Manufacture Blancpain’s new models created using complex decorative techniques have been dedicated to Taiwan’s Formosan clouded leopard.

 

The beginning of last year was probably the last time when this rare creature was seen, spotted by rangers  from the local Paiwan indigenous tribe. There's no photographic evidence or video footage to confirm the sighting, so the question of whether these leopards still exist remains without a definitive answer.

 

The most recent officially documented sighting dates back to 1983! Perhaps one of the only ways you can see this predator in all its former glory today is on the dial of the two unique Blancpain Métiers d'Art pieces released for sale in Blancpain's flagship boutique in Taiwan.

 

Five techniques were applied to recreate the image of a creature which was considered a sacred animal by the people indigenous to the island of Taiwan. A porcelain enamel-painted dial was created on the watch for her, framed in a 33 mm white-gold case with a diamond-set bezel.

 

The masters at Le Brassus took great care to create this masterpiece, working through a full cycle for each of the materials used for the miniature enamel painting. First, they diluted the porcelain mixture of quartz, feldspar and kaolin powders with water. They then shaped the workpiece to form the dial, and dried it for 24 hours before firing at 1000°C.

 

Then it was time for enameling before beginning work on what would be the painting. Interestingly, special recipes developed by Blancpain enamelers were followed to create some of the shades that were used, which adds even more value to what is already a unique miniature enamel painting. The transparent caseback of the watch for her reveals the Manufacture 1154 caliber with its 100-hour power reserve.

 

Three techniques were used to create the second model for him. The 45 mm red-gold case frames the "canvas", which itself exhibits the mastery of metalwork. We’re talking about the ancient Japanese art of shakudō, which fans of Blancpain will surely be familiar with.

 

Samurais used a copper and gold alloy to decorate their katana swords, and the Swiss manufacture has also used damascened shakudō in the past to design dials for other watches, with portraits of Ganesh and a rooster for the Year of the Rooster in the traditional Chinese calendar.

 

The figures crafted from metal allow you to appreciate the rich palette of colors that have been used, which the skilled artisans have achieved by immersing the metal in a bath with copper acetate (rokushō). The regal leopard was given its final fisnished look through engraving and damascening (inlaying one metal into another).

 

The last technique involves making narrow undercuts in the surface, which are then inlaid with thin wires of soft gold. No glue needed! If you flip the case over, you can see the richly decorated Manufacture 15B caliber.