What You Need to Know About Montblanc Watches

Introduction & History

Montblanc is a luxury brand specialized in the manufacturing of watches, writing instruments, jewellery and leather goods.

Founded in 1906 in Germany, Montblanc has revolutionized the culture of calligraphy as a premium writing instrument brand. And since 1997, the Maison has been meticulously crafting luxurious timepieces by uniting European craftsmanship with time-honored traditions. Its writing instruments are manufactured in Hamburg in Germany, leather goods in Florence in Italy and watches in Switzerland.

Montblanc, which is presently a major subsidiary of the Richemont group, has two watch manufacturing facilities in Switzerland. The first one is in Le Locle and the second is in the village of Villeret.

The company ventured in to watchmaking in 1997 by setting up a manufacture in Le Locle in Switzerland and launching the Meisterstück watch collection. Introduced in 2002, the Profile collection was comprised of the brand’s first rectangular watches. In 2003, the TimeWalker series was unveiled. 

In 2006, Montblanc acquired the iconic Swiss watch manufacture Minerva SA. Founded in 1858 by Charles-Yvan Robert, Minerva carries a rich horological history. It has been deeply associated with the progressive evolution of traditional watchmaking industry as a pioneer in the development of high precision mechanical chronometers and chronographs.

Based in Villeret, this production facility has adopted the new name Institut Minerva de Recherche en Haute Horlogerie. At SIHH 2008, the company introduced the first montblanc chronograph with in-house movement, the Star Nicolas Rieussec Monopusher Chronograph.

Montblanc is the only luxury watch brand in the world to possess a rich tradition of manufacturing writing instruments. Some of its timepieces are inspired by the iconic pens manufactured by the Maison since its founding in 1906. The company also takes inspiration from the historic Minerva watches for designing its wristwatch collections like 1858.

Montblanc Watch Collections

Presently, the brand is offering flagship watch collections like 1858, Heritage, Boheme, Star Legacy, TimeWalker and Tradition. The approximate montblanc watch price singapore ranges from SGD 2700 to SGD 50,000 for regular production models. The retail cost of limited edition high-complication models and gem-set timepiece usually fetches over SGD 100,000 per piece.

(1) 1858 Collection

Aptly named, this exceptional collection pays tribute to the grand horological traditions of the Minerva manufacture. Seamlessly combining longstanding traditions and state-of-the-art technology, the mechanical timepieces from this acclaimed series are inspired by the professional Minerva watches from the 1920s and 1930s. The notable creations from the 1858 family are Iced Sea Automatic Date, Monopusher Chronograph, Geosphere and Automatic 24H.

The 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date is the first diving watch from the 1858 series. Water resistant up to 300 meters, this montblanc automatic watch features solid stainless steel case, unidirectional ceramic bezel and glacier pattern dial inspired by the Mer de Glace, the main ice mass of the Mont-Blanc Massif.

The 1858 Monopusher chronograph is the re-edition of a historic Minerva watch manufactured in the 1930s. Combining vintage aesthetics with a modern interpretation of an iconic Minerva chronograph movement, this model is available in various iterations, including a split-seconds variant and the special HODINKEE edition.

Geosphere is a popular model from the 1858 collection. The 1858 geosphere automatic watch derives inspiration from the world of mountaineering. It incorporates an innovative world time complication exclusively developed by the company’s manufacture in Villeret.

In Singapore, the montblanc watch price range of this series is about SGD 3,800 to SGD 50,000.

(2) Heritage Collection

Sophisticatedly elegant, Montblanc’s Heritage lineup is inspired by the historic Minerva watches manufactured during the 1940s and 1950s. The stand-out features of the collection are vintage themed designs and dials with distinct colors like salmon, burnt caramel, and British racing-green.

They usually come with fully polished cases, curved horns with facets, box-type sapphire crystal glasses, vintage-style dials and Sfumato alligator straps. Another highlight is the placement of the historical Montblanc logo on the dial. The case sizes are range from 39mm to 42mm. They feature automatic or hand-wound mechanical movements. These watches are also available with Milanese bracelets.

