White Night

Montblanc’s 2015 opus shines with the lustre of white gold

To recall the seafaring Portuguese legend Vasco da Gama, Montblanc decided on a highly limited tribute. Unveiled in Geneva early this year, the Tourbillon Cylindrique Geospheres NightSky of just 18 pieces was eagerly snapped up by collectors and aficionados.

A second chance to own this coveted piece arose at the recent Watches and Wonders exhibition in Hong Kong, through a new animation of this inspired timepiece. This time, the timepiece is executed in 18k white gold (RM1,171,100 per piece), a hand-swen black alligator-skin strap with matching 18k folding clasp and also limited to 18 pieces.

Beyond its aesthetic beauty of two engraved and painted globes depicting the world’s 24 time zones, the 47mm case also houses the hand-wound calibre MB M68.40. This engine powers the unique triple time zone. It also orchestrates the balletic symphony of slowly revolving discs around the globes – clockwise for the northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise for the southern hemisphere.

To ensure precision, the Montblanc Manufacture – which is steeped in watchmaking expertise from its Minerva legacy – produced a cylindrical balance spring. This uniquely shaped spring is a throwback to top-end marine chronometers upon which navigators relied upon to determine longitude, a crucial calculation which determined oblivion or an entry into the annals of history.

Montblanc