Montblanc Villeret 1858 Paris Event Report

As promised, please find my report about the event organized last Tuesday by Montblanc at its Paris Boutique, rue de la Paix.

I was happy to be invited because I missed the Montblanc presentation at the SIHH so it was a good opportunity for me to get updated news from them and to see some of their latest models.




The object of the event was to invite a few collectors to make them discover the Haute Horlogerie collection of Montblanc, the collection Villeret 1858 around some 2010 novelties. So I will not speak about the other collections of the brand in my report.

Even if the Metamorphosis and the Exotourbillon were not present, the Montblanc brought to the attendees some surprises.

First of all, Monique Wyssmueller and Demetrio Cabiddu were present and it was a great pleasure for us to be able to discuss with them about the past and the present of the Villeret Manufacture. Demetrio Cabiddu explained us why the Manufacture is an alive symbol of Haute Horlogerie and why he is so proud of the making process of the watches. Monique Wyssmueller gave us a demonstration of how to assemble the different part of the escapement  and to adjust the balance wheel. Monique of course assembles the full calibers but she is one of the very few watchmakers in Switzerland able to use this method, without any laser involvement, to build the escapement of the watch.

Mr Cabiddu explained the main features of the Villeret Manufacture calibers:




With the device on the next pics Monique can adjust the balance wheel frequency (influenced by the length of the spiral) by comparing its rythm with the one of the enlarged balance wheel which is used as reference: having a good eye is required! When both balance wheels have the same rythm, the spiral can be cut to get the appropriate lenth.













The balance wheel:




Due to their specificities (length, Phillips terminal curve), the Villeret Manufacture produces its won spirals.

Some of the attendees were invited to try to fix the spiral and I must confess I didn't have enough guts to do it! What a difficult task!

This exercice was a good way to give us the proof of the quality demand from the Villeret Manufacture and also of the respect of the traditional art of watchmaking. It is obvious: you can do it easier, you can also use masselotes on the balance wheel to adjust it more efficiently but in that case, it wouldn't be coherent with the will of the people from the Manufacture:  to offer high end calibers with traditional layouts, features and materials. For example, each part of a caliber is made of maillechort. Brass is not used. To enhance the historical aspect of the calibers, they are all handwind with a low frequency (2,5hz) and a large balance wheel to get a very stable and consistent  behaviour.




You will notice the typical "V-shape" of the chronograph bridge (hereafter the 13.21):




The consequence of these building and hand finishing processes is, of course, a very small production. As you already know it, each model is available in editions of 1, 8 or 58 pieces according the case material used. Each caliber will be produced with a limit of 288 (twice twelve dozens). Of course, personalization is feasible.

The story of the Manufacture:




The other surprise was the quite large range of Villeret watches available including the Vintage Chronograph and the always surprising Tourbillon Mysterieux. I propose you to browse the different watches of the event with separate posts.

It is a good idea for Montblanc to organize such events. Because they need to build an image, to explain that even if they are "newcomers" (which is not the truth but it is the feeling of a lot of people), they can propose haute horlogerie watches. Let's face it:  it is not an easy task to convince a client to buy a 50K Montblanc watch but with the energy spent the last years after the acquisition of the Villeret Manufacture, I think that the strategy is on the right tracks. And the most important thing is that quality of the Villeret collection is unquestionable.

I would like to thank a lot the whole Montblanc team in Paris and Monique Wyssmueller and Demetrio Cabiddu for the warm welcome and the watchmaking demonstration. We all appreciated the organization of this event.

Fr.Xavier

This message has been edited by foversta on 2010-04-03 14:29:39