BLANCPAIN – VILLERET Traditional Chinese Calendar Platinum 45 mm Limited Edition - 2022 Year of the Tiger
Blancpain celebrates the 2022 Lunar New Year by unveiling a new version of its Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar. Crafted in platinum and issued in a 50-piece limited edition, this watch presents the indications of the lunisolar calendar on a white grand feu enamel dial. The zodiac sign of the year, the tiger, is highlighted on the back of the timepiece.
Blancpain marks the transition to Chinese New Year 2022
new revision of the traditional Chinese calendar with an exclusive bearing for the timepiece Tiger emblem
new revision of the traditional Chinese calendar with an exclusive bearing for the timepiece Tiger emblem
Blancpain celebrates the 2022 Lunar New Year by unveiling a new version of its Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar. Crafted in platinum and issued in a 50-piece limited edition, this watch presents the indications of the lunisolar calendar on a white grand feu enamel dial. The zodiac sign of the year, the tiger, is highlighted on the back of the timepiece.
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A complication exclusively developed by Blancpain, the Traditional Chinese Calendar is based on fundamental principles established for millennia and profoundly rooted in Chinese tradition. On its dial, the hours, minutes and the Gregorian calendar rub shoulders with the main indications of the Chinese calendar: traditional double-hours, day, month with indication of leap months, signs of the zodiac, as well as the five elements and the ten celestial stems. The moon phases, defining traditional Chinese months and a key element in all Blancpain complete calendars, are also presented.
To mark the transition to the year of the tiger 2022 (1 February 2022 to 21 January 2023), Blancpain has created a new edition of this emblematic timepiece: a model in platinum with a white grand feu enamel dial whose oscillating weight is engraved with the Chinese zodiac sign of the year, the tiger.
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Faithful to the aesthetic signature elements of the Villeret collection, the refined 45 mm double-stepped case is equipped with under-lug correctors enabling easy function adjustments. It frames a display revealing Blancpain‘s artisanal savoir-faire. Whilst the chapter ring is composed of gold appliques, the other indications are enamel painted. The main hands shaped like slightly hollowed leaves are associated with a blued serpentine hand sweeping over the Gregorian date numerals, a shape that is reminiscent of the 18th-century watchmaking tradition.
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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.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
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.
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.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
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.
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.
Despite their complex combination, these functions are clearly displayed
on a dial with Roman gold numerals and hollowed-out sage leaf-shaped
hands. The Tiger, the animal of the year 2022, 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.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
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.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
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.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
The Traditional Chinese Calendar model is driven by the self-winding 3638 movement, whose complexity stems as much from the number of the indications to be displayed, as from the irregular nature of their cycles. While there are well-trodden paths from more than two centuries of watchmaking experience that guide watchmakers in the development of their mechanisms, the creation of the Traditional Chinese Calendar, for its part, started from a blank page. It is equipped with Blancpain's patented under-lug corrector system allowing easy function adjustments. This complication is the result of a major challenge, which took five years of research and development to be completed. 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.
Useful and symbolic, the Traditional Chinese Calendar invites fine watchmaking enthusiasts to consider different approaches to the concept of time as complementary. The 50 individually numbered timepieces composing this 2022 series bear fresh witness to this wealth of diversity.
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.
The Traditional Chinese Calendar model is driven by the self-winding 3638 movement, whose complexity stems as much from the number of the indications to be displayed, as from the irregular nature of their cycles. While there are well-trodden paths from more than two centuries of watchmaking experience that guide watchmakers in the development of their mechanisms, the creation of the Traditional Chinese Calendar, for its part, started from a blank page. It is equipped with Blancpain's patented under-lug corrector system allowing easy function adjustments. This complication is the result of a major challenge, which took five years of research and development to be completed. 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.
Useful and symbolic, the Traditional Chinese Calendar invites fine watchmaking enthusiasts to consider different approaches to the concept of time as complementary. The 50 individually numbered timepieces composing this 2022 series bear fresh witness to this wealth of diversity.
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Model: VILLERET Traditional Chinese Calendar Edition
References: 00888J-3431-55B - Platinum 45 - Edition
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
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Model: VILLERET Traditional Chinese Calendar Edition
References: 00888J-3431-55B - Platinum 45 - Edition
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
Platinum
Red Gold
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
Calibre thickness: 8.30 mm
Calibre diameter: 32.00 mm | 14'''
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
Available in Blancpain Boutiques - Only Limited edition of 50 Piece
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Press release - 2021
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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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press.blancpain.com
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www.facebook.com - Blancpain
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www.Blancpain.com
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
Frequency - 4Hz
Self-windingCalibre thickness: 8.30 mm
Calibre diameter: 32.00 mm | 14'''
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
Available in Blancpain Boutiques - Only Limited edition of 50 Piece
----------------------------------------------
Press release - 2021
----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------
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
---------------------------------------------------
press.blancpain.com
------------------------------------------------------------
www.facebook.com - Blancpain
--------------------------------------------------------------
www.Blancpain.com
