatement...at least in the world of automotive-themed wristwatches. The case is covered in Diamond Like Carbon (DLC), the straps made of the same Alcantara suede used in the race car's cockpit, and the face is dominated by the 9 and 12 o'clock indicators. Two pushbutton actuators – one red and one carbon – operate the bespoke Calibre F185 automatic chronograph movement. Only 300 examples of this limited-edition timepiece will be offered, and you can expect the racers themselves to snap up the first thirty.

Is Blancpain going overboard with the big watch craze? This image points to yes, but this is actually part of a trophy that Blancpain gave out. If you aren't a serious foodie you might have never heard of the Bocuse d'Or, one of the world's most coveted cooking competitions and awards. The 2009 winner was Geir Skeie, a chef at the restaurant Mathuset Solvold, in Sandefjord, Norway. I can't pronounce the chef's name, the name of the restaurant, or even the city in Norway, but what I do know is that I covet the watch part of the award.

Swiss watch maker Blancpain co-sponsored the event and awarded a Blancpain Flyback Chronograph Grande Date watch to the winner of Bocuse d"Or this year. With incentives like that I might join the competition myself next year! This year's Bocuse d'Or was the 21st occurrence of the event, and unsurprisingly, was held in Lyon, France.

Watch makers and chefs have had a long positive history. Not only does cooking require careful and often overlapping timing, but chefs, like watch makers, are detail oriented and focused on perfection. Blancpain chose wisely in participating with the Bocuse d'Or, and I have to admit the styling of the Blancpain Flyback Chronograph watch fits well with the culinary theme.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

It's not even Christmas yet but Blanpain has already introduced their Valentine's Day watch. The Blancpain Women "Saint-Valentin 2009" is an exclusive edition of 99 Flyback Chronographs with a mother-of-pearl dial decorated with ruby heart. The 34 mm case has front and back sapphire crystals and houses Calibre F185 which drives the chronograph functions, the hours, minutes and small seconds, as well as the date display. The wintry display is finished with a white alligator leather strap.

The Carousel Volant by Blancpain has become the first wristwatch displayed in the Forbidden City. The timepiece was first displayed in the Palace Museum in Beijing's Forbidden City during a unique donation ceremony. The Palace Museum has a Watch and Clock Hall that has a collection of over 1,000 mechanical timepieces from the 18th and 19th Century but this is the first modern timepiece in the collection.

The watch which is called the Blancpain Qiankun Carousel, is done in 18K gold and the half-worked opaline dial shows the Yin and Yang symbol.The 43.5 mm case has a special design on the back with the words "The Palace Museum" and "Piece Unique." Under the sapphire crystal you can see the oscillating weight which was specifically designed for this piece. The Carousel is similar to a tourbillon and completes a full rotation in 60 seconds. Close up pics of the watch front and back showing the intricate detail are in the gallery below.

Wow. This pair of women's watches is absolutely mouth watering. The double-beveled edge filled with round diamonds, the unique design within the face itself spilling diamonds between Arabic numerals, and the two distinct color choices are more than enough to get me to drool. It will even hug your wrist with a satin band. Feminine but not shy, these timepieces would fit into any wardrobe... so when do I get mine?!

The latest creation from Blancpain is absolutely stuffed with diamonds. The Tourbillon Diamants has 480 diamonds for a total of 58 carats. The dial sparkles with a brick-like arrangement of baguette diamonds. The watch uses the Blancpain Calibre 25A movement, a mechanical self-winding movement made of 239 parts with a seven-day power reserve. The 40mm white gold case is water resistant. The white gold bracelet is set with 42 carats of diamonds.

Blancpain has unveiled their Saint-Valentin 2008 watch. Each year the watch company looks for a new variation on the heart theme. This year's watch plays down the heart angle, opting for a simple red heart outline which also serves as the small seconds hand. The watch features two rows of diamonds on the double-stepped bezel. It is water-resistant to 50 meters thanks to a screw-lock crown and screw-down back. The 34 mm-diameter case is stainless steel and the dial is mother of pearl. The watch uses the self-winding Calibre 6763 movement which has a 100-hour power reserve and a complete calendar with a pointer-type date display, along with day of the week, month and moon-phase indications. I has a sapphire crystal display case back and a white alligator leather strap and will be a limited edition of 99.

[via WatchLuxus]

The latest watch from the Blancpain Women's Collection is the Blancpain Women's Time Zone. The watch uses the Calibre 5L60, a selfwinding movement with a 100-hour power reserve. The 34mm case is steel with front and back sapphire crystals. The dial has the dual time zone display at 12 o'clock with the small seconds at 6 o'clock and a date window. The day/night indication is shown by a sun and a moon crescent surrounded by tiny stars. The watch come in steel with a black or champagne-colored dial or a chestnut version that has diamonds both on the central minute circle and around the white gold case.

Blancpain has given watch lovers a preview of some of the watches they will be showing off at Baselworld in April. The watch above is the Blancpain Ultra-Slim Lotus for women. The latest addition to Blancpain's Lotus line features 220 diamonds on a black dial with a sunray guilloche design. There are also two rows of diamonds on the double-stepped bezel. The 34mm white gold case is on a black satin strap. The watch uses the Blancpain Calibre 1150 movement. This mechanical self-winding movement drives the central hour, minute and
seconds hands, as well as the date appearing through a window at 6 o'clock. The watch's 188 parts can be seen moving through the sapphire crystal case-back.

Cooking competitions are very popular these days but the Bocuse d'Or is in a class by itself. It is part of the International Hotel Catering and Food Trade Exhibition in Lyons France taking place now through January 24 which also includes the World Pastry Cup. The contest, which is on January 23, is judged by 24 chefs and 24 chefs have the opportunity to compete on three different themes in a timed contest. In addition to the accolades of the crowd, the winner receives a Blancpain hand-engraved Léman GMT Alarm watch worth 14,000 euros. Other events include the International Cheese Competition, which has already crowned a winner, France and the cheeses of Rodolphe le Meunier.

Like the chocolate Omega that we checked out a while back, the Blancpain Havana has a rich brown dial and strap. The Havana is the latest addition to the Le Brassus collection. The watch has a 42mm diameter platinum case and it is a perpetual calendar with a second time zone indicator. The watch is a limited edition of 150 pieces and comes with a bronze cigar cutter, a brown box bearing the design of a cigar band and another walnut box that can be used as a humidor.