Blancpain prepares to fly its female

admirers to the moon with this delightful watch that combines two of its

signature complications: the date display and moon phases. Carefully

proportioned to suit a slim wrist and circled with diamonds, this Date Moon

Phases model in white  gold shows the moon at its most coquettish by placing a

tiny beauty spot at the corner of its mouth. In eighteenth-century Europe, a

lady would have done this to show she was in a flippant mood. And indeed,

Blancpain's moon has a playfully feminine face. Behind this lighthearted scene,

there are some serious mechanics at work in the form of an automatic movement

incorporating the latest innovations, such as a glucydur balance and silicon

balance spring. A model of precision that reveals finely executed finishing –

oscillating weight with a snailed bevelling, polished chamfers as well as straight and circular Côtes de

Genève – through its back.