An interesting new piece from Blancpain — and a reflection on the attention given to the Chinese consumer these days.   With it, Blancpain lays claim to the first mechanical wristwatch equipped with a traditional Chinese calendar.  On its dial, the hours, minutes and the Gregorian calendar rub shoulders with the main indications of the Chinese calendar: traditional double-hour indication, day, month with indication of leap months, signs of the zodiac, as well as the five elements and the 10 celestial stems. The combination of the latter with the 12 animals of the zodiac that represent the terrestrial branches follows the sixty-year cycle that is central to Chinese culture. The moon phases, a key element in Blancpain complete calendars, are also presented and play a particularly important role in this model, given the link between the lunar cycle and traditional Chinese months.  The watch will be available in platinum (20 piece limited edition with special “dragon” rotor) or red gold (non-limited edition).  Read on for more details…

Blancpain Traditional Chinese Calendar (Villeret Collection)

platinum:  20 pieces limited edition; or red gold (non limited)

45mm platinum or red gold case (15mm thick), Madagascar ruby crown, five integrated under-lug correctors serving to adjust the indications, grand feu enamel dial, “hollow leaf” shaped hands, automatic mechanical Caliber 3638

The watch is powered by Blancpain’s new self-winding Calibre 3638.  Its complexity stems as much from the number of indications to be displayed as from the irregular nature of their cycles. The hours, minutes and the Gregorian calendar are presented in the center. The counter at 12 o’clock indicates the double-hour numerals and symbols (24-hour cycle); while the one at 3 o’clock shows the elements and the celestial stems (10-year cycle). The month of the Chinese calendar (12-month cycle), its date (30-day cycle) and the leap month indicator appear at 9 o’clock, while a 12 o’clock aperture reveals the zodiac sign of the year in progress (12-year cycle); and the moon phases are displayed at 6 o’clock.

 platinum case (limited edition 20 pieces)

Contrary to the Gregorian solar calendar which uses the solar day as the base unit, the traditional Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, meaning a solar calendar with the lunar cycle (29.53059 days) as its base unit. Since a year comprising 12 lunar months (354.36707 days) is approximately 11 days too short compared with the tropical or solar year (365.242374 days), a leap month is sometimes added to preserve the match with the cycle of the seasons. Given that each month of the Chinese calendar, including the leap months, begins on the day of the new moon, its length is either 29 or 30 days. This means that when a year comprises a leap month, this 13-month year will be longer than the tropical year. On the contrary, when there is no leap month, the year of 12 lunar months is shorter than the tropical year. This distinctive feature is the reason behind the variable date of the Chinese New Year.

red gold case (non limited edition)

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