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Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Hometime Chronograph On the Wrist Review

Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Hometime On the Wrist Review

By Patrick Yuan

We are fortunate to be witnessing the formation and evolution of a brand that will one day join the list of Horological Greats.  In a decade, Montblanc has created a phenomenal watch line that spans across the board; from the solid pieces in the Star Collection, to the avantgarde pieces of the Nicolas Rieussec line, and the truly aspirational pieces of the Villeret Collection – examples of the epitome of fine traditional watchmaking and among the best offered by the entire watch industry.   In particular, Montblanc seems to have been focusing their efforts specifically on the chronograph complication. 

The Nicolas Rieussec is a movement that Montblanc is proud to call their own.  Completely conceived for Montblanc and manufactured in-house by Montblanc within their own facility in Le Locle. 

To learn more about Montblanc’s factory in Le Locle, please visit Don’s and Kong’s posts of this amazing facility. 

Don’s posts, Parts 1-3

Part 1

montblanc.watchprosite.com

Part 2

montblanc.watchprosite.com

Part 3

montblanc.watchprosite.com

Kong’s post

montblanc.watchprosite.com

This facility is very different than most facilities, for one thing, it is completely brand new with state-of-the-art new equipment.  I really wanted to see and handle a watch produced from this factory so I was quite pleased when Montblanc loaned me a Nicolas Rieussec Hometime to review.  That pleasure would continue up until the time I had to return the watch. 

The Nicolas Rieussec line is a whole line in itself with several different models.  This particular model was the Hometime version and was particularly suited for individuals who traveled extensively but had friends or family at their home timezone.  It’s very easy to use, as you simply pull out the crown one notch where you can adjust the hour hand forward and backwards independently of the minutes to your new timezone.  There is a “HOME TIME” designation on the dial that points to the hour at home, and a day/night indicator on the left for your home time as well.  This crown position also serves to adjust the date, by adjusting the hour hand forward or backwards the date will change accordingly.  The feedback of the movement through the crown during winding, hour jumping, and time setting felt very solid and succinct.  

Easy to read and comprehend dial.  

When you strap on the watch, your attention immediately goes to the bracelet.  The bracelet is completely polished and particularly worrisome when it comes to scratches.  The clasp is also completely polished with a relatively large flat polished area; it was a little surprising that there are no visible brandings or markings on this clasp area as it appears slightly generic.  The bracelet is easily adjusted with 1.2mm approx. screws instead of pins, this pleased me tremendously because I personally believe 1.2 mm screws are inherently stronger than 0.7mm pins. While sizing the watch to fit my wrist I noticed the screws are polished, but not flush to the bracelet, thus you can see an indented hole on the side of the bracelet.  Other watches of this level have the screws go the full width of the bracelet link and they polish the bracelet with the screws installed so they look homogenous.   

When it came to comfort of the bracelet, Montblanc really paid a lot of attention to having the watch fit on wrists of all sizes by including two fine adjustment links that are about 2/3 the length of a normal link.  I ended up using both small links on one side of the bracelet and a full link on the other side of the bracelet to get a tight but not constrictive fit on my small 6.2 inch circumference wrist. The bracelet is quite supple and the links are curved to increase comfort and to maximize surface area.  It was a comfortable bracelet that tapered neither in thickness nor width.

Two small links

One normal link

The bracelet continues to the case, where we see an elegant fully polished case with the traditional crown at 3 o’clock and a large rectangular chronograph monopusher at 7 o’clock.  My favorite part of the case are the lugs, the lugs feature a beautiful “stepped” finish.  It was a well-made case and there were not any unnecessary engravings on the side of the watch.  However, due to the thickness of the movement, the addition of the automatic winding rotor, and the sapphire caseback, the case ended up sitting quite high and I could not button my cuffs to my fitted shirts.  

This watch doesn't want to go to the office under French cuffs, it wants to go to the horse races...

The dial appears to be painstakingly made with a large amount of detail in the various finishes dictated by the designers.  There are a few different guilloche finishes on the mostly white dial.  While legibility is excellent, the only difficulty one would normally have with the dial is that it is not possible to tell the time between 20 minutes after the hour until 40 minutes after the hour because the dial is partially obstructed by the chronograph discs and the partially exposed movement.  For this reason, I keep the chronograph running continuously after starting it precisely at the beginning of the hour or precisely 30 minutes after the beginning of the hour.  I then use the chronograph wheels to determine the time between the 20 and 40 minute interval. 

The hands are blued and feature an unexpected luminous coating on them.  And you’ll notice there’s no second hand, which is a further excuse to keep the vertical clutch chronograph running continuously, so one can use the second hand from the chronograph itself. The pointers for the chronograph are also blued, and the screws securing the bridge are blued as well.  

The movement is well finished and well designed, especially for a watch of this caliber and price range.  Notice the Cotes de Geneve stripes are done at a diagonal angle rather than longitudinally.  

Also, one will notice the chamfered jewel sink-holes with polished edges and the chamfered edges on the edges of the plates.  Another large famous brand in this price range would normally only have unpolished beveled edges when Montblanc has gone the extra step to have a polished beveled edge.  I have been known to be a “movement finishing addict” and I have to say that I am quite pleased with the movement finishing in the Rieussec.  

The column-wheel controlled chronograph itself is quite unique in multiple ways.  First of all it is a monopusher, which really adds a lot of character to the watch, we seldom see monopusher chronographs and it’s a minimalistic elegant look to have one chronograph button at a discreet 7 o'clock position.  Secondly the rotating disc design of the Rieussec is genuinely original and relatively unique in the marketplace, and lastly it is one of the few manufacture vertical clutch chronographs in this price range. 

The Montblanc star is positioned so you can see the column wheel perfectly 

Vertical clutch chronographs operate differently than traditional chronographs with a lateral clutch.  Because lateral clutch chronographs consistently have gear teeth meshing and separating themselves constantly whenever the chronograph is running, they create a lot of wear and tear, consume much more energy, shorten power reserves, and sometimes even make the timekeeping portion of the watch run slightly slower.  A vertical clutch when activated turns as a solid unit and because there is no gear teeth meshing and separating there is a lot less wear and tear, usually little to no increase in energy consumption, almost no affect to the power reserve, and no detriment to the accuracy of the timepiece.  Also, sometimes you’ll notice with all lateral clutch chronographs that the second hand jumps when activated; that’s because the gear teeth were meshed together at an instant that caused the teeth of both gears to come in contact on their tips.  The teