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Magnus (Moderator)
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Friday 04 April 2008 6:06:13 pm
BLANCPAIN BASEL NEWS 1: Blancpain presents a world first: the revolutionary Blancpain 'Carrousel Volant Une Minute'!
Dear All:
Blancpain starts the Basel 2008 fireworks with a real feast (only from press test so far, sorry!):
The Blancpain 'Carrousel Volant Une Minute'
A truly prodigious horological construction, the Carrousel Volant Une Minute by Blancpain takes its place on the watchmaking stage as a genuine alternative to the tourbillon. The first ever wristwatch karussel, it is surprising not only by its construction with the balance at the centre of the carriage, but also by its size/power-reserve ration which makes this Blancpain timepiece the most high-performance karussel ever made. The fruit of lengthy and in-depth endeavours, this newcomer to the catalogue of the Manufacture from Le Brassus does not belong to any existing family. The brand has therefore left it a place all its own, aside from the historical collections on which it has built its reputation.
A major patented evolution
The new Carrousel Volant Une Minute by Blancpain stems from a parallel process. Invented in 1892 by the watchmaker Bahne Bonniksen, the karussel features a system driving the carriage by a differential effect. Long ignored by watchmaker, it has not been updated by the Manufacture which is offering a major patented evolution of the mechanism. While the early karussels took several minutes to perform a complete rotation, the one introduced by Blancpain takes exactly 60 seconds to cover the same distance – an impressive feat in itself. This swift movement and the effort devoted to reviving this invention are entirely in tune with the pioneering spirit of the Manufacture in Le Brassus.
Code-named 225, the self-winding calibre comprises 262 parts and is endowed with a 100-hour power reserve. It is housed within a platinum case measuring 43.5 mm in diameter and enhanced by a semi-skeleton dial revealing an array of toothed wheels, bridges and plates. A «light shaft» at 12 o’clock unveils the fascinating palpitations of the flying karussel, on which one of the carriage bridges indicates the seconds. The power reserve is displayed at 6 o’clock by a hand moving over an arc of a circle between the signs “+” and “-”. A double hand with arms of different lengths indicates the date on two graduated and staggered rows at 9 o’clock.
Renewing the karussel
After revolutionising the tourbillon in 1989 with the presentation of an ultra-thin flying model equipped with an off-centred balance, Blancpain now presents an unprecedented interpretation of the karussel complication in the shape of its Carrousel Volant Une Minute. This refined technical device, the equivalent of the tourbillon in terms of its function, is distinguished in this version by its eminent complexity.
Blancpain thereby confirms its peerless innovative status by rehabilitating and enhancing the karussel, a complication that had been virtually relegated into oblivion shortly after it was presented in 1892 by its creator Bahne Bonniksen. By taking up the principles established by its inventor and presenting them in a considerably more evolved version, the Manufacture again demonstrates its dynamic momentum – and in doing so puts an end to a controversy that has nurtured heated debates among specialists.
Tourbillons and karussels share the property of compensating for the effects of gravity on a watch movement. By making the entire mechanism spin on its axis within a carriage, the movement itself manages to compensate for the detrimental effects of gravity by acting as an authentic regulator of time.
Karussels and tourbillons differ however in the manner in which they perform this function. In a tourbillon, the carriage is connected to the barrel through a single gear train. This means that if this mechanical connection is interrupted, the tourbillon itself stops rotating. The karussel on the other hand is linked to the barrel by two gear trains. The first provides the energy required to run the escapement, while the second controls the rotation speed of the carriage.
The difference between the two systems thereby consists in a more sophisticated and component-rich construction in the case of the karussel.
60 seconds and a Blancpain patent
In addition to the fact that it revives this under-exploited complication, the Blancpain Carrousel Volant Une Minute goes much further than Bonniksen’s initial invention. While the latter paid no particular attention to the speed of rotation, which amounted to anything from 27 to 42 minutes depending on the model, the Manufacture has opted to develop a complete differential gear control system. Here again, Blancpain sets itself apart by being the first watch brand to appropriate this prestigious invention by updating and perfecting it. Until now, the differential gear system regulating the rotation of the karussel carriage had not been the object of any in-depth research. By elaborating – and patenting – a system causing it to rotate in exactly 60 seconds, Blancpain makes yet another decisive contribution to watchmaking history.
With its Carrousel Volant Une Minute located at the centre of the mechanism, Blancpain once again redefines the characteristics of an ancient innovation. When Bahne Bonniksen invented the karussel, he was mostly interested in offering an extremely accurate pocket-watch with a very reasonable production cost. Once his discovery was patented, several of his watches won various chronometry prizes. Nonetheless, the very nature of his invention with the large number of components it comprised did not actually help to keep costs down. Moreover, Bonniksen was not at all concerned with the rotation speed of the carriage.
Watchmaking connoisseurs would doubtless have totally forgotten this ultra-rare complication if Blancpain had not decided to give it such a superlative new lease on life. Just as it had done with the tourbillon, the Manufacture in Le Brassus kept the function as such, while seeking to fundamentally improve it.
As the world’s first karussel wristwatch, Blancpain’s innovation consists first and foremost in its capacity to miniaturise this extremely complex mechanism. Another major innovative feature lies in the fact that the Blancpain watchmakers poured all their expertise and all their inventive abilities into placing the balance of this karussel at the very centre of the carriage. Finally, Blancpain’s Carrousel Volant Une Minute features an exclusive differential gear system that precisely controls the rotation speed of the carriage. By performing a complete revolution in one minute, this new world-first calibre heralds a whole new line of timepieces.
Above and beyond the technical challenges, the Manufacture from Le Brassus is taking an amusing revenge on history. Whereas several self-proclaimed specialists explained in 1989 that Blancpain’s tourbillon was in fact a karussel (due to its off-centred balance), they also stated in no uncertain terms that the central position of the balance was the very signature of a tourbillon.
The Manufacture Blancpain is therefore all the more delighted to present its undeniable karussel with a balance... at the centre of the carriage! Watchmaking textbooks will need to be adjusted in this respect!
MORE TO COME SHORTLY!
best,
Magnus
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