Montblanc 1858 Monopusher Chronograph: Malaysia Price and Review

Leong Wong 30 May 2018

Start, stop, and reset, all in one touch.

About a decade ago, Montblanc inherited the prestigious Minerva Manufacture after it was purchased by Montblanc’s parent company, the Swiss luxury group Richemont.

The intent was to set up a luxury watchmaking division under Montblanc and, since then, Minerva has been continuously developing groundbreaking movements for haute horlogerie watches.

With Minerva’s 160th anniversary this year, Montblanc has unveiled a special limited-edition 1858 Monopusher Chronograph in tribute to the historical Minerva Monopusher Chronograph Calibre 13.20 from the 1920s.

Born in 2015, the 1858 collection was inspired by professional Minerva timepieces from the 1920s and 1930s, which were meant for military use and mountain exploration.

The pilot aesthetics of the 1858 collection makes it extremely palatable to vintage-mad clients. But over the years, it has established itself as a force to be reckoned with, not just in the classical segment but also the high-end luxury sports watch segment.

The 1858 Monopusher Chronograph is a limited-edition release with only 100 pieces making it a highly desirable collectible. Using the Calibre 13.21 (a modernised version of the classic Calibre 13.20), the watch’s chronograph functions can now be activated with a single pusher located just above the crown at two o’clock.

This high-end movement is a compact hand-wound beauty, with its main plate adorned with circular graining and the iconic V-shaped chronograph bridge with Côtes de Genève finishing alongside the iconic Minerva arrow, all decorated by hand of course.

Movement aside, the main draw of the watch is also its unique colour where the dial is a green fumé dial decorated with beige Super-LumiNova Arabic numerals. All of this is housed in a robust 40mm stainless steel case.

The vintage spirit of the collection will definitely captivate audiences who have a thirst for the old school. Considering the pedigree of Minerva’s 160 years of heritage and its iconic movements, 100 pieces will certainly not be enough to quell the demand it’ll draw.