Montblanc has revealed a new desert-inspired version of 1858 Geosphere explorer timepiece at the digital 2021 Watches & Wonders show. Continuing with the partnership with legendary Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner that saw the launch of a blue and bronze version of the watch last year, the new 1858 Geosphere Desert Limited Edition sports a distinct bronze and brown color combination. Messner is best known for being the first man to conquer Everest without supplemental oxygen, but the latest timepiece celebrates his 2004 solo expedition across the Gobi Desert where he walked 1200 miles on foot. The overall design of the limited edition remains identical to the previous iterations of the 1858 Geosphere. The 42mm case which is inspired by a design from the 1930s is crafted with a satin-finished bronze and matched with a brass bi-directional bezel with a brown ceramic finish.
The limited-edition features a sandy-beige fumé dial that graduates from light to dark brown and is meant to evoke the barren landscape of Gobi Desert. The highlight of the dial are the two rotating globes that show time around the globe with their 24-hour markers. The northern hemisphere turns anti-clockwise while the southern goes clockwise. The titanium caseback features a colorful 3D rendering of the desert’s ‘Flaming Cliffs’ as a tribute to Messner’s mind-boggling 2004 solo trek across the Mongolian desert. The watch is powered by the MB 29.25 movement which is ...