The prominent timepieces from the heritage series are Pythagore Small Second, Manufacture Pulsograph, Monopusher Chronograph, Perpetual Calendar, GMT, Annual Calendar, Triple Calendar, Annual Calendar Chronograph, Automatic Day Date, and Automatic Time Only (with three hands featuring centre seconds or small seconds).

A best-seller among these watches, the montblanc heritage gmt features a 40mm diameter stainless steel case. It is available in silvery-white and salmon-coloured dial versions.

The Manufacture Pulsograph is inspired by the so-called doctor’s watches of the bygone era. Highly sought-after by passionate collectors, this montblanc limited edition watch retains a 40mm case, with a hand-wound mechanical caliber beating inside. It can be distinguished by the domed dial with bi-compax chronograph layout and pulsometer scale.

The retail price range of the Heritage collection starts at SGD 3,500.

(3) Heritage Spirit Collection

Introduced in 2015, Heritage Spirit is a watch collection inspired by the iconic Meisterstück Fountain Pen series. A prominent model from the series is heritage spirit orbis terrarum, an automatic wristwatch indicating world-time with 24 hour time zones and integrated day & night function. This model is available in stainless steel and 18K gold versions. This line-up also includes Automatic Date and Perpetual Calendar watches.

(4) Heritage Chronométrie Collection

Celebrating the rich heritage for Swiss fine watchmaking, this series is inspired by the distinctive designs of the iconic Pythagore watches manufactured by Minerva in the 1940s. These timepieces proudly reflect the heroic quest of 15th century explorers. Notable models from the heritage chronométrie collection are Annual Calendar Chronograph, Twin Counter date and ExoTourbillon Chronograph.

(5) Bohème Collection

Sophisticated and stylish, this impressive collection is dedicated to women. The stand-out aspects of bohème watches typically include elegant case designs, gem-setting, eye-catching dials featuring traditional decorations like guilloche, diamond-hours and leaf hands and romantic complications such as moon-phase and day & night. They also spotlight additional complications like Date and Full Calendar.

The singapore price range of Bohème regular production models is SGD 4,500 to SGD 12,000. From this series, the brand is also offering high jewellery variants as well as high-end horological creations like ExoTourbillon and Perpetual Calendar in limited editions.

(6) Star Legacy Collection

The Star Legacy collection artfully combines the timeless design elements of the classic Minerva pocket watches with modern technology. A stand-out feature of these timepieces is the three dimensional dial design highlighting traditional watchmaking techniques. Case sizes vary from 36mm to 42mm.

The line-up is comprised of Automatic models offering additional functions like Chronograph, Date, Day-Date, Full Calendar or Moon Phase. The collection also offers high-end, limited edition star legacy timepieces like the Metamorphosis and the Suspended Exo Tourbillon.

The average montblanc sg selling price range of the series is SGD 3,100 to SGD 7,100.

(7) Star 4810 Collection

Named after the iconic Meisterstuck 4810 fountain pen, this is an important product line of Montblanc watches. A best-selling timepiece from this series is star 4810 chronograph. Introduced in 2009, it perfectly combines graceful designs with functionality. Equipped with an automatic movement featuring integrated chronograph mechanism, this model is available in stainless steel and 18K gold versions. The series also includes an automatic three-hand watch with the date.

(8) TimeWalker Collection

TimeWalker is one of the most established watch collections from the Maison. It offers a wide range of horological creations. This sporty series includes automatic watch models like Three-hands with Date, Chronograph, UTC, Dual Time, Twin Fly Chronograph and Worldtime Hemispheres. The montblanc timewalker range is also known more extreme sports wristwatches made of modern materials like carbon, titanium and black DLC.

(9) Tradition Collection

Tradition is a new series, offering entry-level mechanical watches that combine modern designs with elegant and classic elements. Presently, these automatic timepieces in stainless steel are available in three-hand with date configuration, and in two case sizes: 32mm and 40mm. They come with alligator leather straps or steel bracelets. 

The distinct characteristics include double-shaped bezel, domed sapphire glass, leaf-shaped hands and straight horns. The retail price range of this montblanc watch collection is SGD 2,700 to SGD 3,100.