One minute - Flying Carrousel

Carrousel - Blancpain

Carrousel

The world's first one-minute flying Carrousel

A singular horological complication that had remained forgotten for over a century by the great names in watchmaking, the carrousel aims to reduce the effects of gravity on the rate of a watch movement. It offers an alternative to the tourbillon, from which it is distinguished by the manner in which it serves this role. In the case of the tourbillon, the carriage is linked to the barrel through a single gear train, which means that if this mechanical connection is interrupted, the tourbillon also stops rotating. The carrousel is linked to the barrel by two gear trains: the first supplies the energy required  to drive the escapement, and the second controls the rotation speed of the carriage. The difference between the two systems lies in the fact that the carrousel is based on a more sophisticated construction comprising a larger number of parts. By rehabilitating and opening up whole new horizons for this mechanism, miniaturised to fit into a wristwatch for the first time ever, Blancpain once again made its mark on watchmaking history and put a stylish end to the enduring debate between exponents of diverging views on the definition of the
carrousel. Moreover, while the first carrousels took several minutes to perform a complete rotation, that introduced by Blancpain covers the same distance in exactly 60 seconds. This swift motion and the effort devoted to reviving this invention faithfully reflect the pioneering spirit inherent in the Manufacture from Le Brassus.

Not only did the Carrousel Volant Une Minute by Blancpain embody a whole series of world firsts at the time of its launch in 2008 (first one-minute flying carrousel, first carrousel wristwatch, first carrousel with a balance placed in the centre of the carriage, longest power reserve for a carrousel), but it still remains a truly unique model on the watchmaking scene. In 2010, Blancpain pursued its innovative endeavours by presenting a new world first: the Carrousel Minute Repeater, Calibre 233. For the first time ever, this Grande Complication model associated a flying carrousel with a minute repeater chiming on a cathedral gong. The latter boasted blades long enough to wrap themselves one and a half times around the movement, in order to emit a sound of exceptional quality. Its mode of transmission through the case was the main challenge facing the constructors of a minute repeater. Blancpain offered a masterful solution that consisted in fixing the cathedral  gong to the inner face of the case, thereby achieving incomparable clarity and volume. Finally, Blancpain used a flying strike governor or regulator to optimise the purity of the sound.

Blancpain - Carrousel

A year later, Blancpain presented the Carrousel Minute Repeater in a self-winding version, driven by Calibre 235, as well as an exclusive variation equipped with automata and intended to enact unique scenes (ref. 232). In 2010, Blancpain presented another first-rate horological innovation: the Carrousel Saphir L-evolution, Calibre 22T. In this model, the carrousel appears in complete simplicity, entirely free of any element liable to divert attention from the movement itself. This represents a major accomplishment in that the movement must have a supporting and securing element in order to ensure the stability of its main parts. The solution can be summed up in a single world: sapphire. While the concept appears simple, implementing is anything but easy. Years of effort were required to fine-tune a method of making the plates and bridges from sapphire, which is a hard material that is particularly difficult to machine. Blancpain has developed unprecedented and revolutionary techniques to drill holes with optimal precision so as to enable the subsequent assembly of the mechanism.

Calibre Blancpain Carrousel

Even though the flying carrousel, which owes its name to the absence of an upper bridge in that it is supported only by ball-bearings fitted beneath the carriage, had been introduced two years earlier, the creation of new sapphire bridges and plates meant reconsidering the entire movement. This carrousel thus rotates in mid-air, surrounded only by the main movement components: the barrel, the going train and the crown mechanism.
The sapphire plates and bridges are placed within a sapphire structure that it itself sandwiched between the bezel, the case middle, the snaps and the lugs of the L-Evolution case.
The sheer purity of Calibre 22T gives free rein to watchmakers’ creativity, as confirmed by the variations presented in 2011 and 2012. The latter involve singular techniques stemming from traditional artistic crafts such as plique-à-jour enamelling as well as from submicronic and microengraving technologies.