Montblanc

Introducing the Montblanc 1858 GMT Automatic Date and the Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher

by Felix Scholz . Mar 30, 2022

Montblanc

Introducing the Montblanc 1858 GMT Automatic Date and the Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher

Montblanc’s watchmaking divisions seem to be in full flight under Managing Director Laurent Lecamp, with offerings both classical and contemporary. First up, the contemporary, and then we’ll flip the script on the classic.

Montblanc 1858 GMT Automatic Date

The main party trick of this handsome, sporty travel time seems to be the horological equivalent of “Look, mom, no hands!” and it’s a pretty great trick, to be fair, leading to a watch that looks clean and doesn’t sacrifice any readability.

This is thanks to a system that sees a red square move around the outer edge of the dial, which is read off the fixed 24-hour aluminum bezel. And while this isn’t the first time we’ve seen an aperture used to display a second time zone, it’s an under-utilized approach, and Montblanc has done a very nice job implementing it into their sporty 42mm steel 1858.

Montblanc 1858 GMT Automatic Date

The watch also looks quite modern, though the hands, crown and logo do speak to the historic origins of the 1858. The titanium engraved caseback shows the planet’s continents and oceans, along with the names of cities in each of the 24 time zones, offering a handy world time indication. The case back can also be customized to include the owner’s hometown in red and their local time zone. The 1858 GMT Automatic Date is offered in black or blue dials, with either a rubber strap or a steel three-link bracelet.

Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher

The secret alluded to in the name of this watch (or rather two watches; there are limited edition versions in Lime Gold and stainless steel) is the hand-wound caliber MB 16.29, which, as fans of the brand know, is an absolutely stunning chronograph movement. So, Montblanc has chosen to celebrate it.

Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher in vivid lime gold

To do this, they’ve flipped the movement so that all the action is visible through the open-worked dial. It’s a seemingly simple modification that makes a big aesthetic difference, but it’s actually a little bit fiddly, as reversing the movement means that, without modification, the hands would run backwards. So Montblanc added 21 components in to keep everything turning in the right direction and looking great. Just for fun, the maison has turned the last digit of the movement’s reference number upside down to represent this change, so MB 16.29 becomes MB 16.26.

Hand-wound caliber MB 16.29

The stainless steel version with a white gold bezel is limited to 58 pieces, while the vivid Lime Gold is offered in 18 pieces.

Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher in stainless steel with white gold bezel

Tech Specs

Montblanc 1858 GMT Automatic Date

Movement: Self-winding caliber MB 24.33; 42 hours of power reserve
Function: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, GMT function with 24h bezel and second time zone in red
Case: 42mm; stainless steel; water-resistant to 100m
Strap: Rubber strap or stainless steel bracelet

Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher

Movement: Manual-winding Montblanc Manufacture caliber MB M16.26; 50 hours of power reserve
Function: Hours, minutes, seconds, monopusher chronograph
Case: 43mm; stainless steel or Lime Gold; water-resistant to 30m
Strap: Green or blue alligator depending on case material

Montblanc 1858 GMT Automatic Date

Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher

Tech Specs

Montblanc 1858 GMT Automatic Date

Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher

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