In khaki and bronze: Montblanc 1858 Geosphere

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Montblanc 1858 Geosphere

Inspired by the vintage Minerva watches from the 1920s and 30s that were once used in the military, the 1858 collection pays tribute to the 160 years of the Minerva Manufacture and its extraordinary heritage The new Montblanc 1858 timepieces uses design elements from historic models and redevelops them for the new ‘sports’ watch category, mountaineering.

The Worldtime Geosphere was designed for the modern-day explorer who likes to set his own challenges It is purposed as a travel complication, but with a less commonly seen world time display

The case

The 1858 Geosphere, which is dedicated to the world’s Seven Summit mountaineering challenge, the holy grail of mountaineering adventures, is now also available in a new bronze/khaki colour scheme

The satin-finished case is in bronze and measures 42 mm in diameter and 128 mm in height.

A set of tapered and chamfered lugs with a contrasting polished edge is used for a more nuanced look.

The case back is crafted from titanium featuring a bronze colour coating Typical of bronze watches, the caseback is usually made with a different material, such as titanium, to prevent allergies, as the caseback comes in direct contact with the skin.

The case back is also engraved with the emblematic Mont Blanc mountain, a compass and two crossed ice pick-axes, as a nod to the spirit of mountain exploration Other details include fluted crowns that recall those on period timepieces

The Dial

For legibility and design, the khaki-green dials contrast with historical luminescent cathedral-shaped hands with a “cloisonné” design that have been slightly domed for one of the finest finishes.

Other details include beige SuperLumiNova*-coated Arabic numerals, a railway minutes track and the original Montblanc logo from the 1930s era with its historical font and emblem of the Mont Blanc Mountain.

This timepiece features a worldtime complication with two turning domed hemisphere globes, which make a full rotation in 24 hours The northern hemisphere at 12 o’clock turns anticlockwise, while the southern hemisphere turns clockwise They are both surrounded by a scale with the 24 time zones, along with a day/night indication in contrasting colours.

The longitude reference meridian for both hemispheres is highlighted with a white line coated with SuperLumiNova® Additionally, a second time zone display is located at nine o’clock and a date (linked to the local time) is indicated in an aperture at three o’clock.

But apart from the case and dial, significant effort is put into the choice and design of the straps Providing a contemporary look, the watches are equipped with high-quality woven “NATO” straps.

These straps are handcrafted in France at a traditional weaving manufacture that has been in production for over 150 years Thanks to this artisanal know-how, the “NATO” straps are refined, robust, durable and very comfortable on the wrist

Concluding thoughts

All in all, we found the watch to be quite a good reinterpretation of a worldtimer.

It does well in the looks department, with attractive straps and a unique dial design Engineering wise, the timepiece uses the manufacture worldtime complication powered by the calibre []

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