Seven watches. Seven colours. Seven letters spelling MARILYN. With the Ladybird Tribute, Blancpain marks the 100th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth by reinterpreting the jewellery watch she once owned, creating a capsule collection that combines fine watchmaking with high jewellery.
Marilyn Monroe’s Blancpain remained out of the public eye until it appeared at a 2016 auction of items from the estate of acting coach Lee Strasberg, who had been entrusted with some of the actress’s personal effects. Blancpain acquired the watch and returned it to Le Brassus, where it was restored before making its first public appearance at a New York exhibition in 2019.
Dating from the late 1940s or early 1950s, the platinum watch reflected the streamlined elegance of the Art Deco era. Its elongated rectangular case, opaline dial, yellow-gold hour markers, and architectural diamond setting now provide the blueprint for the Ladybird Tribute collection.
Each of the seven unique pieces carries one engraved letter from Marilyn’s name – M, A, R, I, L, Y, or N – on the caseback. They are paired with double-wrap calfskin straps in seven exclusive Pantone-developed colours created for the centenary, each inspired by Marilyn’s visual legacy.
The watches feature a 35mm × 16mm 18-carat white-gold case set with 85 diamonds totalling 1.36 carats. The opaline dial remains faithful to the original, complete with applied yellow-gold markers and conical hands.
Inside beats Blancpain’s in-house manual-winding Calibre 510, introduced in 2020. Just 2.6mm thick, the movement comprises 128 components, operates at 21 600 vibrations per hour, and delivers a 52-hour power reserve.
The Ladybird Tribute celebrates one of cinema’s most enduring style icons through a watch that bridges Hollywood history, jewellery craftsmanship, and contemporary Swiss watchmaking.
