HANDS-ON: The Montblanc 1858 Chronograph

According to Montblanc’s Head of Watches, Davide Cerrato, the 1858 collection — the star of their SIHH 2018 lineup — is a “very important second sports line, one that really extends the offer of Montblanc, an offer that before was completely focused on classical watches”. At the core of the 1858 collection’s identity is its vintage style. Cerrato explains: “The vintage look refers to the first Minerva military watch. There’s the SuperLuminova, the cathedral hands, the domed sapphire crystal, the simple – but very strong – case.”

All these points are very much in evidence on the 1858 Chronograph, which, like much of Montblanc’s lineup, makes a compelling value proposition.

Montblanc 1858 Chronograph steel with black dial (ident 117835 – 117836)

First up, there’s the steel-cased, black-dialled option. The dial isn’t matt, instead it has a subtle sunburst finish that adds a touch of class. Design-wise, Montblanc hasn’t messed with the formula too much: bi-compax layout, with spartan Arabic numerals and large registers (seconds on the left and minutes on the right). There’s not much clutter in the watch, just historic text and logo, and an unobtrusive minutes register. No superfluous text to clutter up the picture. The 42mm case is nice and vintage, with large pump pushers and an easy-to-grip crown. As with the other watches in the collection, it’s offered on a fabric strap in a black and grey striped style (similar to the older style Bond NATOs), or the cognac vintage strap with a slight sfumato finish.

Montblanc 1858 Chronograph bronze with champagne dial (ident 118223)

One of the strongest watches in the entire 1858 collection is this limited edition bronze number. There’s a nice tonal cohesion with the fully bronze case (and coated titanium caseback), graduated dial in champagne, and the cognac strap (actually — is there an alcohol theme at play here?). The only complaints could be that it lacks a contrast, and that it’s limited to 1600 pieces. Like the steel version, it’s powered by the MB 25.11, an ETA 7750, or the Sellita version thereof.

Montblanc 1858 Chronograph pricing

Montblanc 1858 Chronograph in steel, 3990 Euro; in bronze, 4690