As SIHH kicks off, I’m prepared to bet – yes, even on the opening day – that this chronograph will emerge as one of the top watches of the week. Because it’s just so darned gorgeous and it has a great backstory. As you may know, in 2007 Montblanc took over the historic Minerva manufacture and began producing some seriously beautiful high-complication watches – notably the ExoTourbillon and Geospheres series. But a question remained: since Minerva was perhaps the greatest chronograph maker of the 20th century, where were the chronographs? We got the first answer after Jérôme Lambert became CEO in 2013: the Meisterstück Heritage Pulsograph, launched at SIHH 2014 to rave reviews. The styling, based on a 1940s doctors’ watch, was perfectly judged and beautifully executed. The real excitement, though, was the new in-house movement. Calibre M13.21 was derived directly from the revered Minerva cal. 13.20 – a mono-pusher chronograph with column-wheel clutch and horizontal gear coupling (more about this below). Marking the 90th anniversary of Meisterstück, it was a limited edition of 90 pieces. And the movement didn’t appear in any subsequent model. Was that it? Yes but no. At SIAR in October 2015, Montblanc introduced the 1858…
The post HANDS-ON: The green-dialled Montblanc 1858 Monopusher Chronograph LE … in steel appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Continue reading ‘HANDS-ON: The green-dialled Montblanc 1858 Monopusher Chronograph LE … in steel’