Blancpain Villeret Chinese Traditional Calendar, Green Enamel Dial 2024 To welcome the return of the Year of the Dragon after 12 years, Blancpain has launched a spectacular combination of red gold case and green enamel dial for its Grand Complication Date watch.

In 2012, Blancpain launched the Villeret Lunar Perpetual Calendar watch, an extremely complex watch that combines the lunar and Gregorian calendars and is also equipped with a moon phase complication that coincides with the Year of the Dragon. Twelve years later, Long is once again in the spotlight. To commemorate this twelve-year cycle, Blancpain’s latest interpretation of its complex calendar watch is available in red gold for the first time with a charming green enamel dial.

Blancpain’s Villeret collection is the birthplace of many complex date and complication watches, such as the Quantième Perpétuel and Quantième Complet. However, traditional Chinese calendar watches upped the ante by combining two different calendars in one watch, a task that took Blancpain five years of research and development to perfect. The reason for merging the two calendars is that in China, the lunisolar calendar is used to determine the dates of festivals such as the Lunar New Year, based on precise astronomical observations of the sun's longitude and moon phases, while the Gregorian calendar is used for civil purposes. The challenge posed by the Chinese calendar is the difference between the number of days in a solar year (365.2) and a lunar year, which can vary between 353, 354 or 355 days. To make up for the difference between the lunar year and the solar year, an extra "leap" month was added to the calendar.

When Blancpain launched its traditional Chinese calendar in 2012, it was the Year of the Dragon. According to legend, the Jade Emperor summoned twelve different animals to his palace door, and the order in which each animal arrived was recorded in the zodiac. In this order, each animal rules the calendar every twelve years, meaning 2024 marks the return of the dragon. Following several versions of the watch with white dials in platinum and red gold, the latest Chinese Annual Calendar combines a warm red gold case with a rich green enamel dial.

Featuring Grand Feu enamel, the rich green hue offsets the functionality and is more legible than the white dial version. Despite the complexity and richness of the information conveyed on the dial, it still maintains a pleasing symmetry. The date is located on the periphery and indicated by a serpentine gold hand. The hours are indicated by elegant skeletonized sage hands and are represented by appliquéd red gold Roman numerals and dots at 12, 3 and 9 o’clock. There is a moon phase window at 6 o'clock, with a smiling golden moon and stars on it.

The three small dials are engraved with silver enamel Mandarin inscriptions to convey Chinese calendar information. Another novelty is the portrait of the golden dragon (along with the other eleven zodiac animals) that takes on a new look in the aperture at noon. Below the dragon is a small dial engraved with double hour numbers and symbols. The small dial at 9 o'clock specifically displays the lunar month and date. When there is the 13th leap month in the year, the small round hole will turn red. There is a yin and yang symbol in the center of the third small dial at 3 o'clock, representing the five elements of wood, earth, fire, water, gold and the ten heavenly stems. By the way, this is the Year of the Wood Dragon, so the golden pointer should point to the correct symbol. Like the previous version, the polished 45.20mm case has a height of 15.10mm and conceals five patented correctors beneath the lugs for adjusting the calendar.

The watch is powered by Blancpain’s extremely complex caliber 3638. The automatic movement consists of 464 components, provides a power reserve of up to 7 days via three series-connected barrels, beats at 4 Hz and is equipped with a silicon balance spring. The movement has traditional finishes, with a red gold oscillating weight engraved with a delicate wooden dragon pattern and a ruby set on either side.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS – BLANCPAIN VILLERET TRADITIONAL CALENDAR
Case: Diameter 45.2 mm x Height 15.1 mm - 18k red gold, polished - 30 m water-resistant - Sapphire case back - 5 patented under-lug correctors
Dial: Green grand feu enamel - Chinese zodiac, lunar date and month, five elements, celestial stems and leap months - Pointer date calendar - Moon phases - Applied red gold Roman numerals and dots - Silver enamel painted indicators
Movement: Blancpain Automatic Caliber 3638 - 32 mm x 8.3 mm - 168 hours (7 days) power reserve - 464 components - 39 rubies - 4 Hz frequency - Silicon hairspring - 18 red gold engraved with dragon and rubies pendulum
Strap: Brown alligator - red gold folding clasp
Reference number: 00888-3632C-55B
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