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At SIHH 2010, Montblanc proudly unveiled the first groundbreaking creation of the Institut Minerva de Recherche en Haute Horlogerie – TimeWriter 1: Metamorphosis.

The Institut Minerva de Recherche en Haute Horlogerie, founded by the brand in 2008, has a noble mission of supporting, both materially and intellectually, young talents giving birth to new ideas to highlight the art of watchmaking. Therefore, Montblanc introduced the “TimeWriter” concept, under which the brand intends to present a project every two years developed by independent creators who introduce great ideas and want to become independent watchmakers.

Two young watch specialists Johnny Girardin and Franck Orny wanted to create a wristwatch with two faces, based on the principles of traditional watchmaking, yet representing an entirely new and unprecedented concept.

The new extraordinary project of the TimeWriter series is actually based on the Montblanc`s own hand-crafted chronographe calibre MBM 16.29. The way the Montblanc Metamorphosis transforms itself is truly unprecedented. Via moving a slide down or up, the Montblanc watch transforms from a wristwatch displaying hours, minutes, and seconds into a chronograph and vice versa. This metamorphosis is performed in a completely mechanical manner inspired by methods applied in automatons construction, a traditional trade long practiced in the Swiss Jura region.

Before the eye-paralyzing transformation takes place, the watch with a large teardrop-like case demonstrates a dial with an unusual display of the civil time . In the upper part of the dial, you will see the regulator-style sub-dial featuring a lonely hour-hand and completed with Roman numerals.

At the same time, a retrograde minute-hand sweeps its arc between 8 and 4 o’clock from the center of the dial. A large seconds-hand, also in the center, makes one full circle every minute. At 6 o`clock, you will notice a hand-type date display. The hands together indicate the civil time and the date.

The metamorphosis starts as soon as the watch owner pulls the slide on the left-hand flank of the watch’s case downward from the “10” to the “8.” Within about fifteen seconds, the watch transforms into a chronograph. Four wings in the lower part of the dial open, slide under one another, and hide to the left and right beneath the middle bar of the dial. A similar sequence happens with two wings on the regulator’s hour dial in the upper part of the dial.

As soon as all the wings have opened, a sub-dial rises reminding the floor of an elevator at 6 o`clock and an opening in this rising disk “swallows” the date-hand. The just risen rotating disc represents the minute counter for the chronograph function.

After the breathtaking transformation takes place, the dial of the watch is fully devoted to the chronograph function. Now, the dial is completed with Arabic numerals and is highlighted with red accents. The hours are displayed on a sub-dial at 12 o`clock such as before and the retrograde minutes are also displayed from the centre.

The continuous seconds hand has transformed into the central chronograph hand. As for the risen turning disc at 6 o’clock, it stands out due to an elapsed-minutes scale calibrated from 01 to 31. A motionless index on the central bar of the dial shows which minute is at the moment being tallied.

The scale is calibrated for 31 minutes as its designers wanted to emphasize the fact that a date scale could take this position too. The watch owner is sure to highly appreciate such peculiarities, especially when seeing that each of the two displays performs with absolute mechanical independence of the other. The elapsed-minutes disk turns continuously, and the date-hand movement is “semi-instantaneous.”

The creators of the Metamorphosis watch used the luxurious column-wheel Montblanc/Minerva 16.29 caliber, composed of 252 individual parts, having created a unique additional mechanical structure built from 315 components. The result is the remarkable sum of 567 individual parts. No doubt, the Montblanc Metamorphos highlights the list of the most complicated up-to-date wristwatches.

The teardrop-shaped case of the Montblanc watch, 47mm in diameter, is sculptured from 18K white gold. The case incorporates double sapphire crystals. The timepiece is 50-meter water-resistant. The dial is performed in titanium, steel and sapphire.

As found out, the Montblanc Timewriter 1 Metamorphosis watch is expected to be limited to just 28 pieces and offered at the price of 195,000 Euros.

The watchmaking company Magrette, set up by Dion Wynyard McAsey, is based in Auckland (City of Sails), New Zealand. Now, this young brand is pleased to bring out its novel Regattare Moana Pacific collection.

It should be noted that Magrette uses Internet in order to commercialize its remarkable creations all over the world. Thus, the watchmaker contacts directly its potential customers without any intermediary involved, which enables it to avoid extra expenses.

