The Goodwood Festival of Speed, one of the most important events on the social calendar of Britain’s auto racing enthusiasts, wrapped up this past weekend, with the winner of the championship race taking home a special ticking trophy: this week’s Watch to Watch, the limited-edition Montblanc TimeWalker Manufacture Chronograph with “Cappuccino” dial.
Montblanc, now in its second year as Official Timekeeping Partner of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, recently revamped its TimeWalker collection to channel the look of a vintage stopwatch made by Minerva Manufacture in 1916 called the Rally Timer. Used to time motor races, the Rally Timer was notable for its 1/100-second precision and its clean design. (Minerva is today part of Montblanc, which released a modern version of the Rally Timer in 2017.) The historical stopwatch’s influence is evident in the dial, which, in this limited edition of 1,500 pieces, features a vintage-inspired twist on the three-register “panda” dial — brown subdials on a beige main dial, bordered by a brown minutes scale on the flange. The color scheme — which is meant to imitate the look of so-called “tropical” dials of vintage watches, i.e., watches whose white dials have faded to a light brown color due to many years of sun exposure — gives the watch its “Cappuccino” nickname.
The Dauphine hour and minute hands are rhodium-plated, while the red baton seconds hand features at its tip the arrow emblem of Minerva. The hands, indices, and five-minute marks on the flange are treated with Super-LumiNova. Inside the satin-finished, 43-mm stainless steel case, with its black ceramic tachymeter-scale bezel, beats the Montblanc Caliber MB 25.10, an automatic movement with date display and an integrated column-wheel chronograph function. Visible through a clear caseback window, it consists of 232 pieces, including 33 jewels, and has a frequency of 28,800 vph and a power reserve of 46 hours. The movement is wound by a knurled crown made of black DLC and topped with a relief Montblanc emblem.
The Montblanc TimeWalker Manufacture Chronograph Limited Edition with “Cappucino” dial is mounted on a perforated, brown Sfumato calf leather strap made at Montblanc Pelleteria in Florence, Italy; it closes with a steel triple folding clasp. Priced at $5,400, the watch will be available in September at Montblanc boutiques worldwide.
