月: 2015年1月

Inspired by the explorer Vasco da Gama

---

 

 

Inspired by the explorer Vasco da Gama and by Minerva’s legacy of chronometric innovation, the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Collection unites the heritage of fine Swiss watchmaking with the quest for utmost precision – a quest as significant to Montblanc today as it was to Vasco da Gama more than 500 years ago. As part of the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Collection, Montblanc presents limited editions in tribute to Vasco da Gama and introduces new movements developed in house distinguished by precision and perfection.

Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph Vasco da Gama Limited Edition 60

Vasco da Gama’s quest for new frontiers changed the course of history. In homage to this extraordinary spirit of discovery, Montblanc is introducing a very special timepiece in a magnificently decorated limited edition.

 

 

The Greek prefix “exo” refers to the innovative tourbillon, whose balance wheel is outside the cage. Isolated from the disturbing inertia of the cage, the balance oscillates with greater isochronism. The precision and functionality of the Manufacture Calibre MB R230 have been rigorously tested in the Montblanc Laboratory Test 500.

Overlooking the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph Vasco da Gama at 6 o’clock is a dial depicting the night sky of the Southern hemisphere studded with stars – as a reference to Vasco da Gama’s celestial navigation. Its gleaming darkness is made of Aventurine, a translucent quartz with a shimmering effect called “aventurescence”. A diamond in the shape of the Montblanc emblem sparkles at 12 o’clock.

 

 

The edition is strictly limited to 60 pieces – referring to the 60-man crew of the São Gabriel. The São Gabriel is depicted in a unique drawing along with the seafarer’s signature on the sapphire crystal back of the 18 K white gold case.

Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Annuel Vasco da Gama Limited Edition 238

Montblanc honours the great explorer Vasco da Gama and his first journey to India with the com-plex and highly functional calendar complication of the Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Annuel in two limited editions.

 

 

Crafted in the tradition of fine Swiss watchmaking with subdials for the date, day of the week and month as well as central time indication, it is the unique moonphase at 6 o’clock that first catches the eye of the beholder. To display the phases of the moon, the blue-lacquered constellation holds an aperture for a golden turning disc below featuring the moon in the night sky.

The edition made of 18 K red gold is limited to 238 pieces – for the height of Cape Point, the peak overlooking the Cape of Good Hope, an important step on Vasco da Gama’s journey. The stainless steel edition is limited to 316 pieces – for the number of days it took Vasco da Gama’s fleet to travel from Portugal to India. The case back of both editions is decorated with the explorer’s signature and his flagship – the São Gabriel.

 

 

Featuring the same spectacular moonphase, the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Complet in stainless steel displays the full calendar with a date by hand and windows for the day of the week and the month.

 

The aesthetics and innovations of the 21st century characterise the bold, masculine shapes and the state-of-the-art materials of the Montblanc TimeWalker Collection. Its expressive design with the signature skeletonised horns, a large dial with Arabic numerals in distinctive typography and the lancet-shaped hands gives all TimeWalker timepieces an instantly recognisable personality.

 

 

The Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph captures the dynamism of metropolitan life, where time itself seems to acce­lerate – measured in flawless precision by the chronograph complication. The 43 mm case made of cold-grey, sandblasted stainless steel with a matt black ceramic bezel is a testimony to its dynamic spirit and technical elegance.

The watch’s performance is also reflected in the masterly crafted black dial. The middle stratum, which covers the centre and the periphery of the dial, and the chronograph counters are embel-lished with fine circular striations. Accents in red contrast with the sporty black colour of the dial: the red gasket below the sapphire crystal perfectly matches the red of the chronograph hand and the highlighted tens minute markings.

 

 

The leather strap, crafted in the Montblanc Pelletteria in Florence, is as stylish as it is functional. Made of Montblanc Extreme leather – a high-performance material of specially treated cowhide with a carbon-look texture – it offers heightened resistance to heat, scratches and water.

Montblanc continues to underline the technicity, performance and avant-garde appeal of this watch line, its dynamic appeal is further highlighted by the use of contemporary material mixes featuring red design elements on a pure black background.

This collection extension contains three new models including a chronograph and a UTC.

The e-Strap device

The e-Strap device offers a variety of functionality.

