The jury of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2017, has selected the Chronograph Rally Timer Counter among the six finalists in the Sport category. Speaking a year ago to the specialized website Worldtempus.com, the CEO of the Montblanc watch Division, Davide Cerrato, stated : “Minerva has a phenomenal watchmaking history, from its origins in 1858 up to World War II. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Minerva, along with Heuer, was a leader in the development of specialized timing and measuring instruments for a wide variety of sporting applications. The first chronographs appeared in 1908. Minerva continued to push the boundaries of timekeeping, and back in the 1920s and 1930s, Minerva was capable of timing accuracy to the 5th, 10th, 20th, 50th and even 100th of a second ! It designed instruments for aviation, sailing (with a countdown timer for regattas), football (with half times), and even water polo. Minerva was so advanced that it was selected as the official timekeeper for the winter Olympics in Austria, for example, and also for Formula 1, with a counter named the Rally Timer.”
The tone is clearly set ! The renewal of this model in 2017 proudly proclaims its racing DNA, to the point that it can be fitted to a car dashboard. The wristwatch is convertible in a heartbeat into a pocket watch, or a table clock thanks to the articulated arms of its generous rotating case in satin-finished and knurled titanium. On the back, the mechanical magic of the monopusher chronograph reveals its column wheel and its horizontal clutch, as well as its famous V bridge patented in 1912. The cult Minerva 17.29 movement served as inspiration, and while it is still produced in the eponymous Manufacture, Caliber MB M16.29 is endowed with the latest technologies and contemporary decorations. The reliable performance of the new Rally Timer is indeed guaranteed by 500 hours of intensive laboratory testing. With the Rally Timer, Montblanc takes us back in time and enables 100 passionate devotees to treat themselves to the sporting soul of Minerva.
TimeWalker Chronograph Rally Timer Counter Limited Edition 100
Case : titanium, satin-finished with knurled and black DLC finishing on the central part, rotating across 180°, domed sapphire crystal, sapphire back, water-resistant to 30m
Diameter : 50mm
Movement : mechanical manual-winding (Caliber MB MB16.29, 50-hour power reserve), nickel silver bridges and mainplate with “Côtes de Genève” finishing, hand-polished angles, Phillips terminal curve
Functions : Central hours and minutes, small seconds at 6 o’clock, central monopusher chronograph seconds hand with tachymeter scale, 30-minute counter at 12 o’clock
Dial : black with Arabic numerals and hour-markers enhanced with Super-LumiNova®, Dauphine-type black rhodium-plated luminescent hours and minutes hands STRAP : black calfskin, pin buckle
Limited series : 100 units
