A watch the size of a marble: Blancpain's Lady B marks 70 years of the Ladybird
Blancpain celebrates the 1956 Ladybird with a 19 mm spherical watch and one of the smallest automatic movements still in production.
In 1956 Blancpain made the Ladybird, a tiny women's watch that fitted a mechanical movement into a case smaller than most people thought possible. The company was led then by Betty Fiechter, the first woman to run a Swiss watch house. Seventy years later, Blancpain is marking the anniversary with the Lady B.
A sphere, not a disc
The Lady B isn't a copy of the original. It's a round ball of a watch, 19 mm across and 13.2 mm tall, with a total volume of just 2.9 cubic centimetres. There are no lugs: the strap passes right through the case, and it's a long calf-leather strap that wraps twice around the wrist. It comes in stainless steel or 18k red gold and is water resistant to 30 metres.
The movement
Inside is Blancpain's automatic calibre 615, one of the smallest round automatic movements in production today. It is 15.7 mm across, beats at 3 Hz, has a silicon balance spring and runs for 38 hours. The original Ladybird was hand-wound, so the new one is a little bigger but winds itself.
Because the strap runs through the case, there is no display back.
From the bench
Small movements are hard work. Everything is scaled down except your hands and tools, so screws, springs and jewels get harder to handle, and any dust or a stray hair matters more. An automatic movement this small also needs a rotor that can wind it with very little mass. That's why tiny mechanical watches have always been a test of a maker's skill, and why the Ladybird mattered in 1956.
Price and availability
The Lady B is not a limited edition. It went on sale on 17 September 2026, priced by Blancpain at CHF 9,500 in steel and CHF 14,500 in red gold.
Gallery
Specifications
| Reference / edition | |
|---|---|
| Reference | 0064 |
| Edition | Not a limited edition |
| Case | |
| Material | Polished stainless steel or 18K red gold |
| Diameter | 19.00 mm |
| Thickness | 13.20 mm |
| Volume | 2.9 cm³ |
| Water resistance | 30 m |
| Construction | Two-part case with integrated strap passage |
| Dial | |
| Dial | Opaline |
| Hands | Hours and minutes; gold applied polished sticks (red gold or grey gold) |
| Movement | |
| Calibre | Blancpain Manufacture 615 |
| Type | Automatic |
| Diameter / thickness | 15.70 mm / 3.90 mm |
| Frequency | 21,600 alternations/h (3 Hz) |
| Jewels | 29 |
| Power reserve | 38 hours |
| Components | 180 |
| Details | Silicon balance spring; Côtes de Genève |
| Strap | |
| Strap | Double-tour calf leather, 10 mm, pin buckle; white, beige, mocha, burgundy, blue, coral or purple |
| Price | |
| Price | CHF 9,500 (steel) / CHF 14,500 (red gold) |
| Availability | |
| Availability | From 17 September 2026, Blancpain boutiques and authorised retailers |
Specifications per brand: Blancpain Lady B press release (September 2026).
Sources
- Blancpain: Blancpain Lady B press release
- Swatch Group: BLANCPAIN LADY B.
- Hodinkee: Blancpain Celebrates The 70th Anniversary Of The Ladybird Collection
- WatchTime: Introducing the Blancpain Lady B