At the very peak of Montblanc’s chronograph range sits a new monopusher split-seconds model, cased for the first time in bronze
By Timothy Barber

Have we reached Peak Bronze in fine watches" One might reasonably hope so, since this year?s overload ? which takes in IWC, TAG Heuer, Tudor, Bell & Ross, Oris, Montblanc and several others ? has begun looking rather repetitive, if not bordering on the faddy. However, the appearance of a serious piece of top tier horology ? and Montblanc?s 1858 Split Second Chronograph is certainly that ? cased in bronze really is an interesting development, not least for its price: this costs just £29,000. For an in-house split-seconds chrono with a movement as fine as this one you?d usually be paying perhaps four times that. That?s a saving not simply being made in the case material, but it adds a fascinating point of departure. For a few years Montblanc has been mining the propensity of bronze to bring a kind of rustic soulfulness to retro watches, and this one is as retro as they come: the base movement was designed in the late 1920s, after all. The official line from Montblanc these days is that the specialist horology of the old Minerva manufactory at Villeret and the volume watchmaking of the brand?s Le Locle premises are no longer separated out, but one and the same operation. That may be so, but the appearance of collector chronographs like these ? this piece is limited to 100 pieces ? demonstrate that the Minerva lineage...