NEW VIDEO
Blancpain Posts an "Art de Vivre" Film With Chef Glenn Viel
A gastronomy piece from a watch brand, with no watch named anywhere in it.
Blancpain’s short film with Chef Glenn Viel of L’Oustau de Baumanière appeared on the brand’s channel on 7 September 2026. Viel has held three Michelin stars at the Les Baux-de-Provence restaurant since 2020, when he won back a third star the house had gone thirty years without. The brand describes his cooking as personal and shaped by Provence, following ingredients rather than forcing them, letting each receive “the time and precision it deserves.”
The hashtags carry the positioning: #Blancpain1735, #ArtdeVivre, #40YearsOfGastronomy. The last is the useful one. It dates the relationship to 1986, when Blancpain gave Frédy Girardet an engraved watch for winning World’s Best Chef, seeding a circle of partner chefs that now counts more than 100 Michelin stars. The Viel piece is one entry in an anniversary series of chef portraits, not a standalone.
Which makes the omissions deliberate. No watch reference, no calibre, no price, and captions are disabled, so there is no confirming whether one appears on screen at all. Blancpain’s argument: patience is the discipline, and the product stays out of frame.
Source: youtube.com
Why this watch, on this wrist?