MTF[PuristS]
13383
The song of a nightingale vs a blackbird
Aug 25, 2014,00:44 AM
Thank you Oliver for the hands-on review of the Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar.
Irrespective of the readers' responses, without a wrist review from PuristS, there would be nothing to respond to!
When I was a student, the Medical School Dean taught us that common diseases occur commonly. He said that when we hear birdsong in our gardens, it was more likely to be a blackbird than a nightingale!
Similarly, there are more watch collectors than millionaires. The analogy is like for automobiles. An affordable, turbo-charged, race proven hatchback is only a few seconds slower than a Ferrari for the 0 - 62mph run (real world useless statistic) but in 5th gear between 50 - 70 mph (real life useful range) on the autobahn, it beats the Ferrari every time. Sure, the Ferrari (from some angles) looks prettier but can't even manage to roll over a 6-inch speed bump in a car park! The Ferrari costs £180,000 more. (That's real money and not in deflated USD )
A friend in Singapore asked me a couple of years ago about suggestions for affordable mechanical perpetual calendars. The shortlist was incredibly short. Immediately, all the usual suspects were eliminated on retail price alone. The 'other' German brand was rejected for non-availability to even inspect; the distribution network is sparse globally. Coincidentally, at that time, Montblanc offered a perpetual calendar from the Star Collection that was almost affordable......
Now, the Heritage perpetual calendar is even more affordable.
Some have mentioned that the dial design is indistinguishable from many offerings from established brands. Surely that is the raison d'etre of the design? As good as the rest but at affordable price......that's a "billion dollar" business model.
Others have praised the case design. Most believe in the reliability of the movement components from proven manufactures and the 500 hour QC test adds security.
There will be a few hundred people in the world who will choose other brands of perpetual calendar watches because they prefer different dial, case or movement. That is the "luxury of choice" but they will have to pay much more for that preference.
At least now, the Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar affords a choice..........
Regards
MTF