Maison Montblanc has introduced two new Montblanc 1858 Annual Calendar Geosphere Limited Editions, powered by a new Minerva manufacture movement. The movement features an annual calendar, a large date, and a worldtimer function. With a power reserve of approximately 65 hours, it is composed of 336 parts and hand-decorated using traditional techniques like Côtes de Genève and snail finishing. The workings of the movement can be admired through a sapphire crystal case back. This marks the first Annual Calendar Geosphere in Minerva’s Movements Portfolio.
For the annual calendar functions, the large date is positioned at noon, just above the historic Montblanc logo, and features two large apertures positioned side-by-side. The date is easily adjustable thanks to a corrector located at 2 o’clock. For the months, Montblanc has chosen to display them around the dial’s periphery via a red arrow showing the month in question, making them easily readable at a glance. The red arrow is a nod to the Roman goddess Minerva, the deity of craftsmanship, who was known for carrying a spear with an arrow at its tip. It also has a rich history rooted in early aviation, with Minerva chronographs from the 1920s and 1930s. A keen eye will notice that July has been replaced by the word ‘Minerva’ as it was on July 30th, 1887, that the Minerva trademark, and its recognizable arrow, were registered.
The visual focal point of these timepieces is their hand-painted, three-dimensional, rotating globe featuring the Northern Hemisphere and a Day & Night indication. The globe also indicates Greenwich Mean Time line with an orange line and a 24-hour scale. Crafted from sapphire crystal, each globe is hand-painted on the underside by a Swiss artisan, who spends four hours meticulously painting each one. The globes in these two new models represent the Northern Hemisphere, while the Southern Hemisphere is available on request.
The timepieces come in a 42mm case in a choice of Lime Gold 750/1000 (18 karats) (30 pieces) or stainless steel (100 pieces). Both editions are fitted with fixed fluted bezels inspired by Minerva’s historic timepieces and the first fluted bezels that date back to 1927. Today, the fluted bezel is a signature design feature of all Minerva timepieces. The Lime Gold model has a matching Lime Gold 750/1000 (18 karats) bezel, whereas the stainless steel version comes with a white gold 750/1000 (18 karats) bezel.
The timepieces are inspired by the aesthetic codes from Minerva’s heritage, notably the 1950s: the watches from this period in the manufacture’s history are particularly recognized for their elegant dial designs and precision watchmaking. Minerva’s in-house manufacturing capabilities and limited production quantities have further enhanced the exclusivity of these timepieces, making them highly sought-after by watch enthusiasts and collectors today.
These two new limited editions celebrate this period of Minerva heritage with their silver/white- coloured sunray and grained dials with blue-coated hands and indexes (for the stainless steel version) and yellow gold-coated hands and indexes (for the Lime Gold 750/1000 (18 karats) model), all while offering wristwatches that present a new take on some of the most well-known timepieces from Minerva’s past.
Super-LumiNova® is a registered trademark that is not owned by Montblanc.
