Montblanc

The Rieussec is my only piece that does not require the unscrewing of the crown for winding. The winding mechanism, however, was screwed on so tightly, that the watch might as well be a manual wind since short of doing aerobic exercise with the watch on, it wasn't going to wind through natural wear. For a dress piece, the watch was also rather thick at 15.2 mm and weighing in at 183 grams with a metal bracelet.

I ended up sticking the watch in my winder for an extended period of time.

Sometime last year, I discovered that the crown jammed after only a couple of short revolutions of winding. Pretty soon the watch refused to wind at all. I can only conclude that the MB was overwound in my winder. But I thought automatic watches (though mine didn't behave like one) have winding limiters that decouple the winding system from the mainspring?

Sigh...time to take it in...

I was quite unpleasantly shocked at the quoted repair fee. Ouch. Not to knock Mong Blanc, but I would not have batted an eyelash if that kind of servicing fee came from one of my AP's but Mont Blanc?? I guess the mono-pusher integrated chronograph required an extra premium.

I initially refused the servicing of the watch and left it in my drawer for a while. The months rolled past and it was soon time for Watches & Wonders! What's more, I was going to meet a fellow Purist there. Joy!

Our conversation eventually shifted to my Nicholas Rieussec and how I was planning to sell/give away the watch. My friend convinced me to not only repair the MB but also to keep it.

As of today, I have not regretted that decision. The Nicholas Rieussec is quite unique with its in-house layered movement design.

More posts: CalibresMB R200Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec CollectionNicolas Rieussec Chronograph AutomaticNicolas Rieussec Collection

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