Blancpain Half Hunter Complete Calendar Moonphase LE, c. 1990 — view 1 of 6 — View 1 of 6 · Image: Analog/Shift · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 6 · Image: Analog/Shift · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Pocket Watches · Pocket watch

Blancpain Half Hunter Complete Calendar Moonphase LE, c. 1990

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.

Maker / attribution: Blancpain (maker)
Date: c. 1990
Historical period: Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)
Country of origin: Switzerland
Object type: Pocket watch
Dimensions: Case 40 mm
Dealer: Analog/Shift (dealer), New York
Stock no.: 40990461
Credit line: Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40990461)
Catalogue title (original): Blancpain Half Hunter Complete Calendar Moonphase LE (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40990461), this is a pocket watch by Blancpain, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1990. The Atlas places it in the Mechanical Renaissance period (1990 – 2010) of its Pocket Watches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 40 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

It’s important not to lose sight of one’s roots. For Blancpain, that means nearly 300 years of watchmaking history. During the Industrial Revolution, the firm was able to compete with American factories through serial production, turning out some of the best pocket watches in Switzerland. Despite its renown as a maker of famed tool watches such as the Fifty Fathoms, it’s these refined pocket and dress watches that perhaps best capture the Blancpain spirit. This particular Blancpain, the Half-Hunter Complete Calendar Moonphase Limited Edition dating to circa 1990, honors the brand’s beginnings with a “hunter” case — one with a spring-loaded, hinged lid over the crystal for protection. Clocking in at 40mm in white gold, it features a sapphire crystal, signed crown, stepped bezel, and an incredible guilloché dial with white gold studded indices, feuille and crescent moon handset in a complete calendar layout, with day, date, month and moon phase displays. The watch is complemented by a black alligator strap with a signed, hidden deployant clasp. When else does one have the opportunity to wear a pocket watch on the wrist, let alone one cool as this Blancpain!

Historical context

Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)

Mechanical watches return as cultural objects; independent watchmaking flourishes.

Collectors' interest in antique pocket watches grew, and a few houses made new pocket watches with grand complications as technical showpieces.

Read the period in the timeline More pocket watches from this period Earlier: Quartz Revolution

Atlas type guide

Hunter, half-hunter and open-face watches

In the nineteenth century the pocket watch case settled into a few standard forms. The hunter (French savonnette) has a hinged front lid protecting the crystal — reputedly for riders who could not risk broken glass — and is opened by pressing the crown or a push-piece. The half-hunter has a small window in the lid so the hands can be read when closed. The open-face (lépine) watch has no front cover, with the crown at 12; hunters normally carry the crown at 3.

Case types also changed with winding: key-wound watches gave way to keyless (stem-wound) mechanisms after Adrien Philippe's and others' designs of the 1840s, with pendant setting or lever setting.

What to look for

Crown position relative to the seconds dial: at 3 for hunters, at 12 for open-face watches.
Spring-loaded front cover with a push-piece in the pendant.
Half-hunter chapter ring enamelled on the lid.
Key holes in the inner dome (cuvette) versus keyless winding.

Dating clues

Keyless winding spread after c. 1850 and became standard by c. 1890.
English hallmarks inside gold and silver cases give the year of assay.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Mechanisms mentioned

Moon-phase indication — Complication

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

Explore further

Sources & image rights

Record source: Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Analog/Shift — dealer photographs; permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Blancpain Half Hunter Complete Calendar Moonphase LE, c. 1990." Analog/Shift (dealer), New York, 40990461. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/blancpain-half-hunter-complete-calendar-moonphase-le-fd3304.