Manufacture
Jrwong23 (aka watchthebin) offers a detailed account of Montblanc Singapore's 'Celebrating the Spirit of Meisterstuck' dinner, hosted by Sincere Fine Watches. This post highlights the author's fascination with the Minerva calibers, particularly the caliber 16-18 with its Retour-A-Zero complication. It provides a collector's perspective on Montblanc's high-end Villeret watches and the enduring appeal of traditional hand-finishing and movement manufacture.
Following the launch of Montblanc Singapore’s “Celebrating the Spirit of Meisterstuck” exhibition last Fri, there were a series of dinners organized for Montblanc collectors, friends and retailers. I was fortunate to be invited for a dinner on Monday this week, organized by Sincere Fine Watches together with Montblanc Singapore.
The venue of the dinner is at the same place as last Fri’s exhibition launch party, i.e. Ngee Ann City’s Civic Plaza in Singapore. I won’t be repeating what I had posted about the exhibition launch and party and you can read my previous post here:
Before dinner commenced, I walked over to Julien’s exhibition area and looked at the Minerva calibres again. I tend to look at the chronograph movements more as Minerva is well known in this complication but this time, I saw a very nice movement too (I saw it on last Fri but didn’t spend too much time on it). This time, this movement caught my eye.
Here is a much nicer picture taken by Fx some time ago.
This is the beautiful caliber 16-18, which is a Retour-A-Zero complication found in the Montblanc Villeret Grande Seconde au Center watch. A beautifully finished movement with a useful complication, allowing users to reset the seconds to zero at the pull of the crown (for those of us who want to reference another source of time, say to monitor accuracy).
2 great articles I found here, written by our moderators, Art and Mike:
I am quite interested in this complication and will read up
more about it. Maybe my 2nd Villeret? 
(I pray my wife doesn’t ever read this post…)
Soon we were all asked to sit down for dinner.
Here is a menu. I have promised my Montblanc Villeret that for Mon’s dinner, I would bring him along as his sibling the Star Worldtime, attended last Fri’s party.
Is the food more yummy or the beautiful caliber 13.21 found in my Montblanc Villeret chronograph grand feu enamel? J
Appetizer and soup were great to start the dinner. I was seated beside Sincere’s CEO, Mr Ong Ban and he shared the story of how Sincere had partnered Montblanc in the region to educate their customers on the beauty and traditional craftsmanship of Montblanc Villeret timepieces since the launch of the Collection Villeret series by Montblanc back in 2007/2008. Some of his customers, who are all watch connoisseurs, ended up buying Montblanc Villeret watches and even created bespoke Montblanc Villeret pieces.
During the dinner, Montblanc watches were shared with guests. I spent more time on my favorite collections, namely the new Meisterstuck Heritage series as well as the Montblanc Collection Villeret series.
First introduced in SIHH 2014, the new Meisterstuck Heritage series is a new collection of great value classical timepieces that I feel has a lot of potential to grow Montblanc’s watch category. I spoke to some of my fellow collectors and customers of Sincere Fine Watches that evening and all of them spoke highly of this collection. Comments like “great price points for complications”, “classical looks that will appeal to more people”, “feels and looks well crafted” were common responses. This bodes well for Montblanc.
I really love the case design of the Meisterstuck Heritage series, especially the ones in 39mm as they fit my small wrist very well. Here are some pictures of my 2 favorites, the Meisterstuck Heritage Perpetual Calendar and the Moonphase. See the elegance of the case, the bombe dial with a sunburst light effect, the applied indices varying in length across the dial to create a very nice symmetry effect. The Moonphase is starting to grow on me more lately, especially in rose gold. Sheer beauty and a nice feeling on my wrist with just the right heft in rose gold!
As I was enjoying these timepieces on my wrist, I was reminded to continue my dinner as it was getting cold! Main course was a choice of beef or cod. Dessert was very nice too. So is my Montblanc Villeret J
After dessert, the staff brought a few Montblanc Villerets to my table. I have not seen so many high end Montblanc Villerets together and this was a feast for the eyes! I have taken more pictures and will try to share more about these lovely pieces in a separate post. It feels almost as if each watch deserves its own private review post!
A very nice picture of a rose gold Montblanc Villeret taken
by my guest for the evening. I didn’t really see this piece – could my guest
remind me which piece this was? Pls share more photos too thanks!
Finally, a buddy wrist shot with my friend Julien. His Minerva chronograph in steel with the beautiful 16.29 calibre! It must be a very rare watch! I seldom see these Minervas around. Some photos of his Minerva and my Montblanc Villeret, with calibres 16.29 and 13.21 side by side.
Hope you have enjoyed this dinner with me virtually. J
Thank you Sincere Fine Watches and Montblanc Singapore for the wonderful evening and dinner.
Cheers
robin
The Rolex Bubble Back, reference 1858, represents an early example of Rolex's self-winding waterproof wristwatches. This reference is part of the broader Bubble Back family, characterized by its distinctive domed case back designed to accommodate the thicker automatic movement of the era. It showcases Rolex's foundational efforts in developing robust and reliable automatic timepieces for everyday wear, laying groundwork for future Oyster Perpetual models.
This particular reference features an 18k white gold case, measuring 38mm in diameter. It is fitted with a sapphire crystal, protecting a silver dial. The watch is powered by an automatic movement, specifically the Boucheron 1858 caliber, offering a power reserve of 42 hours. The fixed bezel and leather strap complete the watch's classic presentation.
For collectors, the reference 1858 holds interest as an early and relatively rare iteration within the Bubble Back series, especially in white gold. Its larger case size for the period also makes it appealing to modern tastes. The presence of a date complication adds to its functionality, distinguishing it from simpler time-only Bubble Back models and highlighting Rolex's early integration of practical features.
MB is on the right track as it seems with the Villeret range of high end chronographs/complications. It is now in my grail list and hope to own one in the near future. The dinner selection looks delicious and those pics are making me hungry. Thanks for sharing ! Cheers !
very yummy and the poison is strong! I got it last year and bro, i worry for you now :P Glad you enjoyed the report and thanks for your feedback cheers robin
... I can imagine how wonderful the whole evening was. Great report. Made me hungry and want a piece of Minerva :-) Hahaha.... Ken
goes very well together! The problem for me Ken, is that after 1 MB Villeret, I am starting to look at more (fortunately my watch funds are limited!). Glad you enjoyed Ken, thank you cheers robin
Thank you for a great report, Robin! :) These Minerva movement looks stunning! Would love to more about the Minerva history. I know there was a Chronograph used by the Swedish Marine, will try to find more info... Best Blomman
Will plan for a post (maybe a series of them!) on this topic. Let us know if you find some cool info on Minervas too. Thank you Blomman! cheers robin
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