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
There are a lot of superlatives in the world of luxury watchmaking, but every now and then a watch pops up that deserves every superlative you can say about it, and more. Most of these watches come from Patek Philippe. This may be an obvious thing (and a constant repetition and disgusting thing), but there is hardly a genre of watchmaking that Patek Philippe is not good at (well, they haven't done that much yet) dive watches have been around for the last 180 years or so, but you can't have everything).
While Patek Philippe has produced watches of exceptionally high quality throughout its history – in fact, this is the foundation of the company’s reputation – it is especially known for its watchmaking complications and intricate timepieces. Patek Philippe has and still manufactures superlative versions of every major horological complication. Minute repeaters, perpetual calendars, split-seconds chronographs, astronomical complications, and watches with multiple complications are all produced by Patek Philippe and are still listed in the "Grand Complications" section of the catalog today. More than 30 kinds of watches have been produced. As you might expect, most of them are extremely complicated and represent the accumulated knowledge of nearly two centuries of complicated watchmaking.
Since it's what's inside that counts, there's also the new METAS certification.
Fresh out of Tudor's new manufacture in Le Locle, we find a full-bodied Black Bay with a unidirectional burgundy bezel. The watch is now METAS Master Chronometer certified, meaning it has been rigorously tested and tested for water resistance, power reserve, magnetic resistance and accuracy. This is an acknowledgment of Tudor's plan to build a full range of METAS in the future.
Powered by Tudor's Manufacture Caliber MT5602-U, the watch is, among other things, "Weekend Proven", which means you can take it off for 70 hours without winding it (previously it was in an in-house movement, but it's still very good to have). Thanks to a non-magnetic hairspring, it can run within a five-second tolerance.
In 2012, the first Black Bay with a burgundy bezel was released and returned in 2015. Now, the watch returns to its red roots with burgundy, a handsome black dial, a steel case and slightly adjusted hands. It's a bit bigger, 41mm, with a domed sapphire crystal, but thinner than the original BB. There is also a redesigned screw-down crown with a Tudor rose. The bracelet is either a satin-brushed three-link steel bracelet or a brushed polished steel bracelet with five oval links. If you don't want a bracelet, there's also a rubber option, and all three mounts come with Tudor "T-fit" clasps for easy fine-tuning.
Zenith Defy El Primero Double Tourbillon Watch Two tourbillons, a 100-second chronograph and a bold, futuristic design.
High-frequency chronographs have long been part of the Zenith identity. It all started in 1969, when Zenith introduced one of the finest and most accurate chronograph movements ever created, the iconic El Primero. Fast forward to 2017, and Zenith introduced the Defy El Primero 21, an innovative chronograph with two regulators capable of measuring hundredths of a second. At Baselworld 2019, Zenith returned with an evolution of this watch, now equipped with two tourbillon regulators. Meet the technically impressive Zenith Defy El Primero Double Tourbillon.
The model we had a chance to get our hands on was limited edition in carbon fiber – and a 10-piece limited edition in platinum. Both versions are powered by the El primero caliber 9020, which consists of 311 components.
This automatic movement features an original double architecture. Most chronographs are based on a timing engine to which a dedicated timing device is engaged via a clutch. Here, the timing and timing mechanisms are completely independent and autonomous. Each of them has its own barrel, gear train and tourbillon regulator. Therefore, there is no interaction between the chronograph movement and the chronograph. Therefore, when the chronograph is started and its mechanism is engaged, the amplitude is not lost (the rate of the chronograph movement is not affected) and energy consumption is not disturbed.
BRM threw a stone into the horological pond by introducing a revolutionary watch with a trapezoidal design and an anti-shock system unique to the watch engine. It's already available in 36 titanium or bronze versions with a colorful livery.
BRM has just launched a brand new model with a fresh, unexpected and disruptive design that, like the rest of the French manufacturer's models, marked their era: R50, PMT-40/43-N, 3MVT and even SCR 48 EN in Wheel Nuts.
The FF39-40 is a mix of round (V8-44, V12-44) and rectangular (PMT-40/43-N, Birotor BRT-1, CR-44-) watches. It has an isosceles trapezoid shell! A more precise rounded isosceles trapezoid. In addition to this powerful design, the new FF39-40 is also interesting from a technical point of view, as it has a special sports protection system. It stays true to the motto of its founding president, Bernard Richards: "Detail that comes from excellence comes from performance." Its name perfectly symbolizes this concept: FF stands for Full Float, and "39-40" stands for Dimensions of the trapezoidal case.
