Luxury watch Maison Blancpain has unveiled a new limited-edition Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar Ref. 0888-3632C-55B, this grand complication featuring a red gold case with a green dial to commemorate the turning of the Year of the Dragon.
Created in full-fired grand feu enamel, the hue of the dial elegantly harmonises with the 45.2 mm x 15.1 mm red gold case. The Chinese calendar indications are displayed with an array of four dedicated hands, a window for the Zodiac, and a window for the leap month. Another novelty is the portrait of the golden dragon in the aperture at noon. Beneath the dragon is a small sub-dial with double hours in figures and symbols.
The sub-dial at 9 o’clock is dedicated to the lunar months and days, and the small circular aperture turns red when the year has a 13th intercalary month. At 3 o’clock, the third sub-dial with a yin and yang symbol in its centre indicates the five elements wood, earth, fire, water and metal – and the ten heavenly stems. Incidentally, it is the Year of the Wood Dragon, so the gold hand should be pointing to the correct symbol. As with previous editions, the polished 45.20mm case has a height of 15.10mm and features five patented correctors hidden under the lugs to adjust the calendar.
Its transparent caseback ensures an unobstructed view of its highly-complex 3638 caliber, a 4 Hz self-winding movement with 464 individual components arranged in six layers, has spanned five years. The movement is equipped with an impressive 7-day power reserve. Traditional finishings decorate the movement, and the red gold rotor features a beautifully engraved figure of the Wood Dragon flanked by a red ruby. Its complexity surpasses that of a perpetual calendar, approaching that of a minute repeater, and is meticulously crafted in Blancpain’s Le Brassus grand complication workshop.
The watch is matched to a brown alligatore leather strap with a pink gold folding clasp. The lug width is 23 mm. Water resistance is guaranteed up to 3 bar (approximately 30 metres / 100 feet). Limited to 50 pieces, the Blancpain Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar, ref. 0888-3632C-55B, is priced at Euro 75,400. blancpain.com