SIHH 2019: How the Montblanc Heritage Collection was inspired by Minerva’s mastery

In his own way, Nicolas Baretzki is a poet. Speaking of the price structure of Montblanc, the CEO says, “You can enter through different doors into the world of Montblanc.” 2018 was the year in which the brand consolidated its strategy, which includes aggressive pricing and high value across all price segments. Rather than compromising credibility, Baretzki says the pricing underlines the confidence in Montblanc quality.

“It was an important year for us because it was the year that we completed the new strategy of Montblanc and the men’s product lines were all finished, when the whole strategy of saying ‘inspired by Minerva’, Minerva aesthetics, Minerva expertise [was established] … and that is really important as it makes it super easy to understand Montblanc watchmaking and how we do it.”

For 2019, Baretzki acknowledges that much of its customer base is in the fast-paced “world cities”. He asks, “What are our customers facing today? Most of them live in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Paris, New York, Dubai, in a stressful city life. Whether we do it or not, we would love to reconnect with nature, the outdoors, to a quiet place, to ourselves. This notion of reconnecting to nature speaks to most people today.”

The commitment to nature extends to corporate financial support of an NGO working to preserve the ecosystem in the Alps. “It’s a brand value,” he says.

The new 1858 models include three that have bronze cases with green dials and straps to underline this commitment. “The amazing Nato strap, still being produced in the French factory dating back to the 18th century, with weaving done in the traditional way. And the bronze case is going to get a patina, which means after one month everyone has a unique case.”

Montblanc draws inspiration from its connection with Minerva, the Villeret watchmaker with a history dating to 1858 and which acts as a spiritual and physical home to Montblanc today. Elements in the Montblanc collections draw on the technical mastery and design purity of Minerva.

Enter the Heritage Collection with its domed dials in salmon, silver-white and caramel. Some models even highlight the numerals 3, 6 and 9 as a reminder of the “three-minute pips” that punctuated phone calls in earlier times. The vibe is the 1940s and ’50s, exemplified by the six new models with their attention to colour and finish.

The star could well be the Heritage Pulsograph, where the dial colour is salmon with both smooth and grainy dial finishes. In a limited edition of 100, this is definitely not an entry-level piece. The influence of the Minerva archives is clear in the vintage style of the 40mm stainless steel case but also in the Minerva movement of this monopusher chronograph. The pulsograph indicator brings to mind the family doctor who took the pulse sitting at the patient’s own bedside, glancing at his watch to tell the heart rate. A nostalgic image, for sure.