Nicolas Rieussec Rising Hours Chronograph watch

MONTBLANC NICOLAS RIEUSSEC RISING HOURS

Once again Montblanc manufacture launches a piece that leaves us breathless.

The model is made in three versions:

Stainless steel, Pink gold 18 K and Platinum 950

Only will be available starting from October 2013.

A TRUE MASTERPIECE

A CHRONOGRAPH FOR DAY AND NIGHT

The new Nicolas Rieussec chronograph 2013, with more rotating disc action.

The new Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Rising Hours features two discs, on atop the other, to show the hours and to indicate day and night.

Minutes are still shown via a single hand. As usual, the elapsed seconds and minutes are shown via discs.

The date and day displays are also accomplished via discs.

For the hour display, this requires further explanation.

The digital display of the hour is at 12 o’clock but the day/night indication seems nowhere to be seen.

What happens is that the numerals are black during the day and blue after sunset.

In the watch shown here, we can see that it is 6:10pm because the 7 numeral is blue while 6 is black.

How the manufacture automatic calibre MB R220 accomplishes this is novel, earning it patent protection.

In practical terms, this watch makes it a simple matter to set the date properly because it is always clear where the mechanical movement is, in terms of AM/PM.

This means the date will not be accidentally set to change at noon instead of midnight, which is a common occurrence with watches.

We close with a few more details about the 43mm watch, which is available in 950 platinum (limited to 28 pieces), 18k red gold and stainless steel.

Homage to Nicolas Rieussec (1781 – 1866)

With its launch of the Nicolas Rieussec chronographs, Montblanc enriched the world of watches with an entirely new design inspired by watches for measuring brief intervals that were first created by Nicolas Rieussec, an ingenious watchmaker and the inventor of the chronograph.

Rieussec’s chronographe encreur (i.e. ink chronograph) passed its test in 1821 and received patent protection in 1822.

This innovative "ink chronograph" measured elapsed seconds and minutes by means of rotating white enamel dials under motionless pointers culminating in inkfilled reservoirs below moveable nibs.

When the user pressed a button, these nibs quickly passed through the reservoir and pecked at the dials to leave little ink markings.

In this way, several short intervals could be measured one after the other.

The elapsed times were literally written in ink on white enamel, so Rieussec’s coinage of the neologism "chronograph" was perfectly appropriate because in Ancient Greek, chronos means "time" and graphein means "to write".

After the user had read the individual times, he wiped the dials clean and was ready to measure the next intervals.

To commemorate the creative watchmaker Nicolas Rieussec and his trailblazing invention, which numbers among the most popular horological complications nowadays, Montblanc in 2008 launched the Nicolas Rieussec chronographs, which have rotating discs rather than chronograph’s hands.

These discs on which time was literally written build the bridge that connects the Montblanc watch manufacture with the Montblanc writingimplement manufacture.

RETAIL PRICE:
Stainless steel - 10.750 €
Pink gold 18 K - 26.900 €
Platinum 950 - 48.500 € (limited to 28 pieces)

TECHNICAL DETAILS - MONTBLANC NICOLAS RIEUSSEC RISING HOURS

REFERENCE:
108790 - Stainless steel
108789 - Pink gold 18 K
108788 - Platinum 950 (limited to 28 pieces)

MOVEMENT:
Montblanc Manufacture Calibre MB R220
Mechanical movement with automatic winding mechanism and twin barrels
Chronograph Monopusher with column-wheel control and vertical disc clutch
With 343 components
Screw balance Ø 9,70 mm, Moment of inertia: 12 mgcm²
Flat Hairspring
Pate Rhodium plated and circular grained
Bridges Rhodium-plated, Geneva stripes
Gear train Special toothing for more efficient power transmission

VIBRATIONS:
28,800 vph 4 (Hz)

JEWELS:
42 jewels

POWER RESERVE:
72 hours

FUNCTIONS:
Hours and minutes on off-center dial
Digital hour display with integrated
Day/night indication
Day by disc
Date by disc
Power reserve indicator on case back
Chronograph tallies 60 elapsed seconds and 30 elapsed minutes on rotating discs with motionless hands

CASE:
18 K red gold
Screwed case back with transparent sapphire crystal

CROWN:
18 K red gold with inlaid mother-of-pearl Montblanc emblem

PUSH-PIECE:
Monopusher at 8 o`clock

SIZE:
Measuring 43mm in diameter

DIAL:
Silver-coloured with Grain d`Orges guilloche
Digital hour display
Hours and minutes on off-center dial
Digital hour display with integrated day/night indication
Day by disc
Date by disc

GLASS:
Domed sapphire crystal with double antireflective coating

WATER RESISTANCE:
3 Bar = 30 meters

STRAP:
Brown Alligator-skin strap with triple-folding clasp made of 18 K red gold

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS:
SITE:

www.montblanc.com