Page 114 - Sharp Winter 2024

IN THE RACE
MONTBLANC TAKES TO THE SOUTH POLE WITH NEW 1858 GEOSPHERE LIMITED EDITION
By Justin Mastine-Frost
B ETWEEN ITS OWN HIGH STANDARDS OF CRAFTSMANSHIP
and its connection to historical watch-movement maker Minerva (which it acquired in 2007), there’s a lot of exciting things happening in Montblanc’s watch department. The entire 1858 collection — named in commemoration of Minerva’s founding year — continues to dip a toe into the world of vintage-inspired watch design. From the choices of hands and dial indices to the profile of their cases, these timepieces celebrate the heritage and craftsmanship of the maison.
The arrival of the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen South Pole Exploration continues this tradition of deference and restraint, at once embracing the spirit of adventure and telling the tale of a father and his son. In 1990, Reinhold Messner made history when he and explorer Arved Fuchs became the first people to cross Antarctica on foot, with neither animal nor motorized support. They covered a distance of 2,800 kilometres, gradually climbing more than 3,000 metres, with little more than a compass to guide them.
But 1990 was not only the year of Messner’s groundbreaking expedition — it was also the year his son was born. Simon Messner quickly embraced his father’s sense of adventure and, over the years,
has tackled ascents in Oman, Jordan, Pakistan, the Alps and the Dolomites. The new Geosphere, limited to 1,990 pieces in homage to the departure date of his father’s original expedition, celebrates the Messners’ adventurous spirit, and will support Simon as he takes on Antarctica himself later this year.
Rather than following the route his father took, which can be seen represented on the southern hemisphere subdial of this new watch, the younger Messner is carving a path of his own. With the managing director for Montblanc’s watch division, Laurent Lecamp, at his side, Simon will be taking part in the Antarctic Ice Marathon on Dec. 13. The pair will set off a few hundred miles from the South Pole, at the foot of the Ellsworth Mountains — where the temperature hovers below -20 C. They’ll find themselves at an altitude of 700 mountainous metres, with strong high-density “katabatic” winds sweeping constantly across the area.
The latest reference also marks the arrival of a new colourway for Montblanc. Pulling inspiration from glacial ice — which absorbs colour differently due to its age, density, and mass — it’s an icy blue hue adopted by both the watch’s anodized aluminum bezel insert and its glacier motif dial, a pattern first deployed by Montblanc in 2022 that uses a rare technique to afford flat surfaces visual depth. The process begins with a time-consuming manufacturing method called gratté boisé, wherein the dial’s layers are printed, lacquered, and polished one by one, left overnight to dry before the next layer is applied.
As is often the way with tool watches, the case and dial are made of titanium to keep weight to a minimum. But there’s another detail — one far less common in the category — that affords the watch the “0 Oxygen” of its name. By filling the case with nitrogen rather than oxygen, not only does Montblanc remove the risk of corrosion within the case, but also the risk of fogging beneath the crystal. It’s by no means a common occurrence, but in instances of significant temperature shifts, which are extremely likely at the elevations Messner will encounter, it’s a risk factor best kept out of the equation.
In December, the 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen South Pole Exploration Limited Edition will begin appearing in Montblanc boutiques worldwide — just in time to see how Messner and Lecamp will fare during their frigid South Pole adventure midway through the month. But, with a watch such as this on their side, how could they fail? $9,500
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114 WINTER 2024
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