Montblanc’s modern timepiece collection derives much of its aesthetic character from the historical watches of Minerva ? a heralded Swiss producer of chronographs whose ancestral atelier was acquired by Richemont in 2006 and revived as the Montblanc Manufacture. The brand’s latest release, the Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100, re-envisions the Minerva military watches of the 1930s in a distinctly luxurious contemporary vein.
Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100
The watch has a 44-mm case made of full-satinated bronze, a material used previously in Montblanc?s vintage-look timepieces, and a black lacquered dial with rose-gold-colored details that elegantly echo the look of the case. Based on a legendary Minerva chronograph watch (pictured below), the dial is defined by the two classically designed scales on its periphery. This 1930s Minerva military chronograph wristwatch provided the inspiration.
One is a telemeter scale, used to measure distance based on visible and audible phenomena ? i.e., to calculate how far away a storm is from the wearer based on the time between a flash of lightning and the first rumble of thunder. The other is an old-school, snail-shaped tachymeter scale in the dial?s center for measuring the speed of a moving object over a known distance. Both scales employ the watch?s built-in chronograph function, operated by a monopusher in the crown. The chronograph is equipped with a ?rattrapante,?...