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 · Le Brassus
Blancpain Le Brassus 43 mm Slate Grade
Reference 22628OR.34
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Blancpain
- Collection
- Le Brassus
- Model
- Blancpain Le Brassus 43 mm Slate Grade
- Reference number
- 22628OR.34
- Year / era
- 1992 · 1990s — mechanical revival
- Complication
- Time and date
- Movement
- In-house manual-winding
- Case material
- Grade 5 titanium
- Dial type
- Slate grey
- Strap / bracelet
- Oyster bracelet
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 43 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.8 mm
- Case material
- Grade 5 titanium
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Slate grey
- Hands
- Mercedes hour hand with Chromalight display
- Indexes
- Printed minute track with applied batons
- Bracelet / strap
- Oyster bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 43C — In-house manual-winding
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 45 hours
- Number of jewels
- 45 jewels
- Complications
- Time and date
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1992 – 1999
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Gérald Genta
Gérald Genta (1931–2011) trained as a goldsmith in Geneva and became the most influential watch designer of the 20th century. Working freelance, he sketched the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak overnight in 1970, followed by the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur SL and the Bulgari Bulgari — defining the integrated-bracelet luxury sports watch as a category.
Historical significance
Blancpain Le Brassus 43 mm Slate Grade sits within Blancpain's Le Brassus line, introduced in 1992. It carries the house codes established since 1735 — grade 5 titanium case, slate grey dial and in-house manual-winding — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- 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.