Me parece a mí que hay algún carrousel tan complicado y valioso como cualquier tourbillon...
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Blancpain proves once again that it can create new technology by presenting the worlds first ever movement equipped with a one-minute carrousel (karussel) .A complication all but forgotten for over a century by the great names in the watch industry, the carrousel is a viable alternative to the tourbillon.
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Similiar to the tourbillion, it reduces the effect of gravity on the rate of a movement. By
rehabilitating this mechanisms and opening up whole new horizons for this mechanism
reduced to wristwatch size for the very first time, Blancpain once again makes its mark on
watchmaking history and puts a stylish end to the heated debate between exponents of
diverging views on the definition of the carrousel (karussel).
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The creation of classical tourbillons is quite commonplace, Blancpain stood out from the crowd by presenting the world’s thinnest tourbillon. To achieve this, the master-watchmakers of the Manufacture in Le Brassus had modified the classic arrangement of the balance in order to achieve optimal slenderness. In doing so, they had naturally deviated from the architecture of the historical model developed by Abraham-Louis Breguet on which the balance was placed at the very centre of the carriage. Blancpain’s decision to take such a liberty had already generated a number of reactions among connoisseurs, some of whom found it hard to recognise such an unusual composition as a genuine tourbillon. While the function was
definitely there, the form had been entirely redesigned. This reinterpretation of a grand tradition
already confirmed Blancpain its two-fold role as the guardian of a noble heritage and an
enlightened innovator.
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.
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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!
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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.
Calibre 225 is a 262-part, 36-jewel movement featuring a balance with screws and a flat balance-
spring. Driving the hour, minute, seconds and date functions, it houses a flying karussel
performing a complete rotation in 60 seconds. This mechanical self-winding calibre, beating at a
frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour, is endowed with a 100-hour power reserve. The date is
adjusted by means of an exclusive under-lug corrector system developed and patented by
Blancpain. Thanks to a pusher located beneath one of the case lugs at 10 o’clock, the wearer can
adjust the date at the press of a finger. This aesthetic and practical under-lug correct guarantees
optimal user friendless and particularly easy handling.
The semi-skeletonised dial reveals the intricate ballet of the toothed wheels and the pure
architecture of the hand-bevelled bridges and plates. The dagger-shaped hour and minute hands,
partially hollowed and tipped with a Superluminova coating, mark off the time on a railtrack
composed of bevelled hour-markers and slender black lines. At 12 o’clock, a “light shaft� reveals
the karussel in all its complexity. This elaborate stage-setting accentuates the shapes of the
carriage, on which one of the bridges is shaped like a hand to indicate the seconds. The power-
reserve level is displayed at 6 o’clock by means of a hand moving over a scale running from the
sign “+� to “-�. At 9 o’clock, the date is shown by a semi-circle also hugging the side of the dial.
An ingenious system consisting of a double hand with two hands of different lengths provides a
staggered read-off of the latter. The name “Blancpain� appears at 3 o’clock thereby ensuring a
perfectly balanced overall visual effect.
To underscore the exceptional nature of the Carrousel Volant Une Minute, Blancpain has created
an exterior worthy of its technical qualities. The 43.5 mm-diameter case, an unprecedented size
in the brand universe, has been crafted from 950 platinum, the most precious of all metals and
one of the hardest to fashion. Its restrained design and its generous size impart an aura of strength
and elegance. The crown is fluted and stamped with the Blancpain logo, while the black crocodile
leather strap is fitted with a folding clasp in 950 platinum.
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