HANDS ON: Montblanc Tourbillon Cylindrical Geosphere Vasco da Gama

Felix Scholz

The burning question when ex-JLC wunderkind/CEO Jerome Lambert moved over to Montblanc was ‘how long until he starts ringing in the changes?’ The answer – one year on – is abundantly clear.

Not very long at all.

2015 has his fingerprints all over it. There were immediate signs in the disruptive limelight stealer like the ‘troublemaker’ Perpetual Calendar. Last years collection foreshadowed the onslaught of new models we see at this years SIHH.

It certainly seems like they’re burning the midnight oil at Le Locle and Villeret. They’ve distinguished themselves this year with their savvy and clever designs that aggressive push towards accessibly priced luxury watches. But don’t be fooled into thinking that Montblanc only do mid-tier watches. They can go toe to toe with the big boys, as the Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco da Gama (we’re going to go ahead and call it the Montblanc Tourbillon Cylindrical Geosphere Vasco da Gama) from the Villeret collection testifies.

This watch is a beast. The 47mm red gold (which surprisingly wears smaller) encloses a glittering panoply of complication and finishing, that showcases what Villeret (the old Minerva) can do.

The watch is dominated by three large spheres – at the top is the giant tourbillon, with three dimensional bridge (that apparently takes seven days of work alone) and cylindrical mainspring – which aside from looking great is a nod to the marine chronometry that fits in with the Vasco da Gama narrative of exploration.

The lower half of the dial features two hand painted hemispheres (again, the Vasco da Gama theme) which, aside from being very pretty, form the basis of the 24 hour display. Aside from this there is a hometime display in the form of a marine compass at six, and the central time (which can be corrected in hour increments by the pusher at 8).

Given the high-end spec and matching price, this is not a watch for everyone. That’s what the rest of the Montblanc collection is for. This piece is intended to demonstrate Montblanc’s high end capacity and legitimacy in the high horology space.

Australian Pricing- Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco da Gama 

Given that Montblanc are only producing 18 of these watches, it’s not clear whether any will be heading to the Australian market. Pricing in Europe is 250.000 euros including 19% VAT

Specifications

• Reference: 111675
• Movement: Montblanc Manufacture Calibre MB M68.40

• Type of movement: Hand-wound mechanical movement with one-minute tourbillon and cylindrical hairspring; triple time zone with local-time, home time and worldtime indication                     

• Dimensions: 16¾ lines (38.40 mm); height = 10.50 mm
• No. of components: 281, including 91 for the tourbillon cage
• No. of rubies: 18
• Power reserve: Approx. 48 hours
• Balance: Screw balance, diameter = 14.5 mm, moment of inertia = 59 mgcm²
• Frequency: 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour (2.5 Hz)
• Hairspring: Cylindrical hairspring with double Phillips terminal curves
• Tourbillon: One-minute tourbillon with cylindrical hairspring
• Main plate: Rhodium-plated nickel silver with circular graining on both sides
• Bridges: Rhodium-plated nickel silver with côtes de Genève
• Watch displays: Local time: central hours and minutes in the centre, Home time: hour hand at “6 o’clock”, Worldtime: 24-hour time zones with day/night for the Southern and Northern Hemisphere
• Case: 18-karat red gold (5N)
• Crystal: Scratch-resistant, domed sapphire crystal with antireflective treatment on both surfaces
• Back: 18-karat red gold (5N) back with 24 cities of both hemispheres engraved and with inset pane of sapphire crystal
• Dimensions: Diameter = 47 mm, height = 15.38 mm
• Watertightness: 3 bar

• Dial: 18-karat gold hands, hand-guilloché wave decoration around the tourbillon cage and “grainé” pattern on the lower part, tourbillon with cylindrical hairspring and double-infinity bridge. Worldtime indication on two discs with 24-hour time zones with day and night indication revolving around two fixed globes with traditional hand-painted peinture miniature for the oceans and engraving for the continents and the meridians showing the Northern Hemisphere on the left and the Southern Hemisphere on the right. Home-time indication at “6 o’clock” above a three-dimensional handcrafted rose des vents subdial; 18-karat red gold hour- and minute-hand in the centre, blued “Fleur-de-Lys” home-time hand at “6 o’clock”
• Crown: 18-karat red gold (5N) crown with Montblanc’s emblem in mother -of-pearl

• Pusher: Local-time pusher at “8 o’clock” and home-time corrector at “4 o’clock”
• Strap: Hand-sewn black alligator-skin strap with alligator lining and with a folding clasp made of 18-karat red gold (5N)
• Limitation: 18 pieces