Haute Complication: Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel

While watches with two (or more) regulating organs are not a rarity anymore, the Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel is different, as it combined two different approaches to the regulating organ in one single watch: the tourbillon and the Carrousel.

Both were developed with a single goal in mind: eliminating the influence of gravity on the precision of the movement. While a tourbillon is known to most watch collectors and connoisseurs, the Carrousel is not. It is one of those innovations that seemed to have been forgotten. To the untrained eye, the carrousel looks quite similar to the tourbillon. The major difference is that the carrousel uses two connections to the movement: one to power the escapement, the other to power the cage around it, while the tourbillon does both with a single connection. Neither one of these solutions is better than the other one, as they both accomplish the same.

The Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel is an imposing watch, not only because of its diameter of 44.6 mm but more so because of the two prominent regulating organs. They dominate a stunning dial, in which Blancpain even incorporated a sub dial for the date function.

Both the tourbillon and the carrousel are of the flying kind, meaning that they don’t have a bridge to obstruct their view. The Villeret case is remarkable simply, and that highlights the complications even more.

The back of the Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel is equally impressive. Fitted with two main spring barrels, which are wound simultaneously when you wind the crown, this Blancpain has an impressive power reserve of no less than seven days. The two regulating organs, the tourbillon, and the carrousel are linked to each other by an ingenious differential, which takes their average rate and transfers that to the time display. It makes the Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel a true Haute Complication, and one for connoisseurs of rare, technical marvels!