Ever since the resurrection of Blancpain by Biver and Piguet in the 1980’s, the moon has played an important part in the history of the brand. Their first full calendar model with moon phase was a classical beauty, whose legacy lives on until today. The same can be said for the carrousel (karrussel) that Blancpain reintroduced into the world of watchmaking in 2008. The carrousel serves the same purpose as a tourbillon, eliminating the effects of gravity and thus raising its precision, yet does so through a different construction. Unlike the tourbillon, which only has a gear-train connecting it to the mainspring barrel, the carrousel has an additional gear train that controls the rotation speed of the device. When Blancpain brought the carrousel back into the limelight they did so by recreating it into a flying version, similar to the construction of a flying tourbillon, and with a one-minute rotation speed.

That same carrousel now features in the brand new Carrousel Phases de Lune, bringing together for the very first time two of Blancpain’s signature complications, and doing it with style! This style starts with a 42mm rose gold case, generous enough to show off all the complications with some room to spare but still keeping it within a size-range that makes this dress watch not stand out on size alone. Being part of the Villeret-collection means that the case comes with the famous stepped case, adding further sophistication to the watch.

Sophistication is often achieved by restraint and such is also the case with the Blancpain Phases de Lune. A minimum of writing offer no distractions on the dial, letting the carrousel and the moon phase draw all your attention. Sophistication is also strongly connected to the art of understatement which Blancpain’s shows to master by featuring the dial in grand feu enamel. This adds an extra richness to the dial, not to mention a nice contrast with the blued serpentine date hand and the rose gold case.

With Blancpain, sophistication is more than skin deep. The  Carrousel Phases de Lune is powered by caliber 225L, which features 281 components, of which 61 are for the carrousel alone. Adjusting the date and moon phase is done by another signature feature of Blancpain; hidden corrector levers located under the lugs of the watch. This enables Blancpain to feature the Carrousel Phases de Lune with a smooth case, without the customary correction pushers, adding once again to the overall sophistication of the watch. That is also done by the silicon balance-spring and a more than impressive 5-day power reserve, offering what most boys, young and old, want; to go round and round again in the carrousel!

Martin Green
Eclectic taste in Haute Horlogerie, passion for diamond set watches, loves the classics

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