The Montblanc 1858 Geosphere is one of the best looking watches currently on the market. This piece, which was originally released in 2018, was designed when Davide Cerrato. Mr. Cerrato is head of watches at Montblanc. He took over and implemented the great history of Minerva into the brand.
Minerva
The 1858 Geosphere is a watch that draws inspiration from the Minerva history in terms of design and watchmaking approach.
The Geosphere is more inspired by the design of Minerva. There are also other pieces within the Montblanc collection that even use vintage Minerva movements. More on that later.
Montblanc 1858 Geosphere blue dial
When you look at the new Montblanc 1858 Geosphere you see that the original black dial has now turned blue. But this is not just any blue: a gradient blue fades into a very dark blue at outer areas of the dial. Those of you who know me, surely understand why I love this dial design so much.
Additionally the colour of the bezel has also been implemented in a very dark blue. This colour perfectly compliments the overall design of the watch. The change of colour is however is only one of the two big changes on this model. While the black version was available in either a stainless steel or bronze case, the latest version comes in a lightweight titanium case material.
Mr. Cerrato’s designing history
The use of titanium, as well as the white luminous material for the hands and dial markers, give the watch a more modern look in comparison to the other Geosphere models. These other models feature a more vintage touch due to the beige luminous material.
Nonetheless the new Geosphere fits perfectly into the 1858 collection and is one of the most remarkable watches in recent years, which is no surprise as Mr. Cerrato has a quite a history of designing iconic timepieces (think of Panerai Luminor and Tudor Black-Bay).
Grains of rice bracelet
In addition to the titanium case, Montblanc also introduced a titanium and stainless steel grains of rice bracelet, which fits the design of the watch more than well.
This bracelet also makes the watch more wearable in nearly every situation, as it is much more durable and won’t suffer any damage during more active times, where a leather strap would get used up to quickly.
World Time Complication
The world time complication, super light titanium case, modern blue colours, vintage inspired Minerva design and 100m water resistance make the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere on of the best contemporary timepieces and my favourite timepiece of the brand.
Price: €5900 (with bracelet), €5600 (with leather strap)
More Montblanc news: Single handedly grabbing the stars with the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere Automatic 24h
So far we have only seen the 24H dial in the 1858 Limited Edition pocket watches, which were out of reach for the most of us due to the high prices and the fact that many of us prefer our watch on the wrist than in our pockets. Well, it seems like Montblanc listened to their fans, as they are introducing a similar wristwatch now.
This 42mm stainless steel and bronze (bezel and crown) timepiece features a broad 24H dial with a vibrant red hour hand. The dial embosses a top view of the world indicating the cardinal points. Due to the single hand design the watch is extremely legible once you get used to the 24H dial.
Thanks to its 100m water resistance and available with nato strap or steel bracelet, the watch fits right into the toolish approach of the Minerva 1858 watches and can be worn in nearly any situation.
Thanks to its outstanding design this piece is my second favourite of the brands novelties, as I am a fan of watches which are a little bit outside the norm.
Price: approx. €2800 (with nato strap). Available from September 2020.
About Montblanc
A quiet place in the Jura mountains, Le Locle is one of the watchmaking centres of Switzerland. It was there that Montblanc Montre S.A. came into being, a Manufacture that produces its own movements, developed entirely in-house, as well as watches of utter technical and artistic perfection.
Montblanc Villeret, which evolved from Minerva, devoted itself to “Haute Horlogerie”, the manufacture of the finest hand-made watches using Swiss tradition and the most up-to-date engineering skills.
