Villeret Métiers d’Art Binchōtan Through its Métiers d’Art collection, Blancpain innovates by combining the know-how of its craftsmen with ancestral decora- tive techniques rarely used in watchmaking. In 2018, the Maison presented its first dials in binchōtan, a charcoal of remarkable quality because it is extremely dense, resulting from the slow combustion of ubamegashi wood in a clay furnace heated to around 1300 degrees Celsius. The sudden rise in temperature, followed by rapid cooling, reduces the bark of the tree to ashes and gives way to a smooth surface with a hardness comparable to that of steel. Blancpain has acquired this 17th century Japa- nese skill to create a series of unique dials.