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Blancpain has presented its 16th Valentine’s day watch, a small, elegant and romantic piece, whose highlight is a removable charm in the shape of a white gold arrow with ruby heart. It can be attached at 12 or 6 o’clock as desired. Blancpain’s charms first appeared at Baselworld 2015, though to be honest they are far more a tradition at Van Cleef & Arpels, whose charms are attached to the bezel in such a way that they can rotate around it.

Blancpain calibre 6150 automatic movement

The Blancpain Ladybird for Saint Valentine’s Day 2016 is also notable for its small size, 21.5 mm, and its small self-winding movement, the maison’s own calibre 6150, equally diminutive at just 15.7 mm in diameter and 3.9 mm thick, with 180 components, now equipped with an anti-magnetic silicon balance spring and providing a power reserve of 40 hours. It is one of the smallest watch movements in the world (the record is still held by Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Calibre 101, launched in 1929 and weighing just a gram).

This year’s Ladybird has a mother-of-pearl dial, with decoration in diamond and rubies, and a bezel set with just over 0.5 carats of diamonds. The watch has a calfskin strap. It is a 99-piece limited edition. Price on application from the brand’s points of sale.