From the outset, this new model has been available in several versions: 4 titanium series with 8 color versions each, 1 bronze series with 4 models, ie 36 models, also custom-made according to customer requirements, e.g. Other collections made in France.
Therefore, the case is available in natural titanium or black PVD treated titanium, or even bronze with an overall cut. Titanium brings lightness from mechanical movement, which is the DNA universe of BRM. Bronze brings a special touch, the material acquires a lustre over time and gives each model a unique rendering. It is attached to the wrist via an Alcantara strap with or without Velcro, and hand-stitched to complement the color of the numbers. But you can also opt for a more elegant alligator or leather strap. The sapphire crystal-equipped bezel and caseback are made of 316L steel.
Other novelties: crown moved to 5 o'clock (machined from brushed steel, with hand-painted colored rings) and connected lugs (steel or bronze), typical BRM style, with cylindrical shape .
Here, there is no dial to view the movement in its entirety. Hand-decorated lightweight black hands rotate directly above the movement. Numbers and brand logos are affixed directly to the sapphire crystal using a process that includes laser ink printing, UV curing, followed by deposition of a layer of epoxy, followed by a second cure. All of these fix the impression in a lasting way.
The watch is powered by a self-winding Precitime movement that beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour. It offers a power reserve of 38 hours, a bit of a short autonomy for today's three-hand watches, although the barrel is equipped with a constant movement winding to optimize the power of the mainspring. Visible through the sapphire crystal case back, the Fortal HR oscillating weight is equipped with a bronze counterweight.
But aside from these features, the most interesting is the revolutionary sports protection system, which is placed in suspension. A technology that uses solutions from the automotive sector: silent blocks and belts, based on the same principle as the silent blocks that isolate the engine from chassis vibrations. It inherits the isoelastic system patented by BRM in the 2000s, which consists of mounting the movement on flexible carbon fiber or fiberglass arms to absorb shocks. This innovative mechanism makes the FF39-40 the first automatic watch to adjust shock resistance in both vertical and horizontal planes.
Therefore, the stability in the vertical plane is ensured by the self-supporting casing ring in the anodized Fortal HR and the five mute blocks in the ogi machined in nitrile. The horizontal stability of the floating movement fixed by the threaded flange is ensured by two belts, also made of nitrile rubber. Stainless steel micro hex socket head cap screws compress counter-adjustment rods in micro carbon fiber to limit lateral movement of the cage within the housing.
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, French manufacturer BRM showcased its full ability to innovate and astonish in the sometimes overly polished world of watchmaking. The FF39-40 “Full Floating” is an extraordinary watch, both aesthetically and technically. Certainly one of the highlights of 2022.
Technical characteristics – Case: Isosceles trapezoid with rounded corners, 39×40 mm, titanium/black titanium/bronze, water-resistant to 30 m, carbide-machined 316L stainless steel bezel, UV-hardened sapphire crystal, carbide-machined 316L stainless steel UV hardened sapphire crystal on back, brushed stainless steel crown at 5 o'clock; – Dial: skeletonized, black hour and minute hands, hand-cut, brightened and decorated; – Movement: Self-winding Precitime movement, 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz), 25 jewels, 38-hour power reserve; – Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; – Strap: Black Alcantara / Alligator / Leather, Machined Stainless Steel BRM Single Buckle;
- refer to – FF39TG-LFN: Grey titanium case and black bezel and caseback – FF39TN-LFG: black titanium case and grey bezel and cover – FF39TG-LFG: grey titanium case grey bezel and case back – FF39TN-LFN: black titanium case and black bezel and case back – FF39TN-LFN: Bronze case
Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Travel Time Reference. 5326G-001 Let's start with the better of the two, the Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Travel Time. As mentioned, the combination of these two complications is a first for the brand. But if there's one brand that makes both complications known, it's Patek Philippe. The brand launched its annual calendar in 1996, and it has since become a complication that can be seen in a wide variety of watches from different brands and at different price points.
The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona means many different things to many different people, but one of the most common reactions to a watch is frustration, at least if you're talking about the steel-to-steel reference 116500LN. It’s a story that goes back decades, all the way back to 1963, when the first Cosmograph chronograph was introduced. The first cosmometer, ref. The 6239, wasn't an instant hit for Rolex - in fact, it didn't sell well at first. While chronographs had become an increasingly important watch category for the company in its portfolio in the 1960s, the Cosmograph certainly wasn't the ball beauty it is today, if not the ugly duckling among the swans.
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17.01.2024 07:43
