With features like its openworked leave-shaped hands, applied Roman numerals and beautifully stepped bezel, Blancpain’s Villeret watches are, in our opinion, one of the best-looking dress watches on the market.

While most of the timepieces in the dressy Villeret range feature white or opaline-silver faces, there are occasionally blue dials, but often in limited-edition platinum timepieces. For the first time, Blancpain pairs a midnight-blue sunburst dial with a 40mm red gold case, in two new watches — the Villeret Complete Calendar and the ultra-thin Villeret Ultraplate.

It’s a handsome combination that works well in both timepieces. While we love the classic formality of Villeret watches with white or silver dials, the deep blue hue, paired with red gold, gives the timepieces a welcome touch of flamboyance. The Ultraplate timepiece is powered by the automatic movement 1151, which has two mainspring barrels that give users a solid four-day power reserve.

For those who have frequent “Darn it, what day is it?” moments, the Complete Calendar (or Quantieme Complet in French) features day and month windows, as well as a date display with a serpentine hand. Inside the watch is the automatic 6654 movement, which has 72 hours of power reserve. Those who do not pore over instruction manuals and/or take them to heart will be glad to know that the movement features a safety mechanism so you can adjust the calendar at any time, unlike many conventional calendar watches. The Complete Calendar is also equipped with patented under-lug correctors, so users can adjust the indications with a finger instead of having to hunt for a pusher tool.

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