Smart notifications, signaled by vibrations provide an alert of incoming communication without the need to look at the smartphone. It enables the preview of e-mails by topic and sender, read text messages, see incoming calls and status updates of social media feeds or reminders of important upcoming meetings, all on the wrist.

 

 

The activity tracker is a simple tool to monitor the wearer´s physical activity over time and keep track of his personal daily goals. To do so, it measures the number of steps taken per day, calories burnt and the distance travelled. The accompanying smartphone application enables the of progress per week and month. The e-Strap will remind the wearer to stay active through unobtrusive vibration alerts and show at a glance the daily progress.

The remote controls are useful for controlling the smartphone with the e-Strap. The camera remote enables the taking of pictures with the smartphone by triggering the shutter with a tap on the e-Strap thus allowing better and easier selfies or group shots.

 

 

Playing, pausing, and skipping music on the smartphone can be also remotely steered with the music control function of the e-Strap. Additionally, the Find-Me function allows searching for the watch or phone within a range of up to 30 meters, either by tapping on the e-Strap to find the smartphone or by using the smartphone application to find the watch.The e-Strap device has an inbuilt touch screen display, readable in daylight, to display the information and navigate through the functionalities. The technical device is encapsulated in a stainless steel case with rubber protection and can be easily fixed and adjusted with the pass-through strap.

Depending on usage, the device needs to be recharged every 5 days using a standard micro-USB cable. The e-Strap is compatible with Samsung Galaxy S4, S5, Note 3, Note 4, selected Android Devices running Android 4.3 and upwards as well as Apple iPhone 4S, 5, 5C, 5S, 6 and 6 plus.

 

Inspired by the spirit of Montblanc’s iconic Meisterstück fountain pen

---

Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum

Inspired by the spirit of Montblanc’s iconic Meisterstück fountain pen, the Montblanc Heritage Spirit Collection embodies traditional craftsmanship, timeless design and outstanding functionality. With its new interpretation of the worldtime, one of the most useful complications in fine watchmaking, the Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum literally adds a global perspective to the collection. The world itself, in Latin “orbis terrarum”, is at the core of the manufacture complication and at the centre of the dial.

 

 

The multilayer dial made of sapphire crystal shows the continents as viewed from the North Pole which are encircled by the name of the 24 cities representing the different timezones. Under the continent cut-outs, a disc showing day/night as well as the 24 hours timezones rotates with the movement mechanism, causing the continents to change colour as day evolves into night. Thanks to this innovative and intuitive concept, it is possible to see what time of day or night it is in 24 time zones around the world – at a single glance.

 

 

With the beautifully decorated planisphere in the centre of the manufacture complication, every detail of this cosmopolitan timepiece reflects the finest Swiss watchmaking craft. The sapphire crystal dial, the elegant dauphine hands, the 41 mm case in 18 K red gold or stainless steel with its polished and satinated decorations are a testimony to the passion and dedication of Montblanc’s master watchmakers.

 

Montblanc Heritage Spirit Date Automatic

Among the new collection’s timepieces with satinated and polished cases made out of 18 K red gold and decorated with silvery white dials, one model stands out with a dial in warm chocolate brown.

 

 

Elegantly tone-in-tone with a brown wristband, crafted of alligator skin with large scales, the watch’s chocolate brown, slightly cambered dial with sunburst finish lends the slim 18 K red gold case intense depth. The codes of fine Swiss watchmaking are embodied by the red gold-plated appliqué indexes and the red gold-plated facetted hands in classic dauphine shape. The watch’s automatic Calibre MB 24.09 displays hours, minutes and central seconds as well as the date at 3 o’clock.

A second addition to the Montblanc Heritage Spirit Collection lets the heritage of Montblanc shine in all its brightness: the model’s 18 K red gold case comes with a bezel set with 88 diamonds. As a subtle finishing touch, the red gold indexes at 2, 4, 8 and 10 o’clock on the silvery white dial are likewise accentuated with three diamonds.

 

Passion for Fine Watchmaking

---

The collection, whose name derives from the French term “chronométrie” for “precise timekeeping”, reflects the traditional characteristics of fine Swiss watchmaking: from the refined, slim cases with straight bezel and curved horns to the artistically finished sunray dials with double-faceted sword hands as well as figures and indexes derived from the legendary Minerva Pythagore watch.

