The West Coast’s largest watch-related event of the year is just over a week away. The inaugural WatchTime Los Angeles show will be held on May 3-4 at Downtown L.A.’s Hudson Loft, with 27 watch brands exhibiting their latest releases — including multiples Richemont firms like A. Lange & Söhne, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and, today’s focus brand, Montblanc.
As usual, Montblanc released a sizable collection of timepieces during the SIHH fair in January. While there were a number of updates in the 1858 and Star Legacy ranges, the largest amount of new novelties were located in the Heritage collection. The watches are unmistakably inspired by historical Minerva classic wristwatches from the 1940s and 1950s and feature vintage classical design codes, for example, domed dials with two finishes and dots as indexes.
The Heritage Pulsograph (Ref. 119914) is limited to 100 pieces and features a pulsograph indication that was originally used by doctors to measure a patient’s resting heart rate. The stainless-steel watch comes in 40 mm and is powered by the Montblanc Manufacture monopusher chronograph Caliber MB M13.21 that is visible through the exhibition caseback. The slightly domed dial features an attractive salmon color and has several design elements that hearken back to Minerva timepieces from the 1940s and ’50s. The dial has two different finishes; anthracite applied Arabic numerals and dots for indexes; dauphine hour and minutes hands applied with Super-LumiNova and blued baton hands for the chronograph registers. It comes on a matching anthracite Sfumato alligator leather strap. Another detail that worth pointing out is the vintage-inspired payphone indication of 3, 6 and 9 minutes on the chronograph’s minutes counter that would let payphone users know when to add a coin for more time.
The new 40-mm Heritage Perpetual Calendar comes in two different case materials. The rose-gold iteration (Ref. 119926) is limited to 100 total pieces while the stainless-steel model (Ref. 119925) is unlimited. Both versions feature a new manufacture movement, automatic Caliber MB 29.22, which indicates the hours, minutes, day, date, month, moon-phase and leap year through large counters at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock and has a 48-hour power reserve. The new movement uses a construction composed solely of wheels rather than the lever-focused build seen in most perpetual calendars. This allows the wearer to set the watch in both directions aiding in overall user-friendliness. Another feature is a safety feature that prevents the user from setting the watch between the hours of 8 p.m. and 12 p.m., when changing the time could damage the movement as the correctors are locked. The dial also includes a dual-time function via the short, skeletonized central hand that makes a full rotation every 24 hours.
Based on the same design language as the rest of the Heritage collection, the Monopusher Chronograph has a domed, silvery-white dial with two different finishes. Similar to the Pulsograph Limited Edition, the dial features anthracite applied Arabic numerals and dots as indexes; bent Dauphine hour and minutes hands injected with Super-LumiNova; and blued baton hands for the seconds and subdial indications. The chronograph minutes register also includes the same payphone indicator as the Pulsograph model. This 42-mm watch comes in a fully polished stainless steel case with curved horns, a domed sapphire glass box and a view of the Minerva Manufacture embossed on the closed caseback (used on all the models using movements from third-party suppliers). Finally, you have your choice of either a Sfumato alligator leather strap from the Richemont Pelletteria in Florence (Ref. 119951) or a steel Milanese mesh bracelet (Ref. 119952).
The Montblanc Heritage GMT comes in three different iterations: a silvery-white domed dial with a gray Sfumato alligator-skin strap (Ref. 119948), a steel Milanese bracelet (Ref. 119949), or with a salmon-colored domed dial and a gray Sfumato alligator-skin strap (Ref. 119950). It’s sized at 40 mm and has a fully polished stainless-steel case with curved horns and an embossing of the Minerva Manufacture on the closed caseback. The three automatic models all feature applied Arabic numerals, dots as indexes, hands with Super-LumiNova, and domed sapphire crystals.
The Heritage Automatic Day Date (Ref. 119947) comes in a slightly smaller, 39-mm polished stainless steel case with curved horns and the Minerva Manufacture embossed on the caseback. The domed silver-white dial has applied Arabic numerals, dots as indexes and hands that have been rhodium-plated to match the color of the case. the Day Date has a domed sapphire crystal and comes with a gray Sfumato alligator leather strap from the Richemont Pelletteria.
The Montblanc Heritage Automatic comes in a 40-mm case with a choice of a silvery-white (Ref. 119945) or salmon-colored (Ref. 119944) dial. Both versions are available with a stainless-steel case, applied Arabic numerals, dots as indexes and hands that are rhodium-coated or anthracite-colored and enhanced with Super-LumiNova. Alternatively, there is also the option for an 18K red-gold version with a smoked dial and red-gold-coated applied dots as indexes (Ref. 119946). Ticking inside the Montblanc Heritage Automatic is the Montblanc MB 24.27 automatic movement (base: Sellita SW300-1). Buyers can choose between a gray Sfumato alligator strap from the Richemont Pelletteria in Florence, or a steel mesh Milanese bracelet for the stainless-steel models. The red-gold version is equipped with a brown Sfumato alligator leather strap.
