WatchProSite|Market|Digest
WatchProSite|Market|Digest

Montblanc

It is a whole new entity...

 

One hallmark of the current Villeret collection is the finishing of movements.

One specification is that the edges of  ALL the bridges and steel components are bevelled and polished by hands.  The standard has been set that the edges all must be at an angle of 45 degrees and that the width of the bevel must remain constant along the entire length or circumference of the component.  Then the edges are polished again to a mirror finish.

Another point is that the nonvisible areas are finished:  Perlage is done on both sides of the plate, the underside of the bridges, the insides of the mainspring barrel and the hinged cuvette which makes up the solid back.

We need to do a complete teardown of a new Villeret smile

Again thanks for asking the original question Andrew.

 

Best, Mike

  login to reply
8 Comments view entire thread 

Montblanc's official response to Andrew's question regarding Minerva

 
By: mkt33 : May 23rd, 2009-07:51
From Mr Alexander Schmiedt Dear Mike and members of the PuristS community, I read the discussion on the MB/ Minerva branding and that you guys are interested in the "MB perspective". I remember when I first came to visit the Villeret manufacture in Decemb...  

Thank you, Alex, for offering us your perspective . . .

 
By: Dr No : May 24th, 2009-12:08
. . . that explains the decision to continue the Minerva brand concurrently with Montblanc . . . cordially, Art

Thankyou for the response…

 
By: AndrewD : May 24th, 2009-16:39
Dear Alex and Mike, Thanks for coming back to us with this response. You will of course realise the importance of building this sort of personal connection with watch collectors. I like to think that Purists are a little more immune to (or perhaps aware o... 

I think Andrew nailed it!

 
By: Ornatus-Mundi : May 24th, 2009-23:48
Montblanc, I think, correctly identified the core competence of Minerva, that is their impressive capability of designing and producing haute de gamme movements, and tried to provide the necessary enabling environment to make those capabilities bloom. In ... 

A personal plea to Montblanc Villeret

 
By: MTF : May 26th, 2009-11:08
Dear Herr Schmiedt, I dare not speak for others but only for myself. Although we applaud the efforts at Villeret to combine modern marketing and traditional craftmanship (or craftwomanship), please can we have less of the superfluous wording on the dials?... 

Minerva Inside ?

 
By: AndrewD : May 26th, 2009-18:14
Agreed... I find this distracting as well, to say the least. For a watch pitched at this level most buyers are not going to be purchasing a watch that shouts “Pure Mechanique Horlogere” or “Grand Tourbillon”, not this collector any...  

It is a whole new entity...

 
By: mkt33 : May 25th, 2009-12:25
One hallmark of the current Villeret collection is the finishing of movements. One specification is that the edges of ALL the bridges and steel components are bevelled and polished by hands. The standard has been set that the edges all must be at an angle... 

I think...

 
By: MiniCooper : May 24th, 2009-16:44
that it is really great that MB chose to answer this topic. Of course it is their strategy to approach the watch collectors as they try to get a larger share of the upgrade market, however the fact remains that MB wants to address issues or questions by t...