Montblanc
Montblanc has built up a reputation as a manufacturer of luxury writing utensils and stationery. The brand entered the field of high-end wristwatches in 1997 when it presented its daughter company Montblanc Montre S.A., with its headquarters in Le Locle. The company confirmed its status as a watch manufacture when it bought Minerva, a haute horologie manufacture in Villeret, Switzerland, whose tradition goes back to 1858. Montblanc watches are truly fascinating, and not least because of their top quality, handmade production, their original design with the greatest attention paid to the smallest detail and a number of innovations. A Montblanc watch is an excellent choice for all enthusiasts of peerless craftsmanship who want to make a striking impression through their choice of timepiece.
Design
Time and again, Montblanc has proven its ability to surprise and constantly improves the design of its luxury accessories, especially fountain pens. The company now successfully transfers this ability to the field of watch manufacturing: it is the highly original designs of Montblanc watches that have attracted great attention and received due recognition in the watchmaking world.
Montblanc pays great attention to the design of its watches: the brand’s designers seamlessly blend modern elements with the history of the watchmaking industry and its iconic representatives. In Montblanc’s Star Legacy collection it has brought out exceptional pieces that include the Nicolas Rieussec Monopusher Chronograph, a tribute to the inventor of the chronograph, Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec, as well as its beguilingly original interpretations of pocket watches in the Montblanc 1858 collection.
Outstanding reliability
Montblanc places great emphasis on the resistance and reliability of its watches during daily wear and tear. Selected models undergo a stringent 500-hour test of their functionality over the course of three weeks in conditions simulating day-to-day wear.
The complexity and the extent of the testing carried out by Montblanc is beyond compare in the watchmaking world. During the 500-hour test the function of the movement’s entire mechanism is dutifully checked to the nth degree. The watch is also exposed to the influence of changing temperatures, humidity, water column pressure and there is even a simulation of periods when worn on the wrist and when put aside. This approach is a true reflection of Montblanc’s desire to achieve perfection in its product.
Master craftsmanship and innovation
Montblanc is utterly dedicated to safeguarding the tradition of Swiss watchmaking. A number of its models go back to traditional craftsmanship methods, such as the use of a flat spiral balance spring. Montblanc’s successful use of innovations often moves the entire watchmaking industry forward.
Montblanc succeeded in achieving a reputation as a great master watchmaker in 2008 when it introduced the MB R100 calibre, the first movement to be entirely manufactured in its workshops, with an impressive power reserve of 72 hours. In 2010 the company presented its phenomenal watch, the Metamorphosis. This masterly innovation combines two dials for two sperate functions in a way that no watch had ever done before. Then in 2011, Montblanc once again looked back in history to draw inspiration for the present, this time it was naval time-keeping instruments from the 18th century and introduced the first wristwatch with two cylindrical balance springs.
Široké portfolio
Montblanc collections will please all those who admire sports watches with many complications, require resilient timepieces for mountain treks and even those who want to wear a stylish and fashionable accessory on their wrist. Naturally, Montblanc also offers a selection of elegant and timeless watches for women who are in the know.
Montblanc enlarges its portfolio with thought and care: the company thus reacts to the various needs of its customers and the changing preferences of luxury watch aficionados. The Montblanc TimeWalker collection will attract the eye of all those that have a passion for motorsport watches while the Montblanc 4810 collection offers top quality pieces with a number of grand complications. If it is a vintage style that you are looking for then you will appreciate the Montblanc 1858, Heritage, Tradition and Star Legacy collection. In contrast the Montblanc Summit collection includes high tech smartwatches.
Philanthropy
Montblanc has a great wealth of experience with the production of a large portfolio of luxury goods and is therefore perfectly aware that besides outstanding quality, the lifestyle the brand represents plays an increasingly important role. Montblanc initiates and supports various philanthropic programmes that help people and causes throughout the world.
In 1992, the company founded the Montblanc Cultural Foundation with the aim to promote new ideas by means of supporting contemporary art. The foundation assists talented artists whose artworks provoke and attract attention to pressing issues. Montblanc is closely related to the world of art: the company supports several art festivals and selected musical ensembles. It also participates in the fight against AIDS and is a major donor of CREA Mont-Blanc, a Research Centre for Alpine Ecosystems, researching the influence of climatic changes on mountain environments.
Price range
Montblanc is an excellent choice due to the outstanding quality and design of its watches, plus it offers a great selection of over 100 models to choose from in varying price categories. The price of a Montblanc timepiece ranges from a very affordable CZK 40,000 to anything in excess of CZK 3,000,000
More about the brand
The name of the company is a reference to the highest mountain in the Alps and reflects the desire to produce products that are at the pinnacle and push the limits of what is deemed possible. This is something Montblanc has succeeded in doing time after time, first with fountain pens and later on with other luxury accessories.In 1997, Montblanc entered the watchmaking world and its very first collection of watches, the Meisterstück, was welcomed with great appreciation. Ten years later, Montblanc managed to get in that ranks of the top watchmaking brands in the world, this was greatly aided by its purchase of the famous Minerva manufacture. A specific feature of Montblanc is that its production takes place in two manufactures: in Le Locle in western Switzerland where Montblanc Montre S.A. has its headquarters, and in Villeret, 30 km away, where the Minerva manufacture has been active since 1858.
The brand’s history
The history of Montblanc, a brand of German origin, goes back to 1906 when Hamburg banker Alfred Nehemias and Berlin engineer August Eberstein founded a company manufacturing fountain pens. Over the course of the 20th century Montblanc pens have become a global phenomenon that is the quintessence of quality and craftsmanship that has allowed the company to enlarge its portfolio with other luxury accessories
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In 1997, Montblanc entered the watchmaking industry by founding the Montblanc Montre S.A. manufacture in the traditional heart of the Swiss horological world, the town of Le Locle.
The story of Montblanc wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the traditional Minerva manufacture in Villeret which Montblanc acquired in 2007. Minerva has developed top quality watchmaking craftsmanship without interruption since 1858 and has built a reputation as a specialist in professional timepieces and chronographs. Its game changing innovations have pushed the entire watchmaking industry forward.
Under the auspices of Montblanc, Minerva continues to develop its founder Charles-Yvan Robert’s legacy and its technological know-how helps to place Montblanc among the top watchmaking brands.