The brand’s new line, mentioned above, has been put up for sale, using the same approach. The latter turned out to be a fully rewarding method: almost all pieces from this marvelous assemblage have been already snatched up.

Every watch from the Regattare Moana Pacific collection is available with a polished stainless steel case, which measures 44 mm in diameter and features a screw-down crown. Housed in the case is a self-winding Miyota movement, paved with 21 jewels.

The timepiece dial is equipped with hour-markers, coated with a luminous compound. Protecting the dial is a cambered sapphire crystal. Every timekeeper is mounted on a brown or black leather strap. The water-resistance of the watch in question is down to 100 meters.

Luxury brand Montblanc has concluded the celebratory inaugural events for a grand new flagship boutique on Rue de la Paix, in the heart of Paris’s opulent shopping district.  Standing two storeys and covering some 500-square meters of space, the store is among the largest of its kind in the world, and effectively conveys the prestige of Montblanc as a renowned house of exceptional writing instruments, fine timepieces, and high jewelry.  It is the fourth of Montblanc’s exclusive stores in Paris, and represents a new crown jewel in the brand’s constellation of European boutiques.  

Located at 7 Rue de la Paix, Montblanc’s newest flagship joins fourteen other exclusive “4810″ Montblanc boutiques around the world, including venues in Geneva, Beverly Hills, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Singapore. These stores are the most opulent and comprehensive of the brand’s showcases, housing a number of extraordinary pieces to include limited editions, piece unique creations, and exclusive works of high luxury such as the exceptional hand-crafted timepieces of Montblanc’s atelier Institut Minerva de Recherche en Haute Horlogerie.  

The interior is as magnificent in decorative embellishments as it is spacious.  Marking the entranceway and its grand parlor is a towering chandelier comprising 630,000 Swarovski crystals.  From there, the boutique opens outward into various sections devoted to specific Montblanc products and collections, including the brand’s famous writing instruments, leather goods, and its jewelry and watch families.  Unique creations and boutique exclusives are contained in a specially designed section which is intended to evoke the elegant environs of a Parisian apartment.  Moving upstairs reveals a private salon area where VIP clients can experience Montblanc’s most exclusive creations at their leisure.  

However, Montblanc’s Paris Boutique will be about more than just fine luxury goods and superb watches and jewelry.  It is also a platform for Montblanc to host the arts. In addition to the rotational presentation of Montblanc’s Cutting Edge Art Collection, which showcases original works, the brand intends to reach out to promising artists, and offer them the boutique space as a means to present their work.  The top prize winner at the Prix Montblanc Docks Art Fair in Lyons will be the first to experience this privilege. 

Prominent figures from the social and entertainment world were in attendance at the inaugural, giving this grand occasion for the house of Montblanc a strong dose of glamour.  In addition to Montblanc’s actress ambassador Eva Green, other notables taking part in the ribbon cutting and festivities included Juliette Binoche, Virginie Ledoyen, Thierry Lhermitte, Alice Taglioni, Lily Cole, Enrique Murciano, Clotilde Coureau, Xavier Deluc, and Jacqueline Bisset

This is an interesting marriage between a horse racing event, and a watch based on a historic measuring device that was designed to measure horse racing times. It is one of the few times I have actually seen a watch fit so well with the event that the manufacturer is sponsoring. This year Montblanc watches will be the promotional partner for the 26th Breeder’s Cup World Championship horse racing event. A highly regarded racing event noteworthy for the class of riders as well as the impressive thoroughbred horses that participate.

While not necessarily good for actual riding, the Montblanc Star Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph watch embodies the theme of high society horse racing. There are a few versions of the watch, with a skeletonized and non-skeletonized version available. Much higher-end than many of the more mainstream Montblanc watches out there, the timepiece has an in-house made manufacture chronograph movement that measures up to 30 minutes. It further uses rotating discs instead of hands for the chronograph subdials, as well as the date indicator. The chronograph uses a monopusher to control “start, stop, and rest,” via the pusher located at 8 o’clock. In all gold, the timepieces will be generously awarded to the top winners of both the male and female riders in the Winner’s Circle. The original timing device it was based on was not a watch at all, but a more cubic looking table device that attempted to resolve the issue of having to quickly start and stop the device to get relatively accurate measurements from rider times as they completed their ride around the racing track. With the timepiece being uniquely suited to luxury horse racing, it simply makes good sense for Montblanc to be sponsoring the event.