Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Blancpain · Ladybird
Blancpain Ladybird 40 mm Black 18k
Reference 98707OR.19
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Blancpain
- Collection
- Ladybird
- Model
- Blancpain Ladybird 40 mm Black 18k
- Reference number
- 98707OR.19
- Year / era
- 1955 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Tourbillon
- Movement
- In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Dial type
- Black lacquer
- Strap / bracelet
- NATO textile strap
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 14.1 mm
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Black lacquer
- Hands
- Skeletonised sword hands, white luminescent
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- NATO textile strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 10C — In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 70 hours
- Number of jewels
- 45 jewels
- Complications
- Tourbillon
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1955 – 1962
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Blancpain Ladybird 40 mm Black 18k sits within Blancpain's Ladybird line, introduced in 1955. It carries the house codes established since 1735 — 18k yellow gold case, black lacquer dial and in-house automatic, superlative chronometer — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
Blancpain
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1735
- Founder
- Jehan-Jacques Blancpain
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Fifty Fathoms, Villeret, Air Command, Bathyscaphe, Le Brassus, Ladybird
- Signature technologies
- Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Certified chronometer regulation · Shock-absorbing movement mounting
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic, chronometer certified · In-house automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 36 mm Slate Sapphire (1978) · Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 44 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k (1954) · Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 41 mm Skeletonised Quartz (2001) · Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 41 mm Black Stainless (1959)
Brand history
Blancpain has spent more than 291 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Fifty Fathoms, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Jehan-Jacques Blancpain established Blancpain in 1735, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Blancpain calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1735
Jehan-Jacques Blancpain founds Blancpain in Switzerland.
1775
Blancpain earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Blancpain to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Blancpain enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Blancpain continues to produce Fifty Fathoms, Villeret, Air Command and other icons in limited numbers.