iW Magazine Winter 2017/18 | Page 112

AS MONTBLANC DEBUTS AN EXPLORER-INSPIRED 1858 COLLECTION AT SIHH 2018, MONTBLANC’S DAVIDE CERRATO EXPLAINS WHY ADVENTURE IS DEEP WITHIN MINERVA’S HISTORY. What are Minerva’s connections to exploration? The connection is that in the 1930s and 1940s Minerva made many military watches. These were made with action in mind, to endure long exposure to the outdoors. These watches are perfectly in line with what exploration watches are. They need perfect readability day at night, robust cases, high accuracy and the capacity to work under any condition. This is why we decided to use these types of watches as our reference for these new designs. When you see the new design of the 1858 collection you will also see a direct relationship with so many of our museum watches. The Minerva history is a wonderful treasure that we are keeping alive through our new watches. We are translating that older language with modern words. How did you c