BLANCPAIN Villeret Quantième Perpétuel
Following the release of the Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar to commemorate the Lunar New Year, Blancpain now unveils another iteration of the model: the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel.
Faithful to the roots of the model, the new reference continued the Maison’s longtime inspiration from its home base. Its sunray-finished dial boasts a calming dark green, which is a direct reference to the scenic forests of Le Brassus Manufacture in Switzerland.
Adorning the dial are Roman numeral indices, a leaf handset, and three subcounters that make up the Gregorian calendar, alongside Blacnpain’s iconic moon phase at 6 o’clock. Its sapphire exhibition caseback provides an unobstructed display of its incredible 5954 self-winding movement, which is made up of 351 components, 32 jewels, complete with 72 hours of power reserve. Sitting on top of this exquisite piece of mechanical engineering is a stunningly crafted honeycomb oscillating weight crafted from red gold.
The exquisite watch face is housed in a polished-finished 18k red gold case, measuring 40.3mm in diameter. To complete the subtle warm hue in its materiality, the wristwatch is paired with an elegant brown leather strap.
Every four years — a.k.a. when the Summer Olympics happens — February gets a novel change-up, in the form of a 29th day, and watch collectors around the world are able to pick up their perpetual calendars, and adjust them on the basis of this slightly inconveniencing astronomical phenomenon.
To mark the leap year of 2024, the watchmakers at Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel have revealed a new take on the classic Villeret Quantième Perpétuel — decked with a particularly lush green dial.
It’s not necessarily a new watch for Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel , which currently has close to a dozen different perpetual calendar references in its catalogue. However, the contrast between the red gold case and darkly sunburst green is bang-on: doubling as a nod to the coniferous forestry that surrounds the Blancpain manufacture in Le Sentier — one of Switzerland’s cradles of fine watchmaking.
