Montblanc Watches

Three characteristics of Montblanc’s 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Limited Edition 100 instantly come to mind: 44 mm diameter, a real eyecatcher, and eminently func- tional. And this model’s name tells much of its story: Minerva, a watch manufacture founded in 1858 with inarguable competence in chronographs, came under Montblanc’s aegis in 2007. Its diverse spectrum of capabilities not only includes fine and reliable movements with integrated stopwatch function, but also dials for a wide variety of applications. Those including tachymeter scales have become especially popular: along with a chronograph second hand that can be started, stopped, and instantly returned to zero, a tachymeter scale enables a driver to quickly determine a car’s average speed over a measured kilometer.

If the chronograph is switched on when the vehicle passes one milestone and switched off when the next marker is reached, the tip of the chronograph’s second hand will point to the automobile’s speed on the tachymeter scale that wreathes the dial. Manufacture Caliber MBM 16.29 embodies precise watchmaking and the utmost craftsmanship. A viewing window on the bronze case back invites connoisseurs to admire its visible qualities. What can be seen through this pane raises the pulse of connoisseurs with an affinity for choice mechanisms. The meticulously decorated microcosm is 38.4 mm in diameter and its height isn’t unduly tall at just 6.3 mm. The chronograph relies on the traditional method of horizontal coupling with wheels.

A column wheel controls the stopwatch’s functions. The 14 mm screw balance and its Breguet hairspring, made in-house, oscillate at a majestically leisurely pace of 2.5 Hertz, which means that the chronograph’s second hand advances in increments of one-fifth of a second. Three of the 22 functional jewels of the 252 meticulously finished components are set in chatons, and the mainspring needs manual winding after a maximum of 55 hours. There is only one fly in the ointment: as this model’s name states, Montblanc will cease production after 100 of these watches have been made.