According to the Gregorian calendar, the New Year begins on Jan 1 while the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year, following the lunar cycle and the addition of a leap month to the Chinese calendar every two to three years.
Based on fundamental principles established for millennia, the world's first watch with a Chinese calendar was launched by Blancpain 10 years ago.
To welcome the Year of the Tiger, which starts on Feb 1, the Swiss brand has released the 2022 edition of the Traditional Chinese Calendar displaying both the lunar and solar Gregorian calendars while featuring an oscillating weight engraved with the third zodiac animal.
On its white grand feu enamel dial, the hours, minutes and the Gregorian calendar rub shoulders with the main indications of the Chinese calendar: traditional double-hours, day, month with indication of leap months, signs of the zodiac, as well as the five elements and the 10 celestial stems.
In addition, the moon phases determining the months of the Chinese calendar are positioned at 6 o'clock.
Starting from scratch, the development of the Traditional Chinese Calendar model took five years, and ultimately Blancpain introduced the mechanical masterpiece with the lunisolar display.
The sophisticated timepiece was created under the Villeret collection, named after Blancpain's birthplace in the Bernese Jura.
Founded by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in 1735, the world's oldest watch brand remained family-owned for almost 200 years. Today Blancpain's haute horlogerie bears fruit at two sites in Le Brassus and Le Sentier in the Vallée de Joux in the Jura Mountains.
Faithful to the Villeret collection's signatures, the 45mm platinum double-stepped case is equipped with under-lug correctors enabling easy function adjustments. Whilst the chapter ring is composed of gold appliques, the other indications are enamel painted.
The main hands shaped like slightly hollowed leaves are associated with a blued serpentine hand sweeping over the Gregorian date numerals, a shape that is reminiscent of the 18th century watchmaking tradition.
Available in 50 pieces, the Traditional Chinese Calendar is driven by the self-winding 3638 movement, whose complexity stems as much from the number of the indications, as from the irregular nature of their cycles.
