Introducing Montblanc Honors Nicolas Rieussec With New Chronograph

Two hundred years ago today, Nicolas Rieussec attended a horse race at the Champ-de-Mars Arrondissement de la Seine in Paris, in order to test his invention of a "chronometer intended to consistently measure the time horses take to travel the prescribed race distances – not only the winning horse, but also all those that cross the line after it." 

A fixed stylus was attached to the timekeeping device that would place a mark on the two rotating counters (for seconds and minutes) when a horse would cross the finish line. Rieussec's invention isn't considered the first chronograph today. That belongs to Louis Moinet, a watchmaker who completed a pocket watch called the Compteur de Tierces a few years earlier, in 1816. What Rieussec can lay claim to is the first use of the term chronograph – a word derived from the Greek term chronos, for time, and graphein, to write, AKA Time Writer. 

None of this is new territory for Montblanc. The multi-hyphenate purveyor of luxury goods based out of Germany (the watches are Swiss, naturally) has iterated on and maintained a small collection of chronographs under the Nicolas Rieussec banner since 2008. Most recently refreshed in 2018, Montblanc is once again setting its sights on this interesting collection of watches to commemorate the invention's bicentennial. 

Similar to previous Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec chronographs, the new limited edition is a monopusher chronograph with GMT functionality, featuring an in-house self-winding movement that renders elapsed time in an unorthodox manner. The hours and minutes, the second time-zone, and a day/night display are all placed in the large sub-dial in the upper half of the dial, while a pair of horizontally arranged registers are placed underneath and indicated elapsed 60 seconds and 30 minutes, separately. Instead of each sub-dial having its own hand, there's a single applied double index on the dial that sits between the two counters; the sub-dials are the parts of the whole that move to show elapsed time via the double baton. This mimics the same function of Rieussec's original invention, with the nib and pair of moving discs.

For the 200-year anniversary, Montblanc has created a new edition, limited to 200 pieces, that carries through many of the same elements that have defined the Nicolas Rieussec series in the modern imagination. The biggest difference this time around is the color of the dial – a gilt tone meant to recall the shade found on the original 1821 Nicolas Rieussec chronograph. However, for those that may have hoped for a smaller iteration of the Nicolas Rieussec platform this time around, I regret to inform you that the 44mm × 15mm smooth, polished pebble-shaped case profile remains the same.

The most interesting thing about the Nicolas Rieussec line, which is part of Montblanc's larger Star Legacy collection of timepieces, is just how out of the ordinary it is. No one, I repeat, no one creates a watch similar to this format today. The fact that Montblanc developed a rather impressive in-house automatic chronograph movement designed especially for this series really hammers that point home for me. 

We all know how difficult it is to create a new chronograph movement from scratch. Montblanc not only did that, but they did it for a rather esoteric and exclusive circuit of collecting. The Montblanc Manufacture Calibre MB R200 is a self-winding integrated chronograph movement that operates through a single pusher placed at eight o'clock on the case and with a column wheel and vertical clutch, attributes that prevent the elapsed-time discs from shivering when first engaged. Twin barrels placed in series allow for 72 hours of running autonomy, while retaining a frequency of 4 Hz. The oscillating weight matches the dial color and finish, with a special engraving commemorating the date of September 1, 1821.

I have to say, I wasn't a fan of the Nicolas Rieussec models when I first came across them in the early 2010s. The first example that made me really stop and consider that what I was looking at was special was an anthracite dial variant from 2018 that James wrote up. Building off that successful example, I appreciate the return to form that the new Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Limited Edition represents. 

Brand: Montblanc
Model: Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Limited Edition
Reference Number: 128674

Diameter: 44.8mm
Thickness: 15.12mm
Case Material: Stainless steel, polished
Dial Color: Gold-colored with guilloché pattern in places, white lacquered domed hour-circle with gold-colored sunray-finish in the center, filet sauté guilloché around the dial, blued leaf hour- and minute-hands, rhodium-colored skeletonized second time zone-hand, gold-colored titanium domed chronograph counter discs with satin finish
Indexes: Roman numerals
Lume: N/A
Water Resistance: 50 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Brown alligator leather strap with stainless steel triple folding clasp

Caliber: Montblanc Manufacture Calibre MB R200
Functions: Hours, minutes, date, second time-zone, day/night indicator, chronograph
Diameter: 31mm
Thickness: 8.46mm
Power Reserve: 72 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 4 Hz
Jewels: 40
Chronometer Certified: Yes, Montblanc Laboratory Test 500
Additional Details: Monopusher chronograph, column wheel, vertical clutch, double barrel, travel function with rapid reset of hour-hand and date display either forward or backward, transversal balance bridge, extra-large 10mm screwed balance wheel

Price: $8,700
Limited Edition: Yes, 200 pieces.