Montblanc’s Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph

Inspired by the legendary Minerva manufacture and its pocket watches, Montblanc’s Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph reinterprets the style of the Gilded Age for the contemporary gentleman.

There could have been no better place to give a sneak peek of the new 2019 Star Legacy collection than Miami, a shrine to the style and sophistication of the Art Deco period, where practical necessities combined with opulent elegance. With rapidly emerging house codes – due in no small part to the determination of Managing Director of the Watch Division, Davide Cerrato – the new Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph is an exercise in the contemporary execution of classic signatures such as the generous pebble-shaped case, stepped lugs and onion-shaped crown. While the traditional guilloché dial has received a modern twist thanks to the exploding star motif which is emblematic of Montblanc.

A tribute to the inventor of the chronograph, Nicolas Rieussec, the watch was previously available in steel with a silvery-white dial. 2019 will see two new versions released – one in stainless steel, the other in red gold, both with an anthracite dial and anthracite sfumato alligator-leather strap made at the Montblanc Pelletteria in Florence.

An offset domed dial at the 12 o’clock position gives the hours and minutes via leaf-shaped hands and Arabic numerals, as well as providing a second time-zone and a day/night indicator. A date window takes position at 6 o’clock.

In typical Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec style, there are 60-elapsed-second and 30-elapsed-minute counters at 4 and 8 o’clock on two rotating sub-dials with fixed hands.

Beating within the 44.8mm case, which is water-resistant to 30m, is the self-winding, in-house Calibre MB R200 monopusher chronograph movement with column-wheel mechanism. Twin barrels guarantee 72 hours of power reserve and the second time zone features a rapid reset function allowing the hour-hand and date display to be moved forward or backward. As a guarantee of reliability, the watch has undergone the Montblanc Laboratory Test 500.