Lot 197

Blancpain

Villeret Tourbillon

An extremely rare platinum wristwatch with flying tourbillon, date and 8 days power reserve indication - with original sales receipt

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In the 1990s Blancpain launched a series of highly complicated watches, such as a minute repeater, a perpetual calendar with moon phase and this flying tourbillon in a platinum case by Vincent Calabrese, an exceptionally gifted watchmaker. When this reference appeared on the market, it was the flattest hand-wound tourbillon with 8-day power reserve worldwide – with a height of only 7.5 mm.
The flying tourbillon with its polished steel cage is positioned at 12 o’clock, while most other flying tourbillon cages usually sit at 6 o’clock. In fact, this rare model is a blend of tourbillon and carousel, where the axes of balance and carousel cage are not identical.