Horological Meandering

SJX, a fantastic post, but I cannot leave it like it is: Credit where credit is due!

 

Dear SJX, I would like to comment on a couple of sentences in your excellent review. True, the watches are very beautiful, but suffer from conceptional peculiarities Mycroft so aptly described.

1. The transition of Minerva:
You wrote: Minerva's transformation began when the Frey family sold Minerva to Emilio Gnutti, an Italian businessman with a chequered past who was once on the Forbes Rich List. Mr Gnutti proceeded to move Minerva upmarket by leaps and bounds, pushing up its quality as well as its price. Recruited for that effort was Demetrio Cabiddu, a master watchmaker formerly of Gerald Genta who was involved in the creation of the automatic Grande Sonnerie with Westminster chime in the early nineties.
Well, hired for this task was Mr Beppe Menaldo, who was fired about a year ago in a very unpleasant and obscure way. For the techical part of this efforts, as you wrote, Demetrio Cabiddu was responsible. I admire both men even if it is not politically opportune to do so at the moment.

1. The transition of Minerva:
You wrote: Often enough the story ends here; big brand eats small brand and small brand becomes soulless commercial subsidiary, but fortunately there is more to tell. An extraordinary degree of effort has been invested in the Collection Villeret 1858. The Villeret factory even makes Breguet overcoils in-house; movements are now fitted with overcoils from existing stocks but by next year all hairsprings will be made by hand in-house. And it is worth noting that the hairsprings are enormous - the balance wheel in the large chronograph is a whopping 14.5mm wide!
...
Montblanc has also achieved a good tactile feel for the chronograph, the pusher action (all of the chronographs are monopusher) is reminiscent of a fine vintage column wheel chronograph.
...
I applaud Montblanc for its efforts in creating a haute horlogerie range...
Now, here is something really to correct. The entire line of this 'Montblanc Villeret Collection' (and this means all four complications and even one more!), was ready already under the duo Menaldo/Cabiddu in early 2005! This even down to the very elaborate wood presentation box. The only visible thing I can detect which I would attribute to Montblanc is the new dial. All this can be read in my May 2005 report on a visit to the manufacture. Click on any images to be transported there:

SJX, my intention si not to take away anything from your report. I just would like to give credit where credit is due. I hope you do not take offense! Best, Magnus (congrats on the fine images! These watches are incredibly difficult to catch on film, err, silicon!)

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