Blancpain Collaborates with the Drummer of KISS to Create a Melody for Its Most Complicated Watch
The Grande Double Sonnerie notches a new milestone for the Maison’s legacy of complications with an exclusive bespoke melody.
By Cait Bazemore
Contributor
You read that right. Blancpain, the historic, nearly 300-year-old brand, just teamed up with one of the modern era’s most acclaimed drummers, Eric Singer, who is best known for his contribution to the iconic rock band KISS, as well as Black Sabbath and many others.
The co-creation? The Maison’s most complicated timepiece in its 290-year catalog. This is the Grande Double Sonnerie.
Modernizing a Classic
Chiming watches hail from the pre-electricity era, when reading the time at night posed challenges. Today, despite technology having solved this problem, chiming watches remain among the most highly revered complicated timepieces.
A typical chiming watch uses just two notes – typically a low tone for the hours and a high tone for the quarter hours. However, a grande sonnerie uses twice as many. The most common melody for this more complex chiming watch is the classic four-note Westminster chime. With the new Grande Double Sonnerie, Blancpain takes things even further.
For the occasion, the Maison wanted to create its own completely original signature melody. The constraint: it had to be comprised of those same four notes (E, G, F, B) used to produce the instantly recognizable Westminster chime.
“Composing an entirely new melody is not easy when you’re limited to just four notes,” Blancpain President and CEO Marc Hayek told Watchonista. “And yet, this was still the most fun part of the project. I enlisted the help of a dear friend – Eric Singer, the drummer of KISS.”
Mr. Hayek continued, “Of course, we needed a very talented musician for the project, but for me, Eric is much more than that – he is a fellow watch geek. So, at the beginning, he was very enthusiastic about the project, but it was also very hard work. In the end, we got not one but ten melodies. However, we had to select only one for this watch.” So, with all the heart and soul poured into creating an original melody and dual-chiming timepiece, the sound quality had to be exceptional.
If you know anything about the sound quality of chiming watches, material is key. For the new Grande Double Sonnerie, Blancpain chose red gold for the movement, but the Maison didn’t stop there; it also developed a patented acoustic membrane that serves as the model’s own sound system.
This feature is expertly integrated directly into the bezel, providing a rich, lower-frequency melody for clarity and sound quality (as opposed to a high-frequency system that merely offers more decibels).
The result is the ultimate grand complication, combining a two-melody grande sonnerie (selected via a pusher on the case), a petite sonnerie, and a minute repeater with two classic grand complication functions: a tourbillon (which, in this case, is a flying tourbillon) and a perpetual calendar (featuring a retrograde display).
It’s Complicated, and It’s Beautiful
Even beyond the grande sonnerie, things get complicated. The Grande Double Sonnerie took a whopping eight years to bring to life and integrates 13 patents in the construction of the 1,053-component Calibre 15GSQ movement, which has an impressive 96-hour power reserve.
The retrograde perpetual calendar has been entirely reimagined with a new construction, fully integrated into the movement, and equipped with Blancpain’s patented under-lug correctors. In addition, the flying tourbillon has been updated with a silicon balance spring and a 4 Hz frequency. Of course, equal attention has been placed on the presentation of these complex features.
Working inward, extreme care and attention to detail have been placed on the finishing of the calibre. If you go back hundreds of years, the original purpose of movement decoration was, in fact, practical rather than aesthetic. It was employed to help prevent oxidation and corrosion. As time went on, it evolved into the practice we see today: a watchmaker’s signature, sometimes to be enjoyed by the wearer or, perhaps, only by watchmakers themselves during servicing.
Speaking of the wearer, another constraint Mr. Hayek established at the start of the project was that the watch must be wearable – this is not a museum piece or one to be kept in a presentation box or safe. “I always feel sad when I see watches that only live in a safe and don't generate the emotions and fun that they should,” shared Mr. Hayek.
The Grande Double Sonnerie is a watch that’s meant to be worn and enjoyed. Thus, although a typical chiming watch – even just a basic two-note variation – is, on average, 50mm in diameter to house all the necessary components, Blancpain’s newest chiming watch clocks in at 47mm.
The Definition of Limited Edition
To create such an exceptional design, Blancpain’s Head of Complications (who has worked in the role for over three decades) enlisted two of the Maison’s most skilled watchmakers, each of whom had served the company for nearly 15 years. A single watch takes each a full 12 months to create, meaning only two can be produced each year.
In addition, full customization is an option. “We’re willing to do almost anything as long as it doesn’t compromise the movement,” Mr. Hayek confirmed to Watchonista, elaborating: “We can change the materials as long as there is an understanding it will impact the sound – platinum, which will have a bit less strength of sound or titanium, which is brighter and louder but not as round or even something more exotic like sapphire could be possible.”
Of course, the list goes on for the range of bespoke options – the hands, the indices, even the dial. “I feel that a piece like this should become the wearer’s expression – something personal,” explained Mr. Hayek. This personalization could even go so far as an original melody, as long as it contains the four particular notes.
The Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie makes its grand entrance today. It’s priced at CHF 1.7 million, and production is limited to just two pieces annually. For more information, visit Blancpain’s website.