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 42 mm Silvered Quartz
Reference 40799OR.89
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Blancpain
- Collection
- Le Brassus
- Model
- Blancpain Le Brassus 42 mm Silvered Quartz
- Reference number
- 40799OR.89
- Year / era
- 1981 · 1980s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Time only
- Movement
- In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Dial type
- Silvered opaline
- Strap / bracelet
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 250 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 42 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.8 mm
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Bezel
- Bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Silvered opaline
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 8A — In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 27 jewels
- Complications
- Time only
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1981 – 1990
- Limited-edition quantity
- 250 pieces
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Blancpain Le Brassus 42 mm Silvered Quartz sits within Blancpain's Le Brassus line, introduced in 1981. It carries the house codes established since 1735 — quartz tpt case, silvered opaline dial and in-house automatic, chronometer certified — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
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.