HANDS-ON: Montblanc at Watches & Wonders

Felix Scholz

Montblanc have made a name for themselves in recent years by releasing strong, cohesively themed collections, and what they’ve brought to Watches & Wonders is another sure and steady expansion of their increasingly reliable reputation. Expanding on the pillars of navigation, exploration and calendar complications Montblanc have updated several key pieces in their collection. Three of our favourites are the classy Meisterstück Heritage Spirit, a new twist on the Dual Time and a nocturnal version of the Tourbillon Cylindrique.

Meisterstück Heritage Spirit Date Automatic

Montblanc’s take on a classic three handed dress watch is the handsome Meisterstück Heritage Spirit. It does everytthing you really need a watch to do (tell you the time and the date), and it looks good doing so. For Watches & Wonders, Montblanc have taken this 39mm number to a whole other place, casing the watch in red gold and adding a domed, finely guilloched dial that adds wonderful depth and texture. The time is easy to read, but you’re not going to notice it because you’ll be too busy staring into that stunning dial. It has an Australian retail price of $10,230

Heritage Chronométrie Dual Time Vasco Da Gama

Montblanc are continuing their theme of navigation and exploration with a version of the smart Dual Time. The tribute to the Portuguese explorer is the by now familiar lacquered representation of the southern hemisphere (complete with the Southern Cross), occupying the hometime and day/night indicator subdial. A slightly domed globe, complete with meridians and parallels essential to navigation sits underneath the small seconds subdial. While this globe is purely decorative it does serve to visually balance the dial, referencing the rich blue of the skyscape in the subdial above.

This new version of one of Montblanc’s strongest recent pieces seriously ramps up the Dual Time’s wrist presence and adds a welcome touch of poetry. The model pictured is in steel, and the Australian price for the steel/rose gold version is $9390.

Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique NightSky Geospheres

Watches & Wonders also sees a new variation of the game-changing Tourbillon Cylindrique. The watch is fundamentally the same one we know and love – same case, same cylindrical tourbillon and the same sculptural, three-dimensional bridge. What’s changed is the dial and the case. Red gold becomes white, and a bright, daylight dial turns to a dark and mysterious night sky. The upper portion of the dial is rendered in rich blue aventurine, with bright flecks evoking the constellations.

The lower portion is in gold, with an almost grey finish. At 47mm across and over 15mm high the Tourbillon Cylindrique is a large watch, but the white gold and cool tones means it makes a slightly more reserved statement than its red gold brother. But really, how reserved can a watch this jaw dropping be?

Images by Marcus Flack.