Montblanc is diving deeper into its (adopted) heritage with the Minerva Monopusher Chronograph Red Arrow. This is exactly one of those watches that made me revise my opinion of integrating the legendary Minerva manufacture in the Montblanc brand many years ago. While at first I was worried that the exceptional expertise of the first was used to boost the appeal of the latter, Montblanc has shown itself a more than worthy custodian of Minerva, ensuring that its heritage is brought into the future.
With the Monopusher Chronograph Red Arrow, Montblanc cleverly combines styling elements of 1930s aviation chronographs made by Minerva. One can call this timepiece retro, but I rather call it timeless as they cleverly avoided making it too vintage-looking. Its 42mm diameter plays an essential role in this, as does the brushed finish of the majority of the case. The black dial looks very organized and clean, in particular given the amount of information it provides. It features a telemeter scale as well as a tachymeter. The latter has a snail shape, allowing also speeds below 60 km/h to be measured. It is classically good-looking with only two subdials, more so because it also lacks a date.
A dash of color is provided not only by the use of slightly aged Super LumiNova but also by the red arrow that gives this watch its name. It is connected to the white gold bezel, which is fluted so that it can easily be turned either way. This way it can be used to time a countdown or measure elapsed time in addition to the chronograph.
As can be expected from a Montblanc with Minerva designation, is the movement a true treat. Caliber MB M13.21 features the same architecture as its famed 1920s predecessors. The balance is quite large, complete with screwed balance weights, and Montblanc even opted for a historically correct frequency of 2.5Hz. Montblanc, fortunately, didn’t go completely overboard with its reminiscence, as the Minerva Monopusher Chronograph Red Arrow boasts a generous power reserve of 60-hours. It also spends 500 hours undergoing extensive testing in Montblanc’s laboratory to fully ensure that this exquisite, top-of-the-line Montblanc is a worthy successor of the Minerva chronographs of the 1920s.
The Montblanc Minerva Monopusher Chronograph Red Arrow is limited to 88 pieces and priced at $29,500.
More information on this watch can be found on Montblanc’s website.
