Ninety years ago, Montblanc launched a writing instrument that came to symbolize the brand: the Meisterstück. To celebrate the ninetieth anniversary, Montblanc is launching the Meisterstück Heritage Collection of wristwatches. The collection contains four models, each of which is a paradigm of classic design.
Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Pulsograph
The Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Pulsograph continues a horological tradition. Its chronograph movement, Montblanc Calibre MB M13.21, is inspired by Minerva Calibre 13.20. The new movement features traditional chronograph components, including a column-wheel and horizontal gear coupling. It is a monopusher, meaning that a single button controls the start, stop and reset commands.
The movement is beautifully finished. All levers and springs are polished on their flat surfaces, satin-finished on their sides, and manually beveled along their edges. The plate and bridges are fabricated from rhodium-plated nickel silver; the bridges are beveled by hand, and these chamfered surfaces are then manually polished. All functional surfaces are individually and manually adjusted. A large screw balance oscillates at the classical pace of 18,000 vph, or 2.5 hertz, allowing the chronograph to measure intervals to one-fifth of a second.
The Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Pulsograph will be available in a 41-mm rose gold case. A Montblanc diamond, cut and polished to form the brand’s six-sided star emblem, is inset into the case between the lugs at 6 o’clock.
The Meisterstück Heritage Pulsograph will be launched in the autumn of 2014 in a limited edition of 90 pieces, each of which will have a retail price of 27,000 euros.
Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar
The displays of the Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar are arranged in a traditional style: the date is shown at 3 o’clock, the day of the week at 9 o’clock, and the month at 12 o’clock. On the inner scale of the month display, the leap-year cycle is shown by a blue triangle and a leap year is indicated by a red 4. The moon’s phases appear in a window at 6 o’clock. The moon’s age is indicated in days at this window’s upper edge.
The perpetual calendar is powered by self-winding mechanical Calibre MB 29.15., which has a balance paced at 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour (4 hertz).
The calendar’s blued hands contrast with the silver-white cambered dial. Gold-plated hour and minute hands harmonize with the 39-mm case, which is crafted from rose gold. A sapphire caseback offers a view of the finely decorated self-winding movement.
The Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar will be launched in the summer of 2014. The stainless steel version will be priced at 10,000 euros, while the rose gold version will cost 16,900 euros.
