Watches: High time: Air Command by Blancpain

It dominates the water: For many months, Blancpain's diving watch was in the spotlight. 70 years ago, the manufacturer created the world's first diving watch, the "Fifty Fathoms". The manufacturer celebrated the anniversary and paid tribute to milestones: patented innovations such as the lockable bezel, the equipment of French combat divers, the US Navy Seals and the adventurer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. In honor of the "Fifty Fathoms" - the fifty fathoms - there were three new models.

But a brand should be careful not to become a "one-trick pony," that is, to be associated primarily with one watch in the portfolio. That is why competitor Audemars Piguet is flanking the best-seller "Royal Oak" with new lines such as the "Code" collection, and for a similar reason, Patek Philippe decided in 2021 to remove the hotly-running "Nautilus" reference 5711/1A from the range.

And Blancpain also has more elements under its belt. Five years ago, the workshops in Le Brassus in the Swiss Jura breathed new life into their pilot's watch "Air Command". After all, this model from the early 1950s also has a glorious past: it was designed for the US Air Force in 1953. The then distributor in the USA, Allen V. Tornek, gave twelve prototypes to jet pilots. However, the "Air Command" never went into series production, which makes it a rare and sought-after auction item - for six-figure sums.

In 1996, the name "Air Command" was then used for a watch that was more suited to the diving genre. It was not until 2019 that the legendary pilot's watch rose like a phoenix from the ashes. The design was based on the original, equipped with the latest mechanics. Of course, with a flyback function in both calibers, which are used in the two size variants (36.2 or 42.5 millimeters in diameter). It enables the stop function to be reset to zero with one hand. Thanks to the vertically coupled column wheel system, this is possible without stuttering.

The green version of the "Air Command" launched this year is inspired by camouflage clothing. The beige luminous material of the striking indexes in daylight harmonizes with the light stitching of the strap. The rotating bezel and a speedometer scale for determining the flight speed above the ground, the "ground speed", serve as a reference to professional use.

For a watch that, at least in theory, is also meant to be worn by pilots and has to withstand strong physical forces and magnetic fields, it is a good thing that the balance springs have been made of silicon instead of metal since 2001. This makes them lighter, more flexible without wearing out, and more durable. And the watch is more accurate. All wearers benefit from this, regardless of whether they are exposed to the element water or air.

The Blancpain brand The history of the brand begins with the entry of Jehan-Jacques Blancpain as a watchmaker in the register of his hometown of Villeret in 1735. The company remained family-owned for a long time and has been part of the Swatch Group since 1992. The CEO is Marc A. Hayek.