IN TIME watchmaker, registering that profession on the village rolls. This is indeed fortunate since it is unlikely that he would be celebrated more than 270 years later had his cattle monopolised his fancy. Later, Jehan-Jacques would add a fourth profession to his resume, serving as mayor of the commune. There is somewhat of a confession to be made at this point. Since the early 1980s Blancpain has frequently honored its founding by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain as of 1735, as indeed it should, because that well establishes that Blancpain is the oldest watch company in the world. However, in celebrating its pedigree and paying homage to Jehan-Jacques, a portrait of a distinguishedlooking bearded gentlemen has been held out as his. Indeed that portrait is of a Blancpain family member, just not Jehan-Jacques; it is of Frédéric-Emile Blancpain who lived fully a century and half later. There is some relief in the discovery of this error, because, without the correction, the subject of the painting would have been one of history’s most avant-garde dressers, wearing clothes not destined to appear until more than 100 years later. The 1735 date merits examination as well. It is almost certainly the case that Jehan- Jacques began watchmaking before 1735. The citation to the 1735 date is grounded upon Jehan-Jacques recordation of his occupation as “horloger” on an official property registry for the Villeret commune that year. VILLERET CIRCA 1850. To identify himself as a watchmaker as of that date, he must have been practising the craft for some period before. Blancpain fairly lays claim to being the oldest watch company in the world, because although Jehan-Jacques was not the first watchmaker in the world, for that one must go back hundreds of years earlier, the brand he pioneered has been continuously active since at least 1735 through to today. Although our history has a long distance to traverse before reaching the 1980s, it is well at this juncture to correct the record a second time. In the 1980s, several story variants were floated – that Blancpain had gone out of existence, that Blancpain had been in bankruptcy, that Blancpain had ceased operations – to embellish a portrayal of rebirth during that decade. In fact, none of these stories was true. As our tale unfolds we will see continuity in one form or another from the official recording of Jehan-Jacques Blancpain as a watchmaker in 1735 through to the present day. Jehan-Jacques, thus, was the founder of what is now the world’s oldest watch company. We can safely surmise that Jehan-Jacques Blancpain approached his craft in similar fashion as his compatriots in the Villeret commune, that is to say as a family enterprise. It was the custom of the time for both husbands and wives to work together to produce watches. Generally the men devoted themselves to cutting and forming the plates and bridges, fashioning the wheels and pinions, regulation of the time-keeping and encasement of the movements. Women were the finishing specialists – polishing and decorating components. The Blancpain watchmaking family circle soon came to include many. Jehan-Jacques’ son, Isaac, followed in his father’s footsteps both as a watchmaker and a school teacher, joining with uncles and aunts, also watchmakers. The Blancpains adhered to Villeret custom which considered labelling watches with a name to be both vain and unbecomingly commercial, preferring instead to sell their wares absent a trademark. This discretion in their method of selling deprives us of virtually all evidence of their early work. The sole remaining trace of the Blancpain family’s pre-1800 efforts which has been located is a Louis XVI inner watch back signed “Blancpain et fils”. Notwithstanding this absence today of signed pieces from this epoch, it is known that David-Louis Blancpain (1765-1816), grandson of Jehan- Jacques, cast his sights beyond the borders of Switzerland, travelling to European commercial centres selling Blancpain family
JEHAN-JACQUES <strong>BLANCPAIN</strong>’S ORIGINAL WORKSHOP (”<strong>THE</strong> FARM“). Cylinder escapement Blancpain pocket watch. 06 | 07