Montblanc

Montblanc's luxury watches are truly fine products of Swiss watchmaking, yet they come from a German company. Numerous diverse series and models allow you to choose between a traditionally elegant watch that emphasizes the company's long watchmaking tradition, or a businesslike modern timepiece. What all Montblanc watches have in common is the clear contrast between the dial, which is usually in a single light color, and the elegantly shaped hands. This, together with the clearly inscribed hour positions, ensures convenient legibility because Montblanc watch models are not merely ornamental objects. They also need to be practical and durable, as they are primarily intended for modern business men and women who are often on the go and always need to know exactly what time it is.

Lab test 500

Montblanc Lab test 500 is what Montblanc calls its internal quality control for watches. In this process, the finished watch is subjected to a rigorous 500-hour test under extreme conditions. It is subjected to different climatic conditions and repeatedly posed and repositioned to prove its resistance, both in everyday use and under particularly harsh conditions. Of course, the test also includes a check of all its special functions and also its water resistance. A genuine Montblanc luxury watch is noble, but anything but delicate.

Le Locle and Villeret

The home of Montblanc's watch division is in Switzerland. This is also where all Montblanc watches are manufactured in true Swiss watchmaking quality. Two separate watch manufactories are their birthplaces. The first is located in Le Locle, the cradle of Swiss watchmaking par excellence. Watches have been made here since as early as 1705. However, Montblanc itself did not settle here until 1997. Its second manufacture, on the other hand, has a much longer tradition of its own. It is located in Villeret, a picturesquely beautiful community in the canton of Berne, which also has a watchmaking tradition dating back to the 18th century.

From the Roman goddess of love to the white mountain

Today's Montblanc manufacture in Villeret was founded as early as 1858. From 1908, it bore the name Minerva, still familiar to watch connoisseurs today, named after the ancient Romans' goddess of love. In 2006, this traditional manufacturer of luxury watches was acquired by Richemont, which also owns Montblanc, and became a division of Montblanc. Needless to say, it did not completely abandon the divine name even in honor of Montblanc. It now calls itself the Institut Minerva de Recherche en Haute Horlogerie, which translates as the Minerva Institute of High Watchmaking. Since then, Villeret has primarily been the location where the further development of Montblanc watch technology takes place.

Montblanc

Montblanc itself is an originally German company that is still headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded there in 1908 as a manufacturer of writing instruments. Even today, in addition to its exceptionally beautiful and noble luxury watches, it also sells stationery of the best quality, as well as leather goods, jewelry and perfumes. The company probably chose the name Montblanc, white mountain, after the highest mountain in Europe because of the characteristic white caps of its fountain pens. Possibly the idea of travel and distance also played a role at that time.