Montblanc

tony p
567

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Further Montblanc photos from SIHH 2010

Well well, Montblanc have certainly been turning WISs' eyes lately, haven't they?

We all know the story. A legendary high-end pen manufacturer who have for the past few years been churning out, as an apparent revenue-generating sideline, a bewildering range of generally rather undistinguished low-end timepieces - the sort of watches normally found under the front glass counters of duty-free airport stores - Montblanc decided all of a sudden to transform themselves into a deadly serious manufacture, establishing their own movement design and production facility in Le Locle and launching its first product, the Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph, a short time later at SIHH 2008.

As if that weren't enough, Montblanc then acquired a second manufacturing facility, in the form of the bankrupt Minerva manufacture in Villeret. Minerva, who had been developing some fascinating new movement innovations of their own in the lead-up to their spectacular financial burn-out, provided the perfect springboard for Montblanc to launch an even more ambitious range than the Rieussec - entitled "Villeret" in homage to Minerva's hometown.

The result is that Montblanc appear to be competing at three (if not four) distinct price levels - medium-end fashion watches (represented by their Star, Profile, Sport and Timewalker collections) fitted with third-party movements; serious in-house chronographs (the Nicolas Rieussec collection); and ultra-high-end complicated watches (the Villeret collection). The bottom end boasts a huge line-up of different designs appealing to most tastes and pockets, which occupied a fair portion of Montblanc's SIHH real estate this year.

However, the Montblanc booth's external and internal "feature" displays were largely occupied by Rieussec and Villeret timepieces, and so it appears to be these upon which Montblanc is banking its future reputation. Whether this is a clever strategy remains to be seen - to my mind, it's a little like Toyota with its flagship Lexus range. Sure, Lexus are a great car at a great price - but ultimately, they are still widely perceived as Toyotas.

On the other hand, I imagine it's that steady cashflow from the Star, Profile and Sport ranges which provides the reliable stream of funding necessary to fuel Montblanc's incredibly ambitious Rieussec and Villeret projects. Hey, I'm OK with that, as these latter were some of the most exciting offerings in the entire SIHH fair.

Let's start with a few snaps of the new Nicolas Rieussec Chrono with partially openworked dial. This is not the silicon-escapement model, which I did not get a chance to photograph. But it's a very nice watch indeed, replacing the original solid date register with a six-spoked wheel which echoes the new treatment of its chrono wheels -





This is a busy but nevertheless highly legible dial, on many levels and with many different surface finishes -








Turning the watch over, we can admire the Rieussec's beautifully finished R110 movement with its interesting architecture. The power reserve is found here, its register actually engraved on the watch's rear caseback - a clever idea which certainly improves the power reserve's legibility -





This is of course a monopusher chronograph, and while the case is quite thick and hefty, somehow the watch feels "just right" in the hand/on the wrist -





I can honestly say that, while I was never particularly impressed by the Rieussec in photos, in the metal it's quite a different animal. This is an extremely refined and elegant timepiece with incredible wrist presence -








Now it's time to turn our attention to the new Villeret pieces. This is the segment of the Montblanc range which has produced most of the excitement amongst Purists recently, and with good reason. Montblanc could so easily have "got it wrong" with their leveraging of Minerva's heritage; but to everyone's relief, they have instead come up with a series of stunning releases which seem to get better and better every year.

2010 is no exception. Indeed, the new Montblanc Villeret watches for this year are without question their best yet. Firstly, let's look at the Exotourbillon Chronographe. As its name suggest, this new model for 2010 combines a tourbillon with a monopusher chronograph function, in a red or white gold 47mm case. But that's just the start of it.





See how the balance wheel seems to be sitting right up above the level of the dial?





This ain't no normal tourbillon, folks. No, it's an exotourbillon. That is, the balance wheel has been separated from the tourbillon assembly and is positioned outside its cage. So, the balance is - ahem - "not affected by the tourbillon cage's rotation", and the tourbillon cage is in turn much lighter ( a highly desirable feature in a tourbillon). Oh, and a side benefit is that the balance wheel on this watch is literally in-yer-face.





Now of course, the sixty-four dollar question: does this really improve the watch's timekeeping? I would have thought that, if you take the hairspring out of the rotating cage, you've lost the whole point of the tourbillon. The hairspring now sags in the same direction the whole time, and its lubricants are no longer redistributed evenly by the changing gravitational vectors induced by rotation of the tourby cage.

A recent thread on this same forum fails to clarify the answer. According to Montblanc, the balance wheel does rotate (by which I assume they mean that it rotates in addition to oscillating). Well, in that case, it's still part of the tourbillon assembly, and contributes to its overall weight. After all, I still contribute to the loaded weight of a car even if I'm hanging my sorry ass out of its window.

Anyway, as pointed out by Suitbert, the four-minute rotation period of the tourbillon cage in the Exotourby is a genuinely good idea for rate-keeping. And even if the technical rationale for exteriorising the balance wheel is a bit dodgy, it certainly is a nice thing to look at -





Next up is the Grand Chronograph Regulateur. Combining a monopusher chronograph with a second time-zone and a regulateur display, the Grand Chronograph Regulateur also boasts a very innovative power reserve which incorporates a subsidiary red "winding zone" hand -





Ok, so what happens is this: at full wind, the little red hand is tucked under the slightly larger dark hand, turning together with it. As the watch winds down to where the two hands hit the 12-hour power reserve point, the dark hand stays put while the red hand keeps marching, revealing itself from underneath its bigger brother. If you can see the red hand, you know it's time to wind the watch - as the final 12 hours' worth of power will not be fed so smoothly to the going train, thereby compromising rate-keeping.

This is smart.





The Grand Chronographe Regulateur comes in limited editions of platinum, white and red gold. It features a hunter-style hinged solid caseback which flips open to reveal that breathtaking Minerva movement -





The biggest eye-opener (and, I might add, wallet-opener) of the Villeret 2010 collection has surely to be the Metamorphosis watch. This is the first offering in a new programme which Montblanc has dubbed the "Timewriter" series, itself an offspring of the newly established Institut Minerva de Recherche en Haut Horlogerie. This new institute's mission is to foster the creativity of young watchmakers with bright ideas, resulting in one new and highly innovative release every two years or so.

As you have doubtless already read on this forum, the Metamorphosis (created by Jonny Girardin and Franck Orny) transforms itself from a regulateur-style three-hand civil time display, into a chronograph. The mechanism for this transformation is both unprecedented and ingenious, requiring the simultaneous unfurling of six "wings", followed by the gradual elevation of a new subdial at six o'clock which will become the chrono minutes counter. The entire complication requires 315 parts, in addition to the existing 252 components of the cal. 16.29 chrono movement upon which it is based; the transformation process requires a separate barrel, a centrifugal regulator somewhat like those found in minute repeaters, and lots of tiny little wheels and cams.

I could go on and on, waxing lyrical about the various technical wonders of the Metamorphosis, but others have already done that, so let's just gawk -





This prototype model has its "wings" fixed in a semi-open position, with the watch's elapsed-minutes accumulator dial partially visible underneath -














Turning the watch over, we see the traditional Minerva cal. 16.29 chrono movement - but it's been subtly modified, with one half of the V-shaped chrono bridge truncated -





Indeed, the truncation has been performed rather brutally on this particular unit. Oh well, it is a prototype, and I understand that it was quite a feat even to get the watch to this point for showing at SIHH -





OK, now to the interesting bit. Here's a working proto with completely unfinished dial elements, showing the the top and bottom "wings" in half-retracted position. They slide under the fixed middle bar of the dial, which here is seen in unfinished bronze -








Removal of the bronze middle bar reveals more of the mechanism -





...including the little side wheels which presumably power the lateral motion of the dial "wings" -





Within the complex mechanism which comprises the rising "stage" of the 6 o'clock subdial, we find the elapsed-minute counter's heart cam and hammer, which have been repositioned to the dial-side of the movement especially for this watch -





The Metamorphosis will eventually be available as a limited series of 28 watches in white gold. Price? Think Greubel Forsey and you'll be at the right order of magnitude.


As is my wont, I have saved the best for last. Despite the "wow" factor of the Metamorphosis, for me the absolute stand-out model within Montblanc's Villeret 2010 releases is probably the simplest watch of all: the utterly gorgeous new Villeret Vintage Chronographe.





I was bowled over by this piece when its first images were released on this forum a month or so back. In the metal, it's even more desirable.





The dial of this watch was inspired by a vintage 1920s Minerva chronograph that featured the same spiral tachymetre scale (an innovation which serves to extend the timing range to 3 minutes) and peripheral telemetre scale. The new watch's dial is in grand feu enamel on 18K gold. I believe the various indices, scales and numbers are painted (hand-painted?) on and then fired in a number of individual processes.

This dial is beyond beautiful. It's a true work of art.













Make no mistake: despite its Minerva movement, and despite its dial being a replica of an earlier Minerva dial, this is unquestionably a Montblanc watch. There is a confidence in the design and execution of this timepiece which bespeaks a well-funded company hitting its stride in a new market. Despite their marvellous history, I don't believe any Minerva-branded watch ever achieved the heights seen here. Montblanc have every right to display their famous five-glacier logo on the monopusher of this glorious piece.





Nevertheless...in order to realise this achievement, Montblanc had to stand on the shoulders of giants. Turning the watch over, we find those shoulders displayed in their full glory -





I somehow had the idea that the Vintage Chronographe was supplied with a hunter caseback. I was wrong. It's a simple sapphire crystal display back, which in my opinion is vastly preferable, allowing an absolutely unimpeded view of the 16'" (38.4mm) manual wind chrono movement with 55-hour power reserve -

























The Montblanc Villeret will be available in a limited edition of 58 pieces in rose gold (with white enamel dial) and 58 in white gold (with black enamel dial).


Cheers
Tony P