# Bianchet

Bianchet is a Swiss luxury watchmaking company known for creating tonneau-shaped tourbillon watches.

## Overview

Bianchet was founded by husband and wife Rodolfo Festa Bianchet and Emmanuelle Festa Bianchet in 2017 when Rodolfo was a successful entrepreneur in the Fintech sector, and Emmanuelle Festa Bianchet was a journalist and artist.
Bianchet is the first watchmaking company to have developed its entire watch movement architecture and watch cases using the golden ratio of 1.618 and the Fibonacci sequence as a design basis. It is also the first company to have developed a tonneau-shaped watch in carbon capable of resisting a pressure of 10ATM or 100 meters of water depth, for which the company uses a proprietary high-density carbon composite infused with titanium dust.
After founding the company in 2017, Bianchet presented its prototype at Baselworld in 2019. Two years later, the company released its first watch, the Tourbillon B 1.618 Openwork, at the Geneva Watch Days and participated in the Grand Prix D'Horlogerie de Genève. The same year, Bianchet opened its first showroom in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. In 2022, Bianchet presented the Tourbillon B 1.618 new limited editions at the Geneva Watch Days. As of 2023, Bianchet is an Associated Brand of the Geneva Watch Days, and its timepieces are distributed in 22 countries.
Bianchet won a Swiss Watch award in October 2023 as its Flying Tourbillon Grande Date has been named the Best Start-Up Watch at the Temporis International Awards in Zurich. The watch was selected by a jury of industry experts from across the world, including notable watchmakers Philippe Dufour, Kari Voutilainen, and Romain Gauthier, along with specialist journalists, retailers, and influencers.
On the occasion of Geneva Watch Week 2024, Bianchet introduced its Flying Tourbillon Sport GMT, which allows simultaneous reading of two time zones. Equipped with an in-house titanium flying tourbillon, the watch movement is adorned with a rotating Earth dome synchronised with the hour hand.
In February 2025, Bianchet unveiled the B 1.618 UltraFino, a refined evolution of the integrated sport tonneau watch. The first two models - a skeleton and dial version - feature a curved tonneau case with an ergonomic curvature of 1.2 mm and a height of 8.9 mm, paired with an integrated bracelet. The watch made its debut at the Geneva Watch Week events. Alongside this launch, Bianchet introduced its first automatic tourbillon movement crafted from titanium —the ultra-thin caliber UT01—marking a significant advancement in the brand’s horological innovation. The whole watch and movement are designed around the Golden Ratio - including the gold rotor shaped around the 12 interlacing Fibonacci spirals - with the objective of obtaining a perfect balance of aesthetics, ergonomics, and resilience.

## Materials and Technology

Bianchet incorporates a fusion of noble and high-tech materials in its watch cases and movements, exemplifying both innovation and craftsmanship. Among these is Titanium-Dust-High-Density-Carbon, an advanced composite exclusively developed for the brand. This material consists of 500 ultra-thin layers of 0.03mm carbon fibre, with titanium powder infused between every two layers, creating a unique combination of strength, lightness, and durability.
The brand is also renowned for seamlessly blending precious and technical materials, such as gold with carbon or sapphire with rubber. In July 2024, Bianchet introduced the hybrid-gold versions of its Grande Date and Sport GMT models, featuring a striking fusion of carbon, gold, rubber, and titanium. A month later, the brand unveiled its first sapphire timepiece, pioneering a breakthrough in watchmaking by integrating rubber gaskets within a sapphire watch case—an industry first.

## Movements

Bianchet specialises in the creation of tourbillon watches, designing and developing its own flying tourbillon movements. Each movement is entirely made in Switzerland, crafted from titanium, finished by hand, and assembled at the Bianchet workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
In February 2025, Bianchet introduced the ultra-thin caliber UT01, an automatic movement measuring 3.85 mm in thickness and weighing a mere 8 grams, with a tourbillon cage standing at only 2.66 mm in height. This makes it one of the thinnest and lightest automatic tourbillon movements in the industry. To achieve this ultra-slim architecture, Bianchet developed a suspended barrel and engineered a new escapement stacking solution, while maintaining functional safety margins that exceed industry standards. These advancements allow the UT01 caliber to maintain a power reserve of over 60 hours while ensuring shock absorption of up to 5000Gs. The movement also features a proprietary winding and time-setting system for improved energy transfer and user comfort.

## Sponsorships and Ambassadors

In June 2022, Bianchet became the first official watch and timing partner of the Polo Rider Cup in Chantilly. Bianchet continued to be the official watch and timing partner in 2023 in Saint-Tropez.
Since 2022, Bianchet has been a business partner with Big Blue Ocean. Both organisations contribute to cleaning oceans, protecting vulnerable marine animals, and providing free educational resources.
In 2023, 2024 and 2025, Bianchet signed several public figures as its brand ambassadors, including Formula 1 Driver Esteban Ocon, professional tennis players Grigor Dimitrov, and Alexander Bublik., big wave surfer Francisco Porcella, Formula E Driver Maximilian Gunther, and racing driver Stefano Costantini,
In 2024, Bianchet became the Official Timekeeping Partner fo Formula E team Maserati MSG Racing. The partnership was inaugurated with a limited edition of the brand's signature Flying Tourbillon B 1.618 Grande Date in collaboration with the racing team; the launch happened during 2024 Monaco ePrix.