Gracious Elegance with Noble Horological MechanismsSIHH 2013: Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco
To design a collection that bears the name of such an incomparable and unforgettable celebrity is both a challenge and a source of enduring pride for Montblancʼs designers and jewellers, who were inspired by the grace and preferences of this European-American style icon to create a palette of new models that pay homage to the memory of Princesse Grace de Monaco.
In accord with this endeavour, the Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco has been augmented with new models that combine the exquisite look of this collection with equally impeccable automatic movements crafted in accord with the finest Swiss watchmaking tradition. Positively effervescent with elegance and sophistication, the cases have slender silhouettes and classical beauty that recall Gracia Patricia. The gorgeous spectrum features a most precious and unique haute joaillerie wristwatch and the perennially appealing combination of red gold and diamonds.
The Timeless Elegance of Princesse Grace de Monaco
When Hollywood actress Grace Kelly travelled to the Côte d’Azur to wed the prince of Monaco nearly 60 years ago, she illuminated the Mediterranean principality with her glamour. Like Princess Gracia Patricia’s personal style, this radiance was distinguished by simple elegance, noble grace and timeless beauty. With the Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco, Montblanc has created an irresistibly feminine and extraordinarily elegant watch collection that covers a broad spectrum in which each model epitomises style and class – just like Princess Gracia Patricia of Monaco, who set equally elegant standards whether in a simple daytime dress or an elaborate evening gown with diadems sparkling in her coiffure.
This watch collection also supports the Princesse Grace Foundation-USA, which the princess personally established to encourage up-and-coming young talents in the genres of acting, dance and film. Her foundation awards stipends, arranges educational contracts and offers ongoing scholarships.
Skilful Refinement and Immediate Recognisability
The watches in the Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco have a very contemporary diameter of 34 millimetres. A perfectly round dial and a simple circular case acquire fascinating excitement from the elliptical bezel and flange (réhaut) along the longitudinal axis from “12” to “6”. This too alludes to the unforgotten Monegasque princess, whose inimitable style was based on straightforward forms and uncomplicated gestures which she skilfully combined to produce an irresistible grace that was unmistakably Gracia Patricia.
Viewed from the side, the case has a dynamic silhouette with a concave back and sloping horns that perfectly conform to the wearer’s wrist. The same contour is repeated by the domed sapphire crystal above the dial. This reiteration helps to make the design look as though it had been cast from one mould. Each of these new wristwatches has a finely channelled crown and, unlike previous models, harbours in its back a screwed pane of transparent sapphire crystal which reveals an important innovation.
Authentic Horological Mechanisms
When Princess Gracia Patricia conquered hearts throughout Europe and gave new impulses to the image of woman with her self-confident elegance, mechanical wristwatches predominated while automatic winding was only just beginning to establish itself on a broad front. Mechanical self-winding movement MB 4810/409 inside the new Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco models is therefore an obvious enrichment for this timelessly elegant timepiece – not only from a technical viewpoint, but also as an allusion to its authenticity and to the genuineness of its namesake. Calibre MB 4810/409 is a fine quality movement in the best SWISS MADE tradition, which relies dually on centuries of experience and continual innovation to assure that it perpetually remains state-of-the-art. The self-winding movement automatically rewinds the mainspring by capturing energy from the motions of the wearer’s wrist. The calibre ticks with a frequency of 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour (4 Hz), has 25 rubies and a running autonomy of circa 42 hours, shows the hours and minutes from the dial’s centre, and comes – depending on the particular model – either with or without a central second-hand and date window. These characteristics enable the calibre to cater to the demands of many women who want a genuine, timeless and reliable watch that is not only conceived for the here and now, but simultaneously also recalls the past and points toward the future.
Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco Red Gold Automatic
There aren’t many diamond-studded wristwatches that a lady can wear equally well with casual dress, everyday business attire, a sophisticated cocktail dress or a lavish evening gown. The Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco Red Gold Automatic is one of these rare exceptions that perfectly suits each situation in life as though it had been custom-tailored for this specific occasion. The delightfully warm hue of its 18 K red gold case elicits nostalgic feelings and emanates distinguished elegance. The fire of 126 brilliant-cut diamonds, set in one and two rows along the oval bezel and weighing a total of circa 0.618 carat, needn’t fear comparison with even the most exclusive soiree, yet simultaneously preserves the understatement demanded by discreet elegance. This is beautifully matched by the gentle shimmer of white mother-of-pearl on the dial, which not only bears brilliant-cut diamonds weighing a total of circa 0.54 carat, but also boasts a rose-shaped pink sapphire (ca. 0.02 carat) and an applied numeral “12” plated with red gold. This watch’s face is simple, beautiful, prestigious and outstandingly legible with a date window at “3 o’clock”, a feuille hour-hand and minute-hand plated with red gold and, at the dial’s centre, a slim second-hand bearing Montblanc’s logo as a counterweight. This world-famous symbol is also present on the finely channelled red gold crown, where it appears in the form of a patented 43-facet Montblanc Diamond cut into the shape of the brand’s emblem and weighing 0.055 carat.
Though it’s surrounded by so much exterior beauty, the inner life of the Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco Red Gold Automatic needn’t shyly hide because this is a mechanical automatic movement of the finest Swiss quality. This watch will never need a battery because motions of the wearer’s wrist automatically wind its mainspring. If treated with appropriate care, it will reliably continue to perform its timekeeping duties decade after decade. The aesthetic of its mechanisms – a freely rotating winding rotor, a shiny golden balance and gleaming red rubies – can be admired by peering through the screwed sapphire crystal in the back of the case. This noble timepiece is affixed to a white alligator-leather wristband secured by a pronged buckle made of 18 K red gold.
Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco Haute Joaillerie Automatic
Traditional artisanal professions such as those practiced by watchmakers, casemakers, cadraniers, chainsmiths and jewellers have been closely interrelated for centuries. Creative collaboration among these metiers repeatedly results in unique artworks with an aesthetic that evokes every bit as much enthusiasm as the fascinating mechanical clockworks that control the motions of timepieces’ hands. The newest examples are two one-of-a-kind specimens of haute horlogerie in the Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco. Outstanding craftsmanly skills created the “Pétales de Rose Motif” in 18 K white gold with 810 diamonds weighing a total of circa 6.763 carats and the “Pétales Entrelacés Motif” in 18 carat red gold with 360 diamonds weighing a total of circa 8.1571 carats.
Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco “Pétales Entrelacés Motif”
The appeal of this unique timepiece derives from its masterful combination of opulent luxury and discreet elegance. Its precious materials are absolutely lavish: 18 karat red gold, white motherof- pearl and 360 diamonds in various cuts. Simplicity and understatement, on the other hand, distinguish the clear shapes of the case and wristband, while strict discipline is preserved by the arrangement of the diamonds.
The bezel is encrusted with 44 baguette diamonds that have been precisely cut to conform to the oval contour and that continually taper from the “3” to the “12” and from the “9” to the “6”. The bracelet is composed of interlaced (entrelacés) links: each is shaped like a rose petal and together they form a horizontal figure-of-eight, i.e. the mathematical symbol of infinity or, when considered in the context of timepieces, a signifier of eternity. This provides the perfect allusion to the bevy of 173 everlasting brilliant-cut diamonds on the bracelet of a wristwatch that one gives as proof of eternal love. An additional 130 brilliant-cut diamonds adorn the flange around the dial. The crown is topped by a patented 43-facet Montblanc Diamond shaped like the brand’s emblem. Last but not least, the twelve hours on the white mother-of-pearl dial are marked by a dozen diamonds, each of which is encircled by a red gold rose petal contour. This watch’s face is a gorgeous example of the art of the cadranier (dial-maker), for whom processing hard but fragile mother-of-pearl ranks among the greatest challenges. As if this weren’t difficult enough, the dial on the “Pétales Entrelacés Motif” model has two levels. Creating the slightly inset inner circle in this fragile material is extremely demanding, but gives the face an impressively sculptural appearance. The outer circle boasts a complex pattern of mother-of-pearl intarsia, each element of which is painstakingly hand-cut and polished to fit closely alongside its neighbours in a seamless mosaic. The result is a fantastic stage for the inexorable passage of time, which flows in synchrony with the steady ticking of a Swiss mechanical movement. The calibre draws its energy from the activity of its wearer’s wrist, which causes an oscillating weight to rotate: the weight’s motions tighten the mainspring. A transparent pane of sapphire crystal in the back of the case invites the owner to view the rotor’s motions and the tirelessly regular “breaths” of the little balance.
The “Pétales Entrelacés Motif” from the Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco thus unites the skills of many specialists in a petite masterpiece that’s crafted both as a one-of-a-kind artwork and for all eternity.
Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco “Pétales de Rose Motif”
The exclusive and unique “Pétales de Rose Motif” (rose petals) is dedicated to the noble blossom which ranks among the most beautiful expressions of love in our climes and which was also the favourite flower of Princess Gracia Patricia. The shape of the rose petals determines the design of the refined wristband, where invisible joints connect individual petal contours to create floral loops that conjoin to form an exquisite linked bracelet. The entire ensemble is made from 18 karat white gold artistically set with 555 brilliant-cut diamonds. The play with delicate petal contours likewise adorns the dial, where the fire of 80 brilliant-cut diamonds scintillates across an expanse of white mother-of-pearl. The face is surrounded by 130 brilliant-cut diamonds that are meticulously set by hand along the flange around the dial’s periphery. This masterpiece of the jeweller’s art is surmounted by a bezel that proudly bears 44 baguette diamonds. A most exclusive diamond thrones upon the crown: this superlative gem is cut with 43 facets and embodies the emblem of the Montblanc brand.
Connoisseurs who peer behind this opulent foreground of 18 karat white gold and 810 diamonds weighing a total of 6.763 carats will discover a mechanical SWISS MADE selfwinding movement that functions entirely without a battery. Its mainspring is automatically wound by a rotor which is visible through a pane of sapphire crystal in the case’s back. The rotor transforms each motion of the wearer’s wrist into a paragon of Swiss precision timekeeping. If this wristwatch has been left unworn long enough for the movement to exhaust its reserve of power, its mainspring can be quickly and easily wound by manually turning the crown. A masterpiece of the jeweller’s art, this wristwatch is an utterly unique piece of jewellery that has been crafted for eternity and will never be repeated.
The new unique watch models in the Montblanc Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco will be available starting in January 2013.