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bite
men
watches
that celebrated the 190th anniversary
of the invention of the chronograph by
Nicolas Rieussec in 1821, two years ago.
While in Villeret, the founding home of
Montblanc in 1858, the mastery is evident
in the Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858,
which consists of the Tourbillion Bi-
Cylindrique, the first wristwatch with a
tourbillion escapement and a cylindrical
double balance-spring;Vintage Pulsographe
which pays homage to the Minerva
Pulsometer chronograph introduced in
1928; ExoTourbillion Chronographe, the
first watch to combine a chronograph
and a tourbillion mechanism and Grand
Chronographe Régulateur, which is
inspired by the regulator clocks of the
past found in the workshops of many
traditional watch manufacturers.
Other revolutionary models include
the Montblanc Timewalker collection
which contains beautifully crafted
timepieces such as the Twinfly Titanium
Chronograph, an automatic flyback
chronograph wristwatch in 43mm black
DLC-coated titanium, sapphire crystal
case back with domed sapphire crystal
and anti-reflective coating, black dial
with rhodium-plated numerals and black
alligator skin strap with black DLC-coated
stainless steel pink buckle. The Red Gold
“Black” Chronograph Automatic is also a
top seller with an automatic wristwatch
with chronograph functions and officially
certified chronometer (COSC) in 43mm
18ct red gold, sapphire crystal case back
with domed sapphire crystal and anti-
reflective coating, black dial with red-
gold plated hands and numerals and black
embossed calfskin strap with red-gold
coloured stitching and 18ct red-gold
pin buckle; and Automatic Steel Gold, an
automatic movement wristwatch in 39mm
stainless steel, 18ct gold lunette, sapphire
crystal case back with domed sapphire
crystal and anti-reflective coating, and steel
bracelet with gold links.
Today, Montblanc continues to enhance
their collection of innovative watches with
more creative models. The Montblanc
Star Chronograph UTC Automatic is
traditionally designed with blued hands,
Roman numerals and three dimensional
guilloche pattern,and automatic movement.
It also has chronograph functions (hours,
minutes and seconds), a second time zone
(UTC), 42mm stainless steel case, screwed
sapphire crystal case back, sapphire crystal,
and alligator strap with triple folding clasp.
For the perfect star date, the Montblanc
quartz watch of the same name consists
of battery end-of-life indicator, normal
hour, minute, second hand, date display
indications, 39mm stainless steel case
back with domed sapphire crystal and
double anti-reflective coating, silvery white
guilloche dial with rhodium-plated indexes
and numerals, rhodium-plated feuille hands
and brown grained calfskin strap with pin
buckle. Similarly, the automatic version
has the same features except for the
black guilloche dial with rhodium-plated
numerals and a black alligator strap with a
triple-folding clasp.
Earlier this year, Montblanc unveiled
what was described as “the most
handsome forward transaction” at the
Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie
(SIHH) in Geneva. The Montblanc Star
Quantième Complet, the latest model
in the Montblanc Star Collection is a
gentleman’s
wristwatch
appropriate
enough to be worn with a classic business
suit or complement the formal elegance
of a tuxedo.The watch face is framed by a
classically round 42mm diameter case with
18k red gold and an elegant dial that shows
both the time of day or night and a full
array of calendarical data.The white silver-
coloured dial with central guilloche pattern
is protected by a slightly domed sapphire
crystal with anti-reflective treatment on
both its face and a screwed case back with
a transparent pane of sapphire crystal.The
date is indicated by a hand which culminates
in a little red crescent that sweeps along a
wreath of thirty-one digits around the dial’s
periphery. In keeping with tradition, the day
of the week and the month appear in little
windows arranged along a horizontal line
at the “12” and the lower half of the dial is
reserved for the moon-phase display, which
also emulates the changing phases of the
heavenly body during the day, when the real
moon is either pale or entirely invisible.
Complete with a brown alligator-skin strap
and 18k red gold pin buckle, the Montblanc
Star Quantième Complet will be available
fromAugust this year.
And doing their part to help advance
medical breakthroughs, Montblanc will
be supporting in-depth research on
Duchenne muscular dystrophy by donating
a unique timepiece: the Montblanc Nicolas
Rieussec Rising Hours for Monaco under
the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II
of Monaco. The specially designed and
developed timepiece, an alliance of red gold
and steel with dual carbon treatment was
traditionally created in Le Locle. It features
a black dial with grain d’orge guilloche
décor, encased in a 43mm stainless steel
with a glossy DLC (Diamond Like Carbon)
finish, and an extremely resistant surface
with a stainless steel case back which is five
times harder than a conventional stainless
steel case.The black alligator-skin strap has
a contrasting red gold coloured stitching
and a triple-folding clasp made of red gold
while the fluted crown also made of 18ct
red gold bears a mother-of-pearl inlay
shaped like Montblanc’s emblem. With
rotating discs under motionless pointers
for the elapsed minutes and seconds,a two-
armed bridge at “6 o’clock” with bright red
ruby bearings which makes the dial look as
though it is smiling, off-centre dial to show
the ordinary time of day or night via a
skeletonised minute-hand and digital hour
numerals and a special engraving on the
case back “ONLY WATCH ’13 UNIQUE
PIECE”, this unique creation makes it
without doubt a Montblanc Nicolas
Rieussec masterpiece.
The Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec
Rising Hours for Monaco timepiece will
be auctioned on 28th September 2013
in Monaco with proceeds going to the
Monegasque Association against Muscular
Dystropies. Prior to this, through auction
house ‘Antiquorum’, the timepiece will
travel as an exhibition to Singapore,
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, New York
and Geneva from 6th September to 28th
September to give collectors and watch
enthusiasts the opportunity to view it.
www.montblanc.com