In 2018, Montblanc launched the 1858 Geosphere, a manufacture timepiece with a new way of displaying the indication of the world time in a bold way with two recognizable turning discs representing the northern and southern hemispheres. Montblanc is now introducing an 1858 Geosphere Limited Edition entirely dedicated to Reinhold Messner, the legendary climber, and explorer. The new Montblanc 1858 Geosphere Messner Limited Edition 262 harmoniously combines bronze, blue, and rose gold-coated elements, giving it a true vintage aesthetic reminiscent of the mountaineering exploration tools from the past.
Thanks to a creative and inspiring collaboration with Reinhold Messner, the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere Messner Limited Edition piece was born.
Reinhold Messner —born September 17th, 1944— is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author. He is renowned for his pioneering ascents of the world’s highest peaks, and his variation of the Seven Summits Challenge, known as Messner’s List. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and the first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen along with Peter Habeler. He was also the first person to climb all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters —26,200 feet. In 1989-1990, he and German explorer Arved Fuchs were the first to cross Antarctica and Greenland on foot without the use of dog sleds or snowmobiles. In 2004, he was the first to trek 2,000 km —1,250 miles— across the Gobi desert. He has published over 80 books about his experiences, has served one term —1999-2004— in the European Parliament, where he championed environmental issues, and in 2018, he received the Princess of Asturias Award in the Sports category, along with fellow mountaineer Krzysztof Wielicki. He is now overseeing the creation of a number of museums dedicated to alpinism and the mountains.
Limited to 262 pieces, the timepiece is a nod to all the peaks over 26,200 feet that he climbed during his career. It made sense to link Messner’s achievements with the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere as a starting point the turning globes on this timepiece include red dots with the world’s Seven Summits —from a mountaineering point of view, the Messner list is the most challenging one.
The case back features an image of the Mont Blanc mountain, the complete Messner list, a compass, and two crossed ice pick-axes. An engraving of Messner’s signature has also been specially added to the Limited Edition.
The timepiece is housed in a 42 mm special bronze alloy case with slim, curved horns that are decorated with both polished and satin finishings. It also comes with a fluted bi-directional bronze bezel featuring shiny blue ceramic and the four engraved cardinal direction points that are coated with superluminova. The dial comes in a gradient blue color with rose gold-coated and beige elements, delivering a warm effect with harmonious contrasts.
Montblanc continues to set trends in terms of design and innovation especially in low light situations or at night. In the dark almost all the elements of the dial and bezel are luminescent, matching with the tool watch spirit of the 1858 product line. A new configuration of the glowing elements in superluminova has been found with a splash of different colors. The hours, minutes, second timezone hands, cardinal points on the bezel, as well as the arrows —that are used for the compass— are highlighted in green superluminova, while the globes with their continents, Arabic numerals, and indexes appear in blue superluminova. This is a nod to the importance of the look of a watch at night and its power to create emotion and pleasure, as well as to build an even stronger bond with our historic tool watches.
The Montblanc 1858 Geosphere Messner Limited Edition of 262 pieces is powered by the Manufacture automatic Calibre MB 29.25, with a world-time complication that includes two turning domed globes representing the northern and southern hemispheres that make a full rotation every 24 hours. They are surrounded by a scale with the 24 time zones, along with a day/night indicator. A second-time zone is located at nine o’clock and a date window —linked to the local time— is positioned at three o’clock. The longitude reference meridian for both hemispheres is highlighted with a blue line coated with superluminova.
“Reinhold Messner embodies the values we want to highlight with our Montblanc 1858 product line and the Spirit of Exploration. He is a living legend of outdoor exploration and mountaineering. With his fearless spirit and irrepressible sense of determination he is seeking to make his mark in the world, being a source of inspiration for adventurers across the globe” says Nicolas Baretzki, Montblanc CEO.
“A reliable and high performing watch is an essential companion to any adventurer setting out on a major expedition. It is exciting to be associated with a watch inspired by Minerva and its rich heritage of manufacturing companions to so many adventurers before me who relied so faithfully on these professional watches. Also, a meaningful and personal reminder of the thousands of feet climbed over the course of my career as a professional mountaineer”, says Reinhold Messner.
Messner’s achievements and inspiring journey through a life led by passion are living proof that following your personal path of success and fulfillment defines you as a person, making him the perfect Mark Maker for the Maison, celebrating those who have already found a true vocation and inspiring others to express their full potential on their own terms. The watch is available in a limited edition of 262 pieces.
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