MECHANICAL CALENDAR
Villeret, the classic collection by Blancpain, now includes a model with an enamel dial displaying the day, date, week number and, of course, the traditional time display.
No, it won’t replace a diary casually placed on your desk or the “calendar” function on your smartphone to note down your appointments. But in a poetic, mechanical and rapid way, above all, you can use it to get all this useful information. All you need to do is glance at your Villeret Semainier Grande Date 8 Jours watch, a model from the Blancpain classic collection, to find out the day of the week, the date and the week number.
This new Villeret watch is powered by a self-winding mechanical movement made by Blancpain, the calibre 3738G2. It contains three barrels, helping it provide 192 hours of power reserve (eight days). The sapphire glass background reveals the dance of the yellow gold rotor decorated with a honeycomb pattern.
The dial on this latest addition to the Villeret collection features a rounded disc topped with full-fired ivory enamel, a curved form to echo the double-stepped bezel around the watch case. The black Roman numerals displayed in a perfect circle have been made with enamelled paint. In the centre, two leaf-shaped, golden and openwork hands display the hours and minutes, along with a second hand with a counterweight in echo of the rounded silhouette of the letter B for Blancpain.
A rounded hollow at 9 o’clock houses the day indicator, in English, equipped with a small blue hand, while the date is displayed in a double window at 6 o’clock, instantly providing the information you are looking for. Joined to the centre of the enamel dial, a wavy blue hand poetically encircles one of the 53 numbers placed along the chapter ring. Because according to official calendars, a year is made up of 53 weeks.
To make it easier to set the different features on the Villeret Semainier Grande Date 8 Jours, the correctors have been placed directly on the 42mm-wide pink gold case. You can reset the date with your fingertip at 11 o’clock, the week number at 1 o’clock and the date with the crown at 3 o’clock.
Price: 32 300 CHF blancpain.com
By Sharmila Bertin