Blancpain’s tribute to love

Just when you thought the holidays were over, and once again you succeeded in finding the perfect presents for your loved ones (this sometimes being an arduous task rather than pleasure, if we want to be honest), and then you suddenly realize how time flies and that February will be with us in no time at all. And what does this mean? Well Valentines day, of course! Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely think that giving presents to the people you care about is a wonderful and necessary gesture, but I prefer it spontaneous and don’t like the feeling that I have to demonstrate my love on a particular day. I suppose you get what I mean.

Anyway, Blancpain has celebrated the day of love by producing a special timepiece devoted to St Valentines day since 2004. In my opinion they have done a considerably better job than last year. The edition is limited to 14 pieces so this will be a really unique present. So if you have the money to spare and if you are lucky enough to find the limited edition piece, this is the present for your woman.

The first thing that makes the Saint-Valentin Chronograph 2012 so gorgeous is the combination of colors. The red details against the completely white watch are very effective and represent a combination of purity and passion. The heart counter-weight of the seconds hand is hand painted with a feather, and the pushers are adorned with red rubies. The dial is white mother-of-pearl as well as the three heart-shaped subdials. The subdials are a seconds indicator at 6 o’clock, and minutes and hours chronographs at 3 and 9 o’clock. The central sweeping seconds hand is in fact the flyback chronograph which is easy to operate using the two pushers. The one at 2 o’clock is used to start and stop the chronograph while the one at 4 o’clock makes the chronograph stop, reset to zero position and start anew with a single push. At 12 o’clock is the aperture displaying the date. The dial diameter is only 36 mm, designed to fit the gentle thin wrist of your lady. It is further embellished with eight white diamonds, in addition to the diamonds shining on the bezel, lugs and crown. The overall weight of precious stones used to decorate the Saint-Valentin Chronograph is 2.95 karats. It is easy to conclude that the designer paid much attention to making every detail of the watch perfect.

This year's St Valentine limited edition is adorned with a plethora of diamonds and several red rubies

The sapphire glass of the back case reveals the mechanism ticking within the 18-karat white gold case. It is the Calibre F185 that gives life to this self-winding watch, accompanied with the pink mother-of-pearl oscillating weight. All in all, the case houses 308 parts and 37 jewels. Sapphire glass protects the watch from the face side from scratches, and there is a 30 m (100 feet) water resistance guarantee to protect your watch as well.

This exquisite watch is placed in a stylized wooden box, and it can be purchased in Blancpain boutiques exclusively. I am not familiar with the price, but I am sure that whatever the price, this present would be worth every penny!