A leading driver of technological advancements has always been the military—particularly during wartime. This is especially true of timekeeping instruments given the need for coordination and precision during combat operations.

For most watch collectors, a collection is not complete without at least one diving watch. And in the luxury watch space, there are a handful of brands known for making some of the best dive models out there.

Blancpain has been a very fortunate brand. As one of the pioneers in the field of diving watches and that of automatic watches, they have a tremendously rich history. Even when the quartz crisis almost made an end to the brand, there was Jean-Claude Biver, who together with Jacques Piguet, son of Frédéric Piguet, took the company to new heights. Since 2002 the brand is in the capable hands of Marc A. Hayek, who has carefully build upon the history of the brand, yet with a keen eye to what modern consumers are looking for. While their current collection is vast, these are our Haute Time favorites.

Summer is here, and that means that the lives of most people tend to move more to the outdoors. Pools and beaches, dining al fresco, go sailing or simply sit down and relax in the garden, these five watches will perfectly match your summer mood!

The jump hour is a complication loved by many, yet only a few brands have one in their collection. One of the reasons for this is that it is difficult to make. The jump hour is a volatile complication in which power is build up in a spring during the hour to be released upon the hour. Not only does this require superb power management within the movement, but there is also to challenge to achieve perfect alignment of the hour disc after the jump has taken place.

Vintage inspired watches usually go back to the mid-1900's. For many iconic watches, this was the time they were first brought to the market. That also goes for the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, which was launched in 1956, three years after the original Fifty Fathoms. While this was an exciting time with beautiful designs, another era is also known for its unique, and often bold, creations: the 1970's.

After Part I of Haute Time's Favorite Baselworld Watches, there are still a few new watches that we would like to highlight, as they made strong entries to our wishlists, and perhaps those of yours as well.

Baselworld is always a place full of surprizes, some large and some small. One of those big surprises is the Blancpain Villeret Tourbillon Volant Heure Sautante Minute Rétrograde. This watch combines a jumping hour with retrograde minutes and a unique flying tourbillon.

Brands exhibiting at Baselworld are gearing up for the fair and releasing previews of what is to come. Among them Blancpain, who already showed us images of the new Villeret Quantième Complet GMT.

As a diving watch pioneer, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is one of those watches that always get special attention from many watch connoisseurs. This goes for the current collection, but even more so of the vintage pieces, like this Fifty Fathoms "No Radiations".

Two days after the passing of Paul Bocuse, Blancpain kept time at the Swiss edition of Bocuse's famed culinary contest Bocuse d'Or.

Blancpain is a brand that most certainly doesn't shy away from creating unique, and complicated, watches. This Carrousel Repetition Minutes is a prime example of this, as it unites an already complicated minute repeater, with a carrousel.

One of Blancpain's most extraordinary models is also one of their more unknown, at least here in the West. No, I am not talking about their exquisite Le Brassus with tourbillon and carrousel, but rather about their Traditional Chinese Calendar which is part of the Villeret collection.

It is somewhat of a contradiction: to create a complicated watch, and then make it look as simple and understated as possible. This not only requires technical prowess, but also quite a bit of skill from the designers, as nothing is as difficult as making a complicated watch look simple, yet these four watches do just that!

Of all complications, the minute repeater remains one of the most coveted. It is so complicated to make that it will always remain a rarity. While tourbillons have enjoyed increasing popularity, also because it is available at a much lower price point, the minute repeater remains a precious expression of the art of Haute Horlogerie.

While watches with two (or more) regulating organs are not a rarity anymore, the Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel is different, as it combined two different approaches to the regulating organ in one single watch.