Blancpain Just Unveiled a Diamond-Covered Watch Collection Inspired by Marilyn Monroe

On what would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 100^th birthday, Blancpain is showing why diamonds are still a girl’s best friend.

The watchmaker has just unveiled a dazzling new collection of high-jewellery timepieces in honour of the Hollywood icon, bringing a touch of her glamorous style into today. The seven stunners are a revamp of Monroe’s own beloved Art Deco-styled Blancpain that landed back in the hands of the maison in 2016.

The new Ladybird Tribute collection retains many of the same features as its predecessor—but Blancpain couldn’t help but add a bit more bling. The slender watches are each set with 85 diamonds totalling 1.360 carats, including 60 brilliant-cut diamonds and a pair of marquise diamonds adorning the 18-karat white-gold case, 20 brilliant-cut diamonds on the links, two diamonds on the arch attachments, and one brilliant-cut diamond on the pin buckle. Monroe’s own watch, meanwhile, was home to 73 diamonds total. Blancpain also brought over the opaline dial, yellow-gold hour markers, conical hands, and that Art Deco–inspired rectangular case from the star’s timepiece.

The line-up is powered by Blancpain’s in-house Calibre 510, a manual-winding movement that the house unveiled back in 2020. Just 2.60 mm thick, the calibre is home to 128 components that deliver a 52-hour power reserve and a frequency of 3 Hz.

Each Ladybird Tribute piece also comes with one letter of Monroe’s first name engraved in the caseback, furthering the connection to the star. And the timepieces have their own double-wrap calf strap, created in an exclusive hue from the folks at Pantone to mark the occasion. The colours range from a soft peach, called Peach Bud, and a vibrant High Risk Red to more neutral tones like Star White and Black Beauty.

Other than its appearance, of course, not much is known about the backstory of Monroe’s personal Blancpain. It was likely produced between the early 1940s and ‘50s, according to the watchmaker, and follows in the design footsteps of architectural marvels such as the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center. The original also had a double signature of both “Blancpain” on the ratchet wheel and “Rayville Watch Co.” on the lever bridge, details found on watches of the era to signify when Blancpain made pieces under the Rayville-Blancpain name. Another hallmark of the day is the watch’s double safety chain, often seen in jewellery watches during that time. As for who snagged the dazzler for Monroe, that remains a mystery: She was not known to buy her own jewellery, so it’s likely someone (with good taste) bought it for her as a gift.

Given Monroe’s star power, these Ladybird Tributes are sure to go fast. The new watches are each priced at US$54,300, should you manage to get your hands on one.

This story was originally published on Robb Report USA.

Lead image: Milton H. Greene; Blancpain