Blancpain has already made the moon phase a signature and, in 2012, translated the Chinese zodiac into a Villeret calendar. With the Ladybird Colors Zodiaque, the Maison turns to a Western sky. Ref. 3664 introduces a new automatic Manufacture movement, Caliber 2653QZ, that follows the twelve Greco-Roman signs through the year—a first for the brand.
Blancpain’s Ladybird Colors Zodiaque, Ref. 3664, introduces the new automatic Caliber 2653QZ, a patented movement with off-centered hours and minutes, a date, a retrograde month, and a Western zodiac display, in a 34.90mm 18k white or red gold case with a nacre perlée dial.
The watch arrives in two metals. An 18k red gold case is paired with a Champagne alligator strap and Champagne-toned zodiac signs; an 18k white gold case wears a Midnight Blue strap and silver-toned signs. In both versions, those signs sit on a Midnight Blue disc of their own, kept visually separate from the date and the retrograde month.
The moon phase has been a Blancpain signature since 1983, and the Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar later brought the Eastern zodiac onto the wrist. The Ladybird Colors Zodiaque now follows Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces—the twelve signs of Greco-Roman astrology—and continues the Maison’s work in watches made for women, from the 1930s to pieces such as the Lady B.
At the center is Caliber 2653QZ, a new automatic Manufacture movement of 362 components and 38 jewels, just 5.37mm thick, with a silicon hairspring and a 68-hour power reserve. Its patented architecture uses a differential that keeps the zodiac display continuously linked to the date, together with an annual cam. Because the twelve signs last from 30 to 32 days, the cam times each change, and a dedicated disc jumps instantly on the precise day of the transition.
Hours and minutes are off-centered. A retrograde month hand advances on the first day of each month, then snaps back to the start at the end of the year. Blancpain has given each indication its own space on the dial so the complexity stays readable, and all of the calendar corrections can be made at any time without risk to the movement.
The dial is nacre perlée, which the Maison calls the rarest form of mother-of-pearl used in watchmaking. Light moving across it brings out flashes of green and pink, a signature of the Ladybird Colors collection. The material is taken from the most curved central section of carefully selected cultured shells; each shell yields a single dial, and nacre perlée accounts for less than 2% of the usable mother-of-pearl on a shell, so no two surfaces are quite the same.
Around the time and month, diamonds are set in two interlaced circles, their gold rings bevelled inward to reduce the visible metal so the stones appear to extend beyond the structure. Further diamonds run along the bezel and the buckle, bringing the total to 133 stones and 2.21 carats. Sage-leaf hands, a Blancpain signature, sweep over Roman numerals in powdered silver or gold, outlined in midnight blue.
The 18k gold case is 34.90mm across and 10.80mm thick, 41mm lug to lug, with sapphire crystal and caseback, and is water-resistant to 30 meters. Straps and clasps use a quick-change system. The Ladybird Colors Zodiaque is not a limited edition. It is priced at CHF 43,200 with a pin buckle, or CHF 45,000 with a folding clasp, and carries a five-year warranty. After the moon and the Chinese zodiac, Blancpain has given the Western signs a movement of their own.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Model | Ladybird Colors Zodiaque |
| References | 3664 1954 55A (18k white gold, pin buckle); 3664 1954 55B (18k white gold, folding clasp); 3664 2954 55A (18k red gold, pin buckle); 3664 2954 55B (18k red gold, folding clasp) |
| Edition | Not limited |
| Dial | Nacre perlée; powdered silver or gold Roman numerals outlined in midnight blue; sage-leaf hands |
| Zodiac display | Twelve Western signs on a Midnight Blue disc (Champagne-toned signs on the red gold version; silver-toned on the white gold version) |
| Gem-setting | 133 diamonds, 2.21 ct total (F-G, IF-VVS, full-cut and rose-cut). Case: 59 diamonds, 2.074 ct. Dial: 65 diamonds, 0.126 ct, in two interlaced circles. Clasp: 9 diamonds, 0.011 ct |
| Movement | Blancpain Manufacture Caliber 2653QZ, automatic, patented |
| Functions | Off-centered hours and minutes; date; retrograde month; Western zodiac (instantaneous jump, linked to the date) |
| Dimensions | 29.40 × 5.37 mm |
| Components | 362 |
| Jewels | 38 |
| Frequency | 4 Hz (28,800 vph) |
| Hairspring | Silicon |
| Power reserve | 68 hours |
| Secured movement | Calendar corrections can be made at any time |
| Case | 18k white or red gold; sapphire crystal and caseback |
| Diameter | 34.90mm |
| Thickness | 10.80mm |
| Lug width | 18mm |
| Lug to lug | 41mm |
| Water resistance | 30 meters (3 bar) |
| Strap | Alligator leather, quick-change system; Midnight Blue (white gold) or Champagne (red gold) |
| Clasp | Pin buckle or folding clasp, quick-change system, diamond-set |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Price | CHF 43,200 (pin buckle); CHF 45,000 (folding clasp) |
Timely FAQs
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