 

 

The new Manufacture Calibre MB R230 combines Montblanc’s patented ExoTourbillon with a monopusher chronograph.The further collection includes the complications of “quantième complet”, a dual time zone with day/night indication as well as an ultra-slim manual wristwatch with a height of only 5.7 mm.

Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie ExoTourbillon Chronograph

Another horological highlight of the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Collection, this timepiece combines two of the most important chronometric complications: a chronograph and a revolutionary tourbillon.

 

 

As the Greek prefix “exo” hints, its balance has been separated from the rotating cage. No longer adversely affected by the inertia of the cage, the balance wheel oscillates with greater isochronism. Developed and crafted entirely in house, the Manufacture Calibre MB R230 features as a second complication: a monopusher chronograph with a vertical clutch, a column wheel and a double barrel.

The dial with different levels and refined finishes reflects the two complications of the timepiece. The upper dial, embellished with a fine ivory-grainé texture, is reserved for the date, hours and minutes and the chronograph indications with its lacquered counters. The lower level with vertical satin finishes unveils the intricate construction of the ExoTourbillon at 6 o’clock.

 

 

The dial is encased in a 44 mm case made of 18 K red gold with a concave bezel for scratch protection and imposing round horns with distinctive facets. The otherwise fully polished case contrasts beautifully with the satin-finished decoration between the horns.

Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Annuel

A pleasure to behold no matter the date, the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Annuel only needs to be adjusted by hand once every 365 days. For generations of watchmakers it was a perpetual challenge to precisely represent the Gregorian calendar, with its months of variable length. The date indication had to be adjusted five times a year. An inventive solution was provided with the annual calendar complication.

 

 

What made the difference was a tiny but crucial innovation: a cam wheel with lobes and notches of varying depth. It elicits an additional jump for every 30-day month, with no need for manual intervention. Thanks to this classic yet highly functional complication of the automatic Calibre MB 29.18, the Quantième Annuel only needs to be adjusted manually once a year, at the end of February. The switch from the 28th or 29th of February to the 1st of March is easily accomplished by extracting and turning the crown. Its polished 40 mm case made of 18 K red gold is very slim with a height of only 9.5 mm. It features nicely shaped, curved horns with a distinctive facet to better flatter the wrist. The dial is adorned with red gold-plated appliqué indexes, red gold-plated sword hour and minute hands as well as small blued hands for the annual calendar indications. As a final touch, the distinctive crown features the Montblanc emblem in relief.

Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Dual Time

Modern life extends across continents and across time zones. With a highly functional complication, this timepiece indicates both local time and hometime in an intuitive and easy-to-use way.

 

The time at the home destination is displayed by a 12-hour hometime hand in blue and a minute hand in gold. A 24-hour subdial at 12 o’clock indicates whether it is night or day at home. When travelling, the local time – displayed by the golden hour hand – can be easily adjusted in one-hour jumps and in both directions with the crown on second position – while the central minutes and the small seconds at 6 o’clock continue to run. The local time is linked with the date – a trusted companion not just for crossing the International Date Line. Just as easily and precisely, summer or winter time can be set without changing the minute. The dual-time manufacture
complication of the Calibre MB 29.19 was conceived, developed and crafted at the Montblanc Manufacture.

No matter the time zone, the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Dual Time radiates the refined elegance of fine Swiss watchmaking. A polished 41 mm case with rounded, curved horns topped by a bezel with satinated and polished decoration, a silvery white dial with sunburst pattern, facetted indexes and a prominent Arabic 12 as well as rhodium-plated sword hands – its classic appearance adds elegance to any journey around the globe.

Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Ultra Slim

The word MECANIQUE on the dial is a subtle hint to this timepiece’s soul. Montblanc’s master watchmakers developed and handcrafted this classic two-hand watch for true fine watchmaking aficionados with a passion for manually wound movements. This pristine timepiece embodies traditional craftsmanship with ultimate precision and pure functionality – in the very spirit of the legendary Minerva Pythagore.

 

 

Its Calibre MB 23.01 with manual winding mechanism is enclosed within an ultra-slim case. With a height of only 5.8 mm, this wristwatch shows admiration for mechanical timepieces in an under-stated way. Its slender dimensions make it an elegant and refined lifetime companion.

38 mm in diameter, the polished case of 18 K red gold or stainless steel has curved horns and comes with a black alligator-skin strap, crafted in the Montblanc Pelletteria in Florence. The Montblanc emblem in relief bejewels the crown.