BLANCPAIN – VILLERET Traditional Chinese Calendar Edition

BLANCPAIN – VILLERET Traditional Chinese Calendar 45 mm Limited Edition - 2021 Year of the Metal Ox

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An exceptional timepiece bearing
the emblem of an ox

Blancpain celebrates Chinese New Year with a limited series of 50 watches dedicated to this tradition and its festivities. The Year of the Metal Ox begins on February 12th 2021 and ends on January 31st 2022. Housed in a precious platinum case, the Traditional Chinese Calendar bearing the emblem of the ox features an exclusive complication appearing on an elegant Grand Feu enamel dial.

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With the Traditional Chinese Calendar, Blancpain took up the challenge of mechanically combining two different interpretations of time. Five years of research and development were required to associate within this timepiece the main indications of the Chinese calendar as well as the date based on the Gregorian calendar. Given that the basic unit of these two time-division systems is not the same, this represents a real technical feat. While the Gregorian calendar is based on the solar day, the lunisolar Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle, composed of 29,53059 days.

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A year of 12 lunar months is about 11 days shorter than a solar year. In order to maintain consistency with the seasonal cycle, a leap month is added to the Chinese calendar every two to three years. This distinctive feature is the reason behind the variability of the Chinese New Year date. But the complexity of this calendar does not stop there, since it uses a system of subdividing the day into 12 double hours, thus replacing the 24 hours composed of 60 minutes each featured in the Gregorian calendar. Each of these double hours is named, in successive order, after one of the twelve earthly branches and represented by one of the animals of the Chinese zodiac.

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Unlike the Gregorian calendar, whose unit of measurement is based on the solar day, the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle as well as exact astronomical observations of the sun’s longitude. Thus, in addition to the hours and minutes, date and moon phases, Blancpain's Traditional Chinese Calendar watch offers the main indications of the traditional Chinese calendar: double hours, days, months and leap months, zodiac signs, five elements and ten heavenly stems. The latter, combined with the 12 earthly branches – symbolised by the animals of the zodiac – produce 60 different pairs forming the sexagesimal cycle of the Chinese time measurement system.

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Despite their complex combination, these functions are clearly displayed on a dial with Roman gold numerals and hollowed-out sage leaf-shaped hands. The ox, the animal of the year 2021, appears in an aperture at 12 o'clock above the double-hour counter. Symmetrically positioned at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock, two subdials respectively indicate the celestial stems and the five elements, as well as pointer-type month and date indications and leap months through a round aperture. In a manner typical of Blancpain's Complete Calendar watches, the moon phases that determine the months of the Chinese calendar can be read off at 6 o'clock, while a blued serpentine hand sweeps over the date numerals around the dial circumference.

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This timepiece, which is even more complex than a perpetual calendar, is driven by the self-winding 3638 movement. The latter is distinguished in particular by a seven-day power reserve made possible by the use of three series-coupled barrels, equipped with high-performance springs. It is secured against inappropriate manipulation of the functions and equipped with a silicon balance-spring.

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This exceptional movement is housed in a 45 mm platinum case featuring a crown and oscillating weight adorned with a cabochon-cut ruby. It incorporates five under-lug correctors – a patented Blancpain invention – enabling easy fingertip adjustment of functions without the need for a correction tool.

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This innovative complication, a genuine mechanical challenge whose development required five full years to master, is incorporated into the self-winding 3638 calibre. Endowed with a seven-day power reserve, this Haute Horlogerie movement is housed in a 45 mm case featuring a crown set with a cabochon-cut ruby. It is equipped with Blancpain's patented under-lug corrector system allowing easy function adjustments. The sapphire crystal case back enables one to admire the finishing of the movement and its white gold oscillating weight, engraved with the Chinese zodiac sign of the year

Blancpain's Traditional Chinese Calendar is also available in a non-limited version in red gold with a finely guilloché oscillating weight.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model: VILLERET Traditional Chinese Calendar Edition

References:  00888I-3431-55B - Platinum 45 - Edition
References: 00888I-3631-55B - Red Gold 45
 
Complications
Traditional Chinese Calendar
[double-hour indication, signs of the zodiac, date and month of the Chinese calendar. Indication of the
five elements, the celestial stems and the leap months]
Specificities

• ∙ Gregorian calendar
• ∙ Moon phases
• ∙ Under-lug correctors
• ∙ Secured movement
• ∙ White grand feu enamel dial
• ∙ Oscillating weight set with a Madagascar ruby
• ∙ Sself-winding

Case

• Platinum
• Red Gold

Case thickness:     15.00 mm
Case diameter:     45.00 mm
Water resistance:     3.00 bar
Between horns:     23.00 mm
Sapphire back
Engraved on the - "Chinese Calendar - № ХX/50 Piece"
Dial
Full fired enamel
White grand feu enamel
Movement
Calibre 3638
Reference:   3638   
Self-winding
Calibre thickness:  8.30 mm
Calibre diameter:  32.00 mm
Power reserve in hours:  168
Jewels:  39
3 mainspring barrels
Secured movement
Titanium free sprung balance with gold regulation screws
Components:     464
Strap/Bracelet
Alligator lined with alzavel
Black color strap
Platinum folding clasp
Brown color strap
Gold folding clasp

Platinum version - Only  Limited edition of 50 Piece


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Press release - 2020
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Blancpain S.A.
Le Rocher 12
1348 Le Brassus
Suisse
International PR: Lucie Notar
Tel.  (+41) 21 796 3619
Fax (+41) 21 796 3637
E-mail: pr@blancpain.com
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