At Baselworld 2009, Blancpain introduced its new L-evolution series, including the L-evolution Moon Phase, shown below in steel and red gold.  Now although I am not the biggest fan of this watch because I think the dial is way too busy and cluttered (you can partially see the other days/months and the roman numerals seem too big), it does have a very impressive movement inside – the Blancpain Calibre 66R9 moon phase movement.

The Calibre 66R9 is an automatic with 8 days of power reserve and full calender/moonphase.  Blancpain is particularly proud of this movement because it is entirely developed, produced and assembled in-house by Blancpain’s movement construction engineers and master watchmakers.

According to Blancpain “Equipped with three barrels, this movement is endowed with an impressive 8-day power reserve. Nonetheless, the most significant efforts have been devoted to the heart of the movement: the balance and spring assembly. In order to optimise the regularity of rate of the oscillating organ, Blancpain has opted for a flat balance-spring – ensuring perfect isochronism – and a titanium balance. While extremely hard to machine, titanium features several decisive advantages: first of all, it is far less sensitive to changes in temperature than traditional alloys, meaning it does not dilate when subjected to heat; secondly, it is far lighter and thus less energy-consuming; and finally, it is antimagnetic”. Also, The date, day, month and moon phases on the Calibre 66R9 can be corrected at any time of day or night – including around midnight – an operation that would normally be liable to damage the mechanism if performed near the date-change time.

Here’s a short video that Blancpain produced to give you a good tour of the new Calibre 66R9 and some of its key features:

If Blancpain would improve the dial design as I mentioned above I think this could make for a great watch with a high-powered manufacture movement.

Kyle Stults is Founder & President of Perpetuelle.com, a new online community for luxury watch owners, collectors & enthusiasts.