The Sincere Master Dinner "Nights of Haute Horlogerie" with Montblanc, and the exquisite Villeret 1858 Collection.

[Jaw]

The successful Sincere-Lange Master Dinner (See our previous announcement on the Sincere Master Dinner here), was quickly followed by another impressive dinner, this time in conjunction with Montblanc.


The dinner venue at the Singapore National Museum.


The Sincere Napkin Holder with the Montblanc Mints - a little touch of class.




The China with the Sincere Logo.


The Frosted Montblanc glass panel.




The Sincere Wine Glasses.

The 5th September evening event, attended by Montblanc Executive Vice President of Product Strategies & Development - also a member of the Executive Board of Montblanc International - Jean-Marc Pontroue, demonstrated clearly the very strong partnership between the brand and Sincere Fine Watches.











According to Jean-Marc Pontroue, Sincere Fine Watches and its COO Ong Ban have contributed to Montblanc's watch development proces and has been a positive influence to the brand. Perhaps due to this strong mutual trust, that Montblanc has appointed Sincere as the exclusive retailer for its premium Villeret 1858 range of watches.


Sincere Fine Watches Chief Operating Officer Ong Ban giving his welcome speech.


Followed by Jean-Marc Pontroue.


This is what partnership is about.


The dinner was also the first time the prestigious Villeret 1858 was officially shown in Singapore.

Below is my Villeret 1858 article as published in the Revolution magazine:


The sweetest receptionists you can find anywhere.

Montblanc Villeret 1858 Collection
A return to the old world charm of Minerva.




The 13-21.

The watchmaking company Minerva S.A. founded by Charles-Yvan Robert in 1858 was sold to the powerful Richemont Financial Group in October 2006, and the takeover is likely to be a critical turning point for the better, a much needed relief to this company at a critical juncture.


The 16-15.

The Villeret company was originally founded as a “tablisseurs”, a watch assembler. It first established itself and claimed as a watch manufacturer in 1902 under the helm of Robert’s sons, Charles-Auguste and Georges-Louis. Except for a few minor interrupting ‘hiccups’, Minerva is one of the few manufacturers who have been in ‘continuous’ operation for more than a century. The town Villeret is situated in the St. Imier valley region, the area originally housing famous names like Lemania, Longines, Blancpain and of course Minerva.










The 16-29.

Minerva first established itself by introducing the chronograph No 20 in 1923, housing an in-house column-wheel chronograph movement considered by some to be of exceptional quality. Other than being the official timekeeper of the 1936 Olympics however, the fortune of this small watch manufacture has not been particularly rosy and the Robert family sold the company to Andre Frey in 1940.




The 62-00.

Surviving the tough Quartz crisis, Minerva has stayed rather quiet except for the introduction of “Tablier” watch in 1988 and the “Palladio” in 1991, at least until the mid Nineties, when appreciation for mechanical watches became more prevalent as the age of Internet watch forum began. Cheap Minerva mechanical watches like Pythagore with basic in-house movements became an overnight sensation and were seen by many in the net as the essential watch for new entry level collectors.


Alex & Cabiddu

And yet, as the stellar internet reputation of Minerva grew, all is not well within the Villeret company. In September 2000, Minerva was again sold by Frey to an Italian watch collector Emilio Gnutti through the contact of an ex Blancpain’s Italy Country Manager, Beppe Menaldo. And after the takeover, there were talk of Mr. Menaldo walking into the Minerva factory discovering 50 years old movement plates lying around without the obvious capacity to produce any watch.




Light level at the dining area was very low, and I, by nature dislike flash photos. So the choice at times is between a sharp and flat one or a blurred but a more pleasant photo.

Fortunately also through Mr. Menaldo, Minerva is able to employ an experienced watchmaker, Demetrio Cabiddu, as the Head of Technical Department. Mr. Cabiddu is a brilliant watchmaker and has supposedly worked extensively on the development of the Gerald Genta Grande Sonnerie. immediately, the Gnutti/Menaldo management sees the need to revive Minerva as a high end haute de gamme brand and decided to apply very strict definition of in-house manufacturing and haute horlogerie watchmaking. There is a conscious decision to use ONLY in-house movements for all Minerva watches.



With only a total of 22 employees, and in a project initiated in 2003, Cabiddu and his team managed to develop 4 new movements - 2 mono-pusher chronographs calibre 16-29, 13-21 and 2 manual wind basic calibre 16-15 and 62-00. To ensure meeting the expectation of high end collectors, the traditional art of exquisite hand finishing, including traditional hand bevelling “anglage” was diligently applied on movement plates, bridges and components with certain sharp curves and pointed ends, an intentional layout design to make the manual decorative work obvious. Naturally, with the intensive focus on quality, production capacity has to drop sharply and the selling prices of Minerva watches had to increase significantly. For a small company like Minerva without the financial muscle to market, the resources to produce and the serious lack of even a rudimentary distribution system, the takeover by Richemont and the collaboration with Richemont subsidiary Montblanc could be the only way for Minerva to revitalise the brand as an haute de gamme player.


Sincere Group Managing Director Tay Liam Wee.

Montblanc, the dominant world leader in luxury writing instrument industry has achieved considerable success in the mass luxury watch segment within a very short decade. To enter the tough haute horlogerie segment however, Montblanc sees a unique opportunity and wasted no time investing into the newly restructured Richemont sibling, the “Institut Minerva de Recherche en Haute Horlogerie” (Minerva) . With the involvement and assistant of Montblanc, Minerva has employed 5 more watchmakers from the original 22 and there will be a total of 33 watchmakers working for Minerva by the end of May 2007. The factory facilities and equipments are also being upgraded to meet the coming challenge and demand as this article is written.



This year at SIHH, Montblanc launched its 4 models of the new “Collection Villeret 1858” masterpieces range in collaboration with Minerva. Namely the 47mm Grand Chronographe Authentique, the 41mm Chronographe Authentique, the 47mm Seconde Grande Authentique and 41mm Seconde Authentique respectively each using the 4 Minerva developed calibres 16-29, 13-21, 16-15 and 62-00 respectively, all 4 movements now exclusively reserved for Montblanc .



The rationale behind the Montblanc Villeret 1858 collection coincides with the corporate philosophy of both Montblanc and Minerva, it fulfils a strong desire to return to the old world charm of serious traditional watchmaking without compromise.



One good example is the beautiful oversized balance wheel used, up to 14.5mm in diameter and an unusually high moment of inertia of 59mgcm2 versus a more commonly seen industry standard of 6mgcm2 to 16mgcm2. Conventional wisdom dictates that all other factors being equal, the larger the balance wheel, the more accurate the watch is likely to be. However, the larger the balance wheel, the poorer is the quality of oscillation, potentially decreasing the energy efficiency of the escapement. Coupled with a traditional low 18,000 vph frequency, or 5 vibration per second, the watch is able to achieve a more than adequate 50 to 60 hours of power reserve, depending on models. “It is a matter of compromise” said Cabiddu, the Operating and Technical Director of Minerva “and we will always go back to the traditional art of watchmaking even if compromise is required” In this case however, the critical point is to deliver the most constant force possible, although at a very low frequency, and the precision of the watch is not being compromised, according to Cabiddu.




Again, flash or no flash?

Agreeing with the same philosophy, Montblanc, Strategic Marketing Project Manager, Alexander Schmiedt stressed that you won’t see the Villeret 1858 collection with 2 or 5 tourbillons, or the most high tech materials used to solve traditional problems. “We are going towards the exact opposite direction” added Alexander,” to where the old world charm is, the traditional way”.




Russell Seah, Flash or no flash?..

And in many ways, the new Montblanc Villeret 1858 collection is quite charming; from the screwed sapphire-crystal caseback protected by a domed, hinged cuvette (old hunter case) that is opened and released by slightly bending the leather straps outward - a fun patented hunter back release mechanism. At the hunter back, the external engravings read “Montblanc Villeret 1858”, “Edition Limitee” with serial number and “Fait main a Villeret” (hand-made in Villeret). The inside of the Cuvette is decorated with the signature “Demetrio Cabiddu Maitre Horloger”, hence immortalising the deserving Technical Director behind the 4 calibers. The watch mother of pearl dial, with a guilloche pattern subtly forming a Montblanc ‘star’ and the movement layout hiding a secret Minerva arrow adds to the mysterious feel and alluded to the ancient days, when watchmakers would find their way to secretly sign the watches they made. In this case, the Montblanc Star and the Minerva Arrow can be extremely obvious once noticed.


Jean-Marc & Anne from Montblanc.

With such labour intensive work, depending on models, Minerva is only able to produce a maximum of about 200 to 300 watches a year, and naturally, all four Villeret 1858 models are limited edition timepieces. For each of the four models, only one piece is produced in Platinum, 8 pcs. in white Gold and 58 pcs. in Red Gold. Considering the large number of retail outlets internationally, Montblanc will only distribute all Villeret 1858 models via Montblanc boutiques and very exclusive retailers that have proven ability and expertise to service haute horlogerie customers. It is also worth noting that for a luxury giant like Montblanc, the new collection is more a public exercise to stake its claim in the haute de gamme market than a revenue generating manoeuvre.


Khun Korsak & Khun Chatchai.


Ong Ban & Duncan Wang.

In a year, when Basel and SIHH 2007 is dominated by timepieces with fancy, loud and distinctive designs, the traditional Villeret 1858 collection of 4 watches can be refreshing, especially when viewed from the sapphire caseback. There is consistent rumour that Minerva has been working on an in-house automatic movement for some years, and in addition, what can we expect in the year 2008? “New product development can take several years, and the Minerva team are working with something exciting, but we can’t really say more,” Alexander told us with a wry smile and reminded us with a clear hint “Don’t forget next year is also the 150 anniversary of Minerva!”



Jaw

[RSeah]

Great pics (despite the dim settings) and report(as always), Jaw.

The Minerva Villeret 1858 range was certainly impressive under close inspection. A refreshing return to days of yore of old world charm and exquisite hand finishing. Mono pusher chronos are something else.

Kudos to Sincere for rolling out another great Masters Series event.

Cheers,
Russell

[Jaw]

Thanks Russell, good to see you two evenings in a row enjoying watches.

[Duncan]

Thanks for sharing this report with us. It was a wonderful evening spent with good friends, fine food and some very nice watches. Of course, this is what we have come to expect from Sincere and their brand partners. First class all the way!

If I may be permitted, then I thought I might share some comments on the Montblanc Villeret 1858 range of watches. The watches themselves are very well executed. I had been alerted to them following SIHH as Montblanc was clearly trying to leverage off of the acquisition of Minerva by the Richemont Group.

The movements exhibit some excellent finishing and are a real pleasure to examine. Of note, is the fact that Montblanc has used different movements for the different sized cases. Typically, many brands would use the same movements even when one case would be significantly larger than the other. In my opinion, this shows the attention to detail that Montblanc has delivered in these timepieces.

One negative that I see is that Montblanc is a victim of its own pervious successes. Without a doubt, the brand is one of the foremost when it comes to writing instruments. In my earlier days when I collected pens, I acquired a number of Montblanc pieces. Unfortunately, that well deserved reputation has not been afforded to their watches yet. Their watch business is relatively young and I think that they might experience some growing pains. Utilizing the Minerva movements is certainly a huge step in the right direction and I sincerely hope that Montblanc stays the course. Hopefully, they will be patient and not try to reach the top echelons too quickly. Pardon the pun, but it takes time to build one's brand equity, image and reputation in any market. What Montblanc has achieved in writing instruments can also be achieved in timepieces but it will not occur overnight. It is encouraging to see them putting value into their watches with the Minerva movements and not rely solely on trendy designs and flashy aesthetics as many other brands do. I know that I will be looking forward to future developments from Montblanc in this line of fine timepieces.

Many thanks to Montblanc and SIncere for a wonderful Masters Dinner.

Duncan

[Jaw]

Thanks Duncan,

In many ways, I can echo your opinion and Villeret 1858 is in fact the right direction for Montblanc to undertake.

Let's see what Montblanc has in store for us at the 150th Anniversary of Minerva next year.

Jaw

[Jack Forster]

. . .as a long time fan of Montblanc pens (my collection at one point consisted of some 40 vintage and modern fountain pens) whose daily writer is a 149, I have to confess I have always been a little indifferent to their watches but these are in a totally different league. Montblanc watches have always made a strong style statement but with these new movements they have become, in one fell swoop, an international standard bearer for traditional horological values and a keeper of what many of us remember as a bit of a sacred horological flame from the early days of our involvement with mechanical watches- especially here in the USA.

Many, many thanks for bringing us this amazing report and I look very much forward to seeing their incredible new watches in person!

Jack

[Monochrome]

Yummie... now they have the spectacular movements of the Minerva Villeret line

[Dirk]

the Minerva movements are indeed a sight to behold

guess you have a particularly clear view from the Dutch mountains ... ;-)

Cheers, Dirk

[Wimster]

Hey Jaw,

greeat report, forgot about this one but thanks for the reminder in another post!

cheers Wim

[Clublon]

Thanks for the report. Looks like you had a fine evening. First class all the way. The watches look pretty nice. I remember looking at their watches a few years ago and not being that excited about them. Now, I must say, that I am impressed. Hats off to Montblanc!

[take5]

I think Montblanc has definitely come a long way. After their acquisition of Minerva their watch collection is most certainly in a different league. I do agree with Duncan, however, in that Montblanc for me is still a brand I associate with pens. They have taken a major leap forward in horlogerie, but will have to continue on this track for some time to come to take their watch business to a even higher level.

[MuttonFlanks]

Beautiful pics and event coverage as always. Thanks and keep them coming!

[Jürgen]

Very nice report Jaw . I think Montblanc has made a very big step forwards in the watch making industry. For years I have been in love with the vintage Minerva movements and seeing them being used in the Montblanc watches is a good thing. I think the appreciation for Montblanc watches will grow bigger and bigger.

I like the no flash photographs. Photographs made with a flash often look like they are made in a hospital.