penfriend
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Unveiled Secret added to my MB collection
So I finally picked up the unveiled secret in aged steel. It is the third official iteration of this caliber after one in steel with blue accents and one in lime gold with green accents.
The specialty about this caliber 16.26 by Minerva Montblanc is that they flipped the proven caliber 16.29 from the back to the front. Thus this dial is not only skeletonized but also provides a view on the normally back-side of our watches, allowing a deep glance at the nice decoration of this hand-wound mono pusher (in the crown) chronograph movement.
The case is in distressed steel and Montblanc told me that the whole steel case is made of blackened steel instead of being coated. So whenever the case receives a major hit there shouldn't be any shining steel beyond it - I will hopefully not have to prove that. I am aware that faux patina is not very popular but I must say that it adds a lot of nice shades and character to this watch - especially imagining that it would be fully black which I wouldn't prefer. The bezel is made of white gold and is contrasting the case nicely. The nubuk alligator strap has a shade of blue-grey which suits it very well, features a quick exchange strap system and comes on a folding clasp which can be micro-adjusted.
Legibility is great in this color scheme, especially compared to the other two variants which I have seen as well. Some parts of the caliber have been blackened to fit the color scheme of the watch and again I like it. The golden shining parts of the movement though are the 16 components which had to be changed and added in flipping the movement in order to have the watch run in the correct direction and re-arranging the sub-dials. All in all you have a very thorough three dimensional arrangement of a superb movement on your wrist with this watch.
At 43mm it is not a small timepiece but that's what you need to house this caliber. However, the watch wears extremely light in this steel variant - close to TI in my opinion. Next step will be that I change the strap to the green nubuk that came along with the lime gold variant ;-)
Have a great Sunday!
Unveiled Secret added to my MB collection
So I finally picked up the unveiled secret in aged steel. It is the third official iteration of this caliber after one in steel with blue accents and one in lime gold with green accents. The specialty about this caliber 16.26 by Minerva Montblanc is that ...
Huge congrats my good friend. I am so happy for you! I tried this on in the flesh before Xmas and was very impressed with it. Legibility is indeed stunning in this config..
At that time I passed on it simply because I had 3 other watch on order so timing was not good for me…but boy I do find unique and cool! Enjoy and bravo once again
thank you my friend!
your picture made me wait for it instead of some mischiefs. when I saw it in the metal for the first time it was a choice within minutes. Especially as I have already seen the next iteration which will be presented soon ;-)
in appearance more like the blue iteration with a very eye-catching decoration of the movement
for me this stealth worked better
yes, your report was pushed me again
although you seem to prefer the steel/blue variant ;-) I must admit that I am now quite satisfied that the lime gold one never reached me...
yep, the case is much better than expected
they did not try to hide that it is faux patina which is much better because for this reason it somehow doesn't look faux at all but just a surface treatment
What a great addition Nils!
I am happy you finally got a cal 16.26, it looks great. I know the pathway here took awhile, starting with the launch of the original unveiled secret. I love the idea of being able to see the movement in all its glory, alas so much more than simply skelet...
thanks Kev
I wore my (our) black enamel 16.29 when picking this up to see how close they were and whether it would fit the collection. This one is 43mm and a different case shape and that makes a big difference - maybe you should check it out. The only thing is that...
Congrats, my friend. It looks great on your wrist.
The unveiled chronograph with reversed display of the gorgeous 16.29 caliber on dial side is indeed a very special reference. The vintage black treatment of the stainless steel also gives it a unique and rugged appearance. Enjoy this beauty often! Cheers,...
thank you my friend
as we share the same love for the green MB 13.21 monopusher you might be interested to check this one out as well....
Congratulations! For me as well this is the best iteration in the series.
It looks fairly sporty and the case indeed feels like it is titanium rather than steel. The story of how the distressed case was made using rocks from the local area didn't quite resonate with me but in person I was pleasantly surprised by the end result....
thank you for your impressions
I agree the marketing stuff about the rocks also did not catch me but the result is very cool. And owning some of these classical Villeret calibers I had the feeling that I should integrate this piece into my collection. First thing I noticed is how loud ...
Congrats to your new acquisition.
The strap matches the timepiece nicely from the picture. May have a chance to see one in the metal in a few weeks. Will see.
it matches very well indeed and also the folding clasp is a very nice addition
looking forward to your impressions after you have seen it
