Montblanc Timewalker Chronograph (101548)

Montblanc is reinforcing its commitment to supporting long-term, in-depth research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the severe neuromuscular illness that affects 250 000 children, teenagers and young adults worldwide, with the donation of a unique timepiece from the Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858: the Vintage Pulsographe Unique Piece Only Watch 2011.

The handcrafted masterpiece will be auctioned on September 22nd 2011 during the prestigious Monaco Yacht Show in Monaco with proceeds benefitting the Monegasque Association against Muscular Dystrophies. Prior to the Only Watch auction, the piece meticulously crafted in the Montblanc Villeret Manufacture in Switzerland, will go on tour with other prestigious watch brands to Asia, United-States and Europe giving collectors and watch enthusiasts the opportunity to view all the timepieces.

Montblanc timepieces are the product of the finest craftsmanship and best Swiss watchmaking tradition. True to the brand's spirit of excellence, each piece is designed and manufactured to the highest quality standards. With its Le Locle and Villeret manufactures, Montblanc has established itself as only one of an exclusive group of watch manufactures in the world able to cover a watch making spectrum that extends from haute horlogerie timepieces to the state-of-the-art innovation of today's watch industry.

For this exclusive event, Montblanc has designed and developed a unique Timepiece created in the finest Swiss Haute Horlogerie tradition in its Manufacture in Villeret: The Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858 Vintage Pulsographe Unique Piece  Only Watch 2011. 

Genuine Grand Feu Enamel Dial 

The Vintage Pulsographe from the Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858 will magically transport its owner back to the 1930s, when wristwatch chronographs were used in many professions and activities as practical measurers of short intervals. The archive of the Montblanc manufacture in Villeret preserves the memory of that era in the form of enamel dials marked with specially calibrated scales for particular types of time measurement. Recalling this grand era, the enamel dial of the Vintage Pulsographe bears a pulse scale, a special characteristic which was particularly popular among physicians.

The Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858 Vintage Pulsographe Unique Piece Only Watch 2011 features a unique white Grand Feu enamel dial made from solid gold , with red gold hands. Its grand feu enamel coating, contrasts perfectly with the numerals and scales. The outermost edge of the Vintage Pulsographe's white dial is marked with a special red pulse scale which matches the red chronograph hands and the indication "GRADUe POUR 30 PULSATIONS" (i.e. "calibrated for 30 pulse beats"), reminiscent of the red and white flag of the Principality of Monaco and the Only Watch emblem. Further inward, this scale is followed by the elapsed-seconds chronograph scale with fifth-of-a-second subdivisions, then by the hour-circle with large blue Arabic numerals, and finally by a blue railroad-style scale marked with the hours from 13 to 24 also in blue. A subdial at the "9 o'clock" position indicates the continually running seconds. Another subdial at the "3 o'clock" can tally a maximum of thirty elapsed minutes.

A Movement in the Best Swiss Watchmaking Tradition

Though its diameter is merely 29.5 mm (12 3/4 lines), the chronograph calibre boasts all the attributes of classical chronograph mechanisms and traditional manufacture craftsmanship, e.g. column-wheel control and horizontal wheel coupling. As a monopusher construction, this movement relies on a three-phase control: the chronograph function starts the first time the button is pressed; the chronograph's hands stop the next time it is pressed; and these hands return to their zero positions the third time it is pressed. The sequence begins anew the next time the button is activated.  

The Pulsographe

Eighty years ago, it was primarily physicians who were the first users of wristwatch chronographs, to measure patients' pulse rates without having to continue feeling the pulse for a full minute. They could start the timepiece's chronograph function the moment they began to palpate the patient's pulse. If the pulsographe scale was calibrated for thirty pulse beats, they would continue counting the throbs until they had felt the thirtieth pulsation, whereupon they would stop the chronograph: the tip of the designated hand would indicate the point along the pulse scale corresponding to the patient's pulse rate per minute. Wristwatches with pulsographe scales soon became known as so-called "doctor's watches."

A Genuine and exclusive Golden Treasure

An unusual aspect of the Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858 Vintage Pulsographe is the diameter of its case: 39,5 mm. This size is inspired by the chronographs of the 1930s, and is intended to appeal to real Vintage aficionados who have a growing interest in chronographs from this petite yet elite manufacture, where timepieces are still primarily handmade in the finest Swiss watchmaking tradition.

The Vintage Pulsographe Unique Piece Only Watch 2011 also features the unique combination of a case crafted from 18 carat red gold and a white Grand Feu enamel dial, a design never attempted before for a Vintage Pulsographe. 

The exclusive case has grained flanks and horns, which contrast with the rest of the polished case. Its flank bears a winding-crown adorned with the Montblanc emblem in mother-of-pearl and the chronograph's sole pusher at the "2 o'clock" position. A pane of sapphire crystal in the back offers an unobstructed view of the artistically decorated movement with its large balance and classical chronograph mechanism. For this unique edition, the Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858 Vintage Pulsographe Unique Piece Only Watch 2011 features a special engraving on the back of the case: "ONLY WATCH '11 UNIQUE PIECE.

Displayed in a unique presentation box, this timepiece is truly a much sought after collector's piece.