We got a small taste of what’s to come from Montblanc in 2018 back in December, but earlier today, we found out the rest of the brand’s novelties during the first day of SIHH. All of Montblanc’s watches this year are concentrated into three lines: the 1858 collection, the TimeWalker collection, and the Star Legacy collection.
In particular, the 1858 collection, is noteworthy as 2018 marks the 160th anniversary of the brand’s erstwhile Minerva marque, but all the collections seem to call back to Minerva’s exceptional horological history. Minerva has a lengthy history developing some of the most attractive and mechanically-potent chronographs on the planet. All the way back in 1911, Minerva had developed stopwatches that could measure 1/5th of a second. In 1916, only five years later, the Minerva Manufacture was one of the first to develop a high-frequency movement that could measure 1/100thof a second, a development that was later improved upon in the mid-1930s. The 1858 Collection
This year’s 1858 line contains five new watches: the 1858 Automatic, 1858 Automatic Chronograph, the 1858 Geosphere, the 1858 Monopusher Chronograph Limited Edition 100, and the 1858 Pocket Watch Limited Edition 100.
The Montblanc 1858 Automatic
The 1858 Automatic and the Automatic Chronograph are the most traditional of the group. The Automatic is a 40 mm stainless steel model with a bronze bezel and fluted crown. It comes with the option of either a black or...