NEW MODEL: The Montblanc Metamorphosis II (VIDEO, PRICE)

Felix Scholz

The world is full of spectacular, ridiculous and amazing watches. And while we understand that these timepieces are not for 99.99% of the population, that’s not why tell you about them. These watches are not about the real world – they’re art, mechanical marvels and micro engineering all rolled into one. And the Montblanc Metamorphosis II just released is a great example of the high concept watch.

We’ve been telling you a bit about Montblanc recently, and most of that has been focused on the Swiss luxury house democratizing horology, but the Metamorphosis II, designed over four years in their Villeret facility demonstrates that Montblanc are equally comfortable playing in the super deep end of the pool.

 

You see the Metamorphosis II is (thanks to some sort of watchmaking magic) two watches in one. It’s a watch that, as it’s name suggests, transforms at the push of a button. But this is really one of those examples of a video being worth at least 1000 words, so at this point take a few minutes to check out the watch in action – if you’re really strapped for time the transformers style action kicks off at around 2:40.

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So there you have it. Thanks to Montblanc’s Managing Director of watches, Mr Alexander Schmiedt we can all see how the Metamorphosis II works. And that’s as close as most of us will ever get to this beast, as only 18 will be made. For those of you too time poor to watch the above video, this amazingly complex 746 piece movement is a watch with two overlaid dials, each with different complications. The first, ‘classic’ position displays time with a date at 6. Operate the slide on the case and the dial magically opens to reveal a chronograph complication. what appears to be magic is actually very clever engineering –  the ‘Classic’ dial is made of ‘wings’ at the upper and lower parts of the dial, which fold back to reveal the chronograph dial. What’s even more tricky is that the complications continue to function even when that face is hidden, so you can start the chronograph (operated by the monopusher crown) when the watch is in classic mode, which is handy, and technically impressive. It’s a big, bulky case at 52mm wide and nearly 16mm high – but given the machinery inside that’s understandable.

This isn’t a watch for the masses (with a retail of a mere 270,00 euro), but it isn’t meant to be – it’s a showcase of Montblanc’s technical capacity – and in that regard it’s a winner.

Specifications:

Montblanc Metamorphosis II

Ident. 112442

Movement: MB M 67.40

Type of movement: Hand-wound mechanical movement. With mechanical transformation of the time indication function to the chronograph function Chronograph: Monopusher chronograph with horizontal clutch and column wheel

Number of components: 746 (494 for the metamorphosis)

Power reserve: Approximately 50 hours

Classical indications: Hour counter at “12 o’clock” Retrograde minute hand Central seconds Date indicator at “6 o’clock”

Chronograph function indications: Central chronograph seconds 30 minute rotating disc counter at “6 o’clock

Features

Case: 18K red gold (5N)

Dimensions: diameter = 52 mm, height = 15.8 mm

Crystal: Sapphire

Back: 18K red gold (5N) with sapphire crystal

Watertightness: 3 bar

Dial: Gold decorated with various hand-crafted finishes depending on the face (“Grain d’orge” guilloché, “Clous de Paris” guilloché, spiral guilloché, circular satin finish, minute track with raised edge in 18 K red gold and cabochon index); sapphire bridge; hour circle with black Roman numerals for the classic face and black Arabic numerals for the chronograph face

Crown: 18 K red gold (5N) with mother-of-pearl Montblanc emblem

Pushers: Sliding mechanism on the case’s flank at “10 o’clock” to start the transformation, date corrector at “4 o’clock”, chronograph pusher integrated in the crown

Strap: Hand-sewn black alligator-leather strap with triple folding clasp made of 18 K red gold (5N)

Limitation: 18 timepieces

Recommended Price: 270,000 Euro