Collection
In this insightful article, als1678 champions the Montblanc Villeret line, arguing that its exceptional quality and meticulous craftsmanship position it among the elite of high horology. He challenges the prevailing discussions around branding and marketing, urging collectors to focus instead on the inherent value and artisanal excellence of these understated timepieces. His perspective offers a fresh look at Montblanc's strategy and the true connoisseur appeal of its Villeret creations.
So few very personal opinions.
I think it is time to move on on the branding and focus on the watches. Right or wrong a decision was made to not use the Minerva brand. MB or Minerva - the villeret line watched are extremely low production, largely hand made / finished, truly high end pieces. Yes, they can stand up to Lange or PP - no question about it.
They have made the decision to market them in a very under the radar way. Because of the small production, because they are looking for a personal relationship with the collectors and are focusing on the long term. But as others pointed out - MB is dead serious about the line and super proud of their manufacturing capabilities at Villeret.
As a result of that approach virtually no pieces are getting into the gray market, collectors who can see the attention to detail and experience the watches in person are very unlikely to sell them. The watch market as a whole goes through ups and downs, but having that in mind - the villeret line is only getting better and better in terms of value retention.
... they are marvelous, MB has any right to be proud. And you as an owner too, of course!
Is for true connoisseurs of high horology not the ones seeking the hype. Their finishing is on par with watches commanding 2-3x in comparison to what you pay for a MB. And like you said, few are made and few are seen on the grey market.
What an exquisite piece of horology!
Love Mont Blanc, anything and everything.
As a long term fan of the brand I can only concur to your opinion
They had created the Minerva line as a distinct sub-brand for better identity and recognition of these fantastic calibers. Similar to the Toyota and the Lexus categories Grand Seiko also suffers from an identity crisis as it is not very differentiated from the mass produced Seikos ; and thus affecting collector value perception. Wish they had come up with a complete new identity for the Grand Seikos. cheers
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