Above: A few new members of the Montblanc 1858 family.
Right: 1858 Geosphere
It was a great idea and very difficult to realize. It meant we had to put a
compass, with decoration and with magnetism, onto the watch. Of course
when you place magnetism next to a watch it can be dangerous for the
function.
The next step was to develop a method of controlling that magnetism. First
we placed the hands within panes of specially treated glass, and then created
a Faraday cage. This completely cancels any danger of magnetism.
Of course then we needed to develop a method to place the compass flat
onto a map. To increase its usefulness, we have made it so you can attach it to
your backpack or your jacket. Because it is made of titanium, it is light. It is
not like we’ve decided all of these features at once. This is a process.
And since we are Montblanc, we create all of the leather for this piece and
all of our other watches.
We do this even with the NATO straps. For those we are working with a
high-quality French manufacturer.
66 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SPRING 2018