Montblanc are particularly keen on pointing out that their new Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie Collection Twincounter Date takes inspiration from the Minerva Pythagore. There are actually at least two versions of the Pythagore I have seen and they are quite different from each other, but it is very likely that when they decided to craft their new release, Montblanc took inspiration from the Pythagore I version with its gold applied Arabic numerals, its sword–shaped counters and its manual 48 caliber.
I spent almost one hour trying to go through all the images available on Google to narrow down which of these two versions Montblanc explicitly took inspiration from, but I had no luck. I then decided to take a quick look at the Villeret collection that is the direct heir to the Minervas and, if I were asked to find some sort of similarity between this new watch and one of the modern Minerva timepieces, I would probably say that the Twincounter Date somehow reminds me of the Vintage Tachy Date from the Villeret collection.
The Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie Collection Twincounter Date is a brilliant pseudo-complicated representation of a three-counter watch with date that, at first sight, might look like a single push-piece chronograph similar to the Tachy Date. Whoever designed this timepiece, has simply decided to symmetrically switch the usual location of the small seconds counter and of an additional small counter with an arrow-shaped hand that rotates around the calendar and place them at 3 o'clock rather than at 6 o'clock.
To juice up the dial of this timepiece, Montblanc have used blue accents for the tiny hands and a contrasting red hue for the days scale (exclusively for the 31st day) and also for the 60 seconds that are located at 3 o'clock. The two counters feature a different style that is purposely clashing with the rest of the dial and that's not simply due to the fact that the pieces of information that are to view on there are different from the others but mainly because the manufacturer has clearly tried to give a three-hands-watch some sort of a complicated accent and a slightly asymmetrical touch.
The final result is an excellent one; the size of the case measures 40mm, its thickness is only 9.85mm while the sapphire glass is completely flat. In my opinion, both parts already seemed perfect back in December 2015, when the Twincounter Date and the Annual Calendar first came out as the 2016-year-novelties during a preview that was held at the brand's boutique in Milan.
My first impression was later confirmed at the end of January 2016 during Montblanc's official press-conference at the SIHH, when the Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie Collection Twincounter Date was widely acclaimed as one of the most interesting releases among the new tourbillons, world–timers and single push-piece chronographs; a position that this timepiece has managed to maintain up to today. Montblanc's progressive verticalization process has allowed them to develop the MB 24.23 caliber in their own laboratories; this is the complication of an industrial caliber that runs at a frequency of 4Hz and guarantees up to 38 hours of power reserve.
The most striking feature of this timepiece is definitely its retail price that totals 2.790 euro. I am fully aware of the fact that Montblanc represents, with this timepiece, the entry point to the world of haute-horlogerie and also to the different brands that belong to the same group, but I personally reckon that this retail price is incredible if you compare it to the retail price of some timepieces that has soared dramatically for no apparent reason in the last few years. The Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie Collection Twincounter Date is the perfect kick off watch to have for your collection, it is an attractive two-counter featuring an elegant white-silvery dial with a sporty touch and its retail price for that quality can't be beaten!
(Photo credit: Horbiter®'s proprietary photo-shooting)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
