Inspired by the vintage Minerva watches from the 1920s and 30s that were once used in the military, the 1858 collection pays tribute to the 160 years of the Minerva Manufacture and its extraordinary heritage. The new Montblanc 1858 timepieces uses design elements from historic models and redevelops them for the new ‘sports’ watch category, mountaineering.
The Worldtime Geosphere was designed for the modern-day explorer who likes to set his own challenges. It is purposed as a travel complication, but with a less commonly seen world time display.
The new Montblanc 1858 Geosphere in stainless steel with a cognac-coloured aged calfskin strap with beige stitching .
The Case
The satin-finished case measures 42 mm in diameter and 12.8 mm in height. A set of tapered and chamfered lugs with a contrasting polished edge is used for a more nuanced look. The case also features a bi-directional ceramic bezel with fluted edges. A matching crown with distinct fluted edges is also used.
The caseback in bronze-coated titanium with the “Spirit of Mountain Exploration” engraving.
On the back of the watch, we see a caseback in bronze-coated titanium with the “Spirit of Mountain Exploration” engraving. Typical of bronze watches, the caseback is usually made with a different material, such as titanium, to prevent allergies, as the caseback comes in direct contact with the skin.
The Worldtime Geosphere is available in both stainless steel and bronze, with the latter a limited edition of 1858 pieces.
The non-limited version with the stainless steel case is also available with a black “NATO” strap.
The Dial
The dial design continues the theme of the vintage timepiece, with patina coloured lume and hour indices. The contrasting Arabic numerals are coated with SuperLumiNova®. Other design elements brought back from the past include the squelette hands, railway minute track and the original Montblanc logo from the 1930s.
The bronze case version is limited to 1858 pieces and comes with a brown Sfumato aged calf leather Bund strap.
This timepiece features a worldtime complication with two turning domed hemisphere globes, which make a full rotation in 24 hours. The northern hemisphere at 12 o’clock turns anticlockwise, while the southern hemisphere turns clockwise. They are both surrounded by a scale with the 24 time zones, along with a day/night indication in contrasting colours. The longitude reference meridian for both hemispheres is highlighted with a white line coated with SuperLumiNova®. Additionally, a second time zone display is located at nine o’clock and a date (linked to the local time) is indicated in an aperture at three o’clock.
SuperLumiNova® has also been applied to the continents for increased visibility and performance at night. The black dial of the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere features contrasting colours with the addition of rhodium-coated or red gold-coated elements, depending on the models.
The bronze case with slim curved lugs with chamfered edges, featuring a contrasting polished and satin finishing.
But apart from the case and dial, significant effort is put into the choice and design of the straps. Montblanc watches benefit from the brand’s expertise in leather, in particular from the Montblanc Pelletteria, the Maison’s centre of leather excellence. This expertise allows it to develop a distinctive range of vintage straps, such as Bund strap, that gives the Geosphere an even more distinctive look. Alternatives like “NATO” straps are also handcrafted in France at a traditional weaving manufacture that has been in operation for over 150 years.
The black dial features beige Arabic numerals coated with Super-LumiNova® and red gold-coated luminescent cathedral-shaped hour-hand and minute-hand.
Concluding thoughts
All in all, we found the watch to be quite a good reinterpretation of a worldtimer. It does well in the looks department, with attractive straps and a unique dial design. Engineering wise, the timepiece uses the brand-new manufacture worldtime complication powered by the calibre MB 29.25, developed in-house. The movement houses a 42 hours power reserve and beats at 28,800 A/h.
While some may argue that precision tests are a gimmick, the Montblanc 1858 models also undergo a Laboratory test. This consists over 500 hours of simulated wear, with specific testing and controls under extreme conditions. The Geosphere is also tested to a water-resistance of 100 meters to be Certified by the Montblanc Laboratory Test 500.
The Geosphere is a robust timepiece that looks good, but may not be the most instinctive tool watch. Travel timepieces may fare better with more utility in mind. That said, the watch fares well in the aesthetics department, with a cool luminous duo hemisphere dial and an attractive bronze case.
The Bronze series is limited to 1858 pieces, paying tribute to the year of foundation of the Minerva Manufacture.
The Geosphere is priced at SGD8300 for stainless steel, and SGD9400 for bronze.
6 Comments
It function like a 2 timezonez or GMT watch but named as a worldtimer? I notice several makers have done the same thing recently. For me, a worldtimer need to display all 24 timezones at the same time.
The watch uses two globes to show the southern and norther hemispheres. Each globe is broken down into the 24 time zones. This is a true world timer as you can look at the globes and tell the time anywhere in the world in any of those 24 time zones. It’s also a GMT though as the GMT hand will track one specific (home maybe) time zone.
Looks like they used flesh colored white out to paint the dial.
It’s supposed to be antiqued, patina, or vintage colored lume. The hands too are a vintage style, so the lume color kind of plays into the vintage feel they are trying to evoke with this watch.
Do both bronze and steel watches come with a bronze caseback?
Thanks
No, bronze watches have a bronze colored caseback (actual bronze would turn your skin green) and the stainless version (which I own) has a stainless caseback.