Blancpain enjoys the immense privilege of having been chosen to represent contemporary watchmaking art in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The world’s oldest watch brand thus becomes the first and only manufacture to display a modern wristwatch there. In recognition of this honour, Blancpain has developed and crafted a one-of-a-kind version of its Carrousel Volant Une Minute. This timepiece has just been unveiled in an official donation ceremony held at the Palace Museum.
In tribute to this inestimable distinction and as an emissary of Swiss watchmaking in the Watch and Clock Hall of the Palace Museum, Blancpain has created a one-of-a-kind version of its remarkable karussel watch, christened the Blancpain Qiankun Carrousel. This collection wristwatch is crafted from 18-carat white gold. Its half-open worked opaline dial depicts the “Yin and Yang” symbol and reveals the noble, restrained architecture of the entirely hand-decorated movement. The partially hollowed hour and minute hands are daggershaped, while a round dial opening at 12 o’clock highlights the stunning intricacy of the karussel.
The Carrousel Volant Une Minute by Blancpain is a vivid reflection of the innovative strength and pioneering spirit of the Manufacture in Le Brassus. While similar to the tourbillon in terms of its capacity to reduce the effects of gravity on the rate of the watch movement, the karussel had sunk into oblivion for almost a century, until the Blancpain master-watchmakers revealed its potential by entirely rethinking its conception. Blancpain has achieved the impressive feat of miniaturising this mechanism to the size of a wristwatch and conceived the world’s only flying karussel to perform a complete rotation in exactly 60 seconds. The technical refinement and the eminent complexity of this masterly watch naturally predestined it for a glorious fate.
Content from our partners
