Blancpain R-550

	Brand:	Blancpain
	Family:	Unknown
	Height:	3.85 mm
	Jewels:	17
	Reserve:	40 hours
	Frequency:	21,600 A/h
	Winding:	Hand winding
	Diameter:	11.85 mm
© Rayville	Complications:
	Hands:	Central Hour Hand, Central Minute Hand

Distinguishing Technical Characteristics
Hand-Winding Counter-Clockwise Balance Cock Screwed Balance Balance, Balance at 7:00
Production: 1956 – 1979
1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s

Blancpain’s “Ladybird” Cal. R-550 was the smallest movement on the market when it was introduced in 1956. It would carry the manufacture through the 1970s in many ladies models and was among the last movements produced by the famed company before it was restarted in the 1980s.

The Ladybird movement measures 11.85 mm diameter and has a volume of just 425 cubic mm. Although hand made, it had tolerances of just 1/1000 mm and was fully jeweled. The tiny balance was quite heavy, with 22 gold screws for poise, and it boasted 40 hours of power reserve. Some sources show the diameter as 13.2 mm and list 33 gold screws. Perhaps this was true of later examples, but a 1957 Europa Star advertisement clearly states the numbers above.