THE PURITY OF A CLASSIC

Although during the Salon International de Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) 2018, the accent was placed above all on Montblanc’s 1848 collection, the Star Legacy is not lacking in interest – quite the contrary!

The discreet Star Legacy collection is the classic interpretation of time Montblanc-style. For the SIHH in January, a few changes were made to the family of watches’ design, but also some more structural modifications. In honour of the 160^th anniversary of Minerva, the collection now includes an exceptional, limited-edition model, the Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon, and the monopusher chronograph Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph. But we have opted to focus on the Star Legacy Automatic Chronograph model.

Like the other members of the family, the Star Legacy Automatic Chronograph takes some of its features from the pocket watches made by Minerva in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century: a 42mm-wide, round, curved pebble-shaped case, a ball-type fluted crown with an inlaid Montblanc logo, large Arabic numerals for the hours, mid-way between floral typography and Breguet style, blued leaf-shaped hands, a railroad minute track with black dots and “filet sauté” (rising and falling guilloché lines) around the edge of the dial. But the usual concentric guilloché pattern, similar to flinqué engraving techniques, forming the silhouette of the Montblanc “star” and usually found at the centre of the dial of Star Legacy watches, can be found here at the centre of the hour totaliser. The silvery white dial also features the central hours and minutes, a traditional display of time, completed by a small-second (at 9 o’clock) and a date sub-dial (at 4.30). As for the chronograph indications, triggered by two oblong monopushers on the side of the case, they are shared between the centre (seconds), 3 o’clock (minutes) and 6 o’clock (hours), and all driven by the automatic calibre MB 25.02. The calibre provides 46 hours of power reserve.

The model also comes with a slate-grey dial highlighted by Arabic numerals and silvered hands.

Price: 3,990 EUR

By Sharmila Bertin

THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE

Montblanc brings out the explorer in you with a new watch equipped with universal time and a dial designed for the highest summits.

1858 is the vintage-look collection by Montblanc. Previously focusing on military-style watches with oversized numerals and hands for optimum readability, it has now moved to a new theme suited to our present-day society, closer to nature and searching for authenticity. The aesthetic style of the timepieces is now focused on mountain exploration, as in the Geosphere. On the dial, two hemispheres stand out. They are there not only for aesthetic but also for practical reasons. Both are encircled by a scale of 24 time zones with a day/night indicator. While the North turns anti-clockwise, the South runs in the same direction as the hands, and travellers always know what time it is, no matter where they happen to be on Earth. A second time zone at 9 o’clock and a date counter at 3 o’clock round off the time information. The watch is driven by the automatic MB 29.25 movement.

On the globes, seven red points attract the eye. These are the seven highest summits on our planet, which have inspired and still inspire large numbers of explorers. The continents, like the indices, Arabic numerals and hands, are coated in Super-LumiNova® to increase visibility, even in the dark.

Two versions of the Montblanc Geosphere are available, one made of steel and the other – an edition limited to 1858 pieces – made of bronze. Both can be worn, depending on your taste, with a NATO strap, a Cognac-coloured leather model or a brand-new Bund-style aged Sfumato brown leather strap.

Price: 5,190 EUR (steel) – 5,890 EUR (bronze)

By Dan Diaconu

WRITING THE MEASUREMENT OF TIME

Montblanc opens a new chapter for its GMT monopusher chronograph. While technically it remains unchanged, the design has considerably changed, helping the dial gain in readability.

In 2008, Montblanc introduced a chronograph that was unusual in measuring short time with the help of two rotating discs. A fixed double index was used to read the time results in the 60-second and 30-minute counters. Ten years later, the brand has revisited its monopusher chronograph Nicolas Rieussec. There are no radical changes, but an aesthetic progression in the details. So, the timepiece has kept the unique time information layout on the silver white dial. Nonetheless, it has been revised to improve readability. The titanium chapter ring and rotating discs of the chronograph are now curved to provide relief. The Arabic numerals are slimmer. A discreet railroad-scale timer runs around them. The date is now displayed at 6 o’clock in a sophisticated counter. A guilloché pattern and azure finish provide an overall effect that is worthy of this fine piece of watchmaking. The steel case has also been redesigned, with its diameter increasing from 43 to 44.8mm. Settings are now made using a rounded and grooved crown for easier handling.

The watch is still driven by the automatic calibre MB R200. With twin barrels, it provides a healthy power reserve of 72 hours. The caseback reveals the components decorated by Geneva waves.

The Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph is worn with a new Sfumato blue alligator leather strap, designed by the brand in Florence.

Price: €7,450

By Dan Diaconu

PROTECTED SPECIES

The legendary panda dial makes any timepiece trendy. This new chronograph with an in-house calibre has all the makings of a future must-have.

Montblanc freshened up its TimeWalker collection for the SIHH 2017 with timepieces featuring black dials and sporty personalities. The next Salon de la Haute Horlogerie on January 15^th 2018 will give us the chance to see the brand new TimeWalker Manufacture Chronograph. In terms of design, the brand has dropped the single hue for a cool “panda” dial with a white background and black counters. The counters and small seconds are classically featured at 3, 6 and 9. This bright layout makes it easier to tell and measure the time. The use of Super-LumiNova® on the minute track and dauphine-shape hour and minute hands enhance the sense of light in the dark. This model has held onto the fixed ceramic bezel with a tachymeter scale from previous pieces.

The dial isn’t all that’s new. The 43mm satin-finish steel case is water-resistant to depths of 100m and now has an in-house self-winding mechanical movement. The MB 25.10 calibre (46-hour power reserve) has a column wheel and a stop-seconds mechanism to ensure accurate time setting.

The TimeWalker Manufacture Chronograph comes on an aged Sfumato brown calfskin strap whose perforations add a chic vintage touch. Sport just got stylish.

Price: €4,990

By Dan Diaconu

BACK TO THE BRONZE AGE

With its resolutely retro style, bronze/orange elements and unique look, the new chronograph by Montblanc takes us back to a vintage era.

The new 1858 collection introduced at the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) in January 2017 included three watches dressed in bronze, including the Montblanc 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter. Just a few weeks away from the SIHH 2018, Montblanc has unveiled a new version of the timepiece, available in a limited series of 100 pieces, with its vintage style intact, and this time equipped with an original salmon-coloured dial. The dial, together with the use of bronze, strongly underlines the watch’s vintage aesthetic.

On top of the exterior design, this new timepiece is driven by the calibre MB M16.29, which is itself inspired by the calibre Minerva 17.29, originally made for pocket watches and wrist watches in the 1930s. With this hand-wound monopusher chronograph movement, the Montblanc 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter runs at a rhythm of 18,000 vibrations an hour and has a power reserve of 50 hours. Wide, luminous cathedral-style hands, along with blue hands for the chronograph and the seconds accompany the original Montblanc logo from the 1930s, with the whole design providing a vintage look to the piece, although at that period, Montblanc was not yet making watches. This timepiece, with its authentic alloy, will certainly withstand the passing of time with elegance.

Price: 28,100 CHF

By Isabelle Guignet

TRAVEL IN TOTAL FREEDOM

Easy to use, fantastic readability and seriously contemporary style…the travel watch in the TimeWalker collection has everything it needs to make it a must-have.

Like the other watches in the TimeWalker collection by Montblanc, the Chronograph UTC pairs a masculine style with useful functions for day-to-day wear. The chronograph tells the time in 3 separate time zones with the help of its self-winding mechanical MB 25.03 movement (46-hour power reserve). That should keep the most demanding globetrotters happy! Wide hands track local time. Home time is easy to see with the SuperLuminova-coated red-tipped central hand. You set the time using the crown. It’s simple and easy as the date at 3 is synchronised with local time. You can see the third time zone by turning the unidirectional ceramic rotating bezel and basing it on where the 24-hour hand is.

Everything about the chronometer measurements is traditional. The chronograph’s red central seconds hand stands out for its baton-shape hand and Minerva tip. The two large minute and hour counters lie vertically like the other chronographs in the collection.

The TimeWalker Chronograph UTC’s 43mm satin-finish case in matt black DLC is stylishly linked to a perforated black rubber strap with a deployment clasp. The piece creates a look that’s both urban and sporty so you can wear the watch whatever the occasion.

Price: €5,000

By Dan Diaconu

THE ESSENCE OF MOTOR RACING

Ramp up the style stakes with a sporty watch. That’s the idea behind the new models in this year’s revamped TimeWalker collection by Montblanc.

Like the other four watches in the collection, the TimeWalker Automatic Date stands out for its edgy style inspired by the world of motor racing back when Minerva was the timekeeper. The company fell into the Richemont group’s hands in 2006 and Montblanc has kept its legacy alive. This model oozes heritage with finishes reminiscent of key designs in motor racing. The semi-skeletonised lugs bring to mind the air vents on vintage cars. The crown is inspired by fuel caps from days gone by. The perforated leather or rubber strap mirrors the gloves worn by the famous drivers. The markers’ font on the black dial matches the dashboard counters. The dauphine-shape hour and minute hands glide over the dial with the seconds hand bearing a Minerva tip.

There’s no need to pop the hood to see what’s fuelling the watch. The 41mm matt satin steel case has a smoky sapphire back so you can see the self-winding MB24.17 movement in action (38-hour power reserve).

The black ceramic unidirectional rotating bezel isn’t just for show; it brings you a second time zone. Simply position the 12 on the bezel at the time you want then look at the hour hand on the bezel’s scale. The same goes for the minutes.

Price: €2,715

By Dan Diaconu

THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE

Montblanc has launched an ExoTourbillon and monopusher chronograph in a new limited series of 100 pieces combining modern design and traditional fine watchmaking.

In 2010, Montblanc unveiled the first ExoTourbillon. This complication differs from a traditional tourbillon through the screw balance wheel set on the outside of the rotating cage, which means it is not affected by the inertia of the cage. Precision and isochronism are both improved. Five years later, the watchmakers combined this clever mechanism with another prestigious timekeeping complication, a monopusher chronograph.

And once again this year, the TimeWalker ExoTourbillon Chronograph Limited Edition 100 brings together the two features along with a self-winding MB R230 movement. Montblanc has changed the aesthetic style of the timepiece to give it a monochrome look. The DLC-coated titanium case is 44mm wide and features a grained black dial, with the hour and date displayed on an off-centred counter at 12 o’clock. Two semi-circular counters show the seconds at 8 o’clock and the minutes at 4 o’clock. The figures and indices, with their distinctive styles, are coated with SuperLuminova to ensure optimal readability, even in the dark.

The watch also has a practical feature for travellers. When you are visiting another continent, you can change the hour hand and date display on the TimeWalker ExoTourbillon Chronograph Limited Edition 100 quickly and in either direction. The watch is also equipped with a quick stop-second mechanism, and the calibre is designed so you can reset the time without stopping the tourbillon, so the watch will maintain perfect precision!

Price: €45,400

By Dan Diaconu

FROM THE RACE TRACK TO THE WRIST

The brand from Hamburg reaches new chronometric heights, taking inspiration from the motor racing track to bring technical skill and performance to its range of urban watches, TimeWalker

Montblanc is marking 2017 with the imprint of performance, speed and technique, three fundamental values it shares with the world of motor racing, a sport whose aesthetic codes it has partly taken up. The elegant, sports characteristics that the watchmakers have borrowed from the motor racing circuit have been injected into the TimeWalker urban collection, a series that is better adapted to the exercise than the more traditional ranges. Montblanc, specialists in mono-pusher chronographs since the early 20^th century, and today part of the Richemont group, has remained true to its origins in the Minerva Manufacture, revising the idea of the 1/1000^th of a second counter unveiled in 1916 and again in 1936 to give life to its TimeWalker Chronograph 1000 Limited Edition 18.

The black, grained dial features horizontal embossed lines in the centre, where the couple of dauphine hour and minute hands are set. The seconds are at 9 o’clock, near the fan-shaped opening unveiling part of the mechanism. All the chronograph indicators have a bright red element: the second hand in the centre that follows a scale etched on the chapter ring, the double counter at 6 o’clock recording the seconds (out of 60) and the minutes (out of 15) and, of course, the 1/1000^th of a second counter displayed in red from 11 to 1 o’clock.

As its name implies, the TimeWalker Chronograph 1000 Limited Edition 18 is available in just 18 pieces.

Price: 170,000 CHF

By Sharmila Bertin

SPEED AS A WAY OF LIFE

Montblanc’s urban collection has seen a change in lifestyle, so to speak, and now focuses on sport and speed, but without losing its dynamic and designer look. A contemporary homage to the chronographs that have been making the Manufacture Minerva’s reputation since 1908.

With Davide Cerrato’s appointment at the head of Montblanc’s Watch division, the Hamburg brand’s watch collections have been the subject of changes, with notably a new market position oriented towards sports watches. After bronze was introduced into the 1858 range, it’s now the turn of the TimeWalker to get a new look in both aesthetic and mechanical terms. This redefinition of the product epitomises the total merger between Montblanc and the Manufacture Minerva, providing it with more character, while maintaining a very reasonable price range.

Among the new Montblanc timepieces on display at the 27^th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), two sports watches attracted attention with their design, their complications and their affordable prices: the TimeWalker Chronograph Automatic and the TimeWalker Chronograph UTC.

Driven by the MB 25.07 automatic calibre that provides a power reserve of 46 hours and powers the chronograph and date functions, the TimeWalker Chronograph Automatic model features a 43 mm steel case. The case is fitted with a revolving black ceramic bezel where a 12-hour scale is engraved. The dial, equipped with a chapter ring around a black disc, displays an hour marker with indexes and large, rhodium, luminescent Arabic numerals. At the centre, two dauphine watch hands indicate the hours and minutes, while the seconds are shown in a counter at 9 o’clock. The date appears discreetly at 3 o’clock. The red, arrow-tipped second hand counts down the seconds of the chronograph, while two counters, placed at 12 and 6 o’clock, keep track of the minutes and the hours. The watch is also available with a silver dial.

The second model worth checking out is the TimeWalker Chronograph UTC. The self-winding MB 25.03 calibre is housed in a black DLC case measuring 43mm in diameter. Along with a chronograph function like the watch described above, this new TimeWalker Chronograph UTC also includes three time zones. Local time and the minutes are shown at the centre of the black dial by two rhodium Dauphine hands; the time at home is displayed with a stick hand tipped with a red arrow and, to finish, the black ceramic bezel has a 24-hour scale engraved in it.

Price: 3 990 EUR (chronograph on leather or rubber) – 4 290 EUR (chronograph on steel) – 4 990 EUR (UTC chronograph)

By Sharmila Bertin