The 1858 collection is Montblanc’s range of sporty vintage-style watches that are inspired by the military watches Minerva made in the 1920’s and 30’s. This year after presenting a new blue capsule collection, as a nod to glaciers and snowy-mountain environments, Montblanc has now unveiled a Monopusher Chronograph.
Montblanc’s Monopusher Chronograph is powered by Caliber MB25.12, a Sellita SW510 movement that’s been custom-made for the brand. It is an important technical pillar for Montblanc and represents tremendous value for what it is. It was first unveiled with a domed, silvery-white dial timepiece in the Heritage collection last year.
The 1858 Monopusher Chronograph is a modern reinterpretation of a historical Minerva military chronograph powered by the Minerva Caliber 13.20. It is available in a choice of case materials – a special bronze alloy or stainless steel. The case width is a very modern 42 mm and sports a brushed finish with polished and beveled slim lugs. The case is 14.7 mm thick and is water-resistant to 100 meters. The closed caseback has “Spirit of Mountain Exploration” engraving on it.
Like on the original timepiece, the 1858 Monopusher Chronograph features a black dial with a beige-tone railway track. Matching the overall vintage design, other details include a telemeter scale, a feature of military watches; beige SuperLumiNova numerals. Time is indicated by rose gold-coated, cathedral-shaped hands with beige-colored SuperLumiNova.
As mentioned earlier, Caliber MB. 25.12 is a bicompax chronograph that has a 30-minute counter at 3 o’ clock and a running seconds hand at 9 o’ clock and a central chronograph seconds hand. Both counters have white hands that contrast well against the black dial. The start, stop, and reset is activated via a single pusher integrated into the crown. The 4 Hz movement has a power reserve of 48 hours.
The timepiece is available with a new matching beige-colored NATO strap made by Julien Faure, the same 150-year-old weavers that supply Tudor’s fabric straps. While the bronze is a limited edition, regular production models are available in stainless steel, one of which comes with a new stainless steel beads-of-rice bracelet or an aged, cognac-colored calfskin strap.
The stainless steel version is priced at AED19,200 (on fabric strap) while the bronze version is limited to 1,858 pieces and priced at $5,600 (AED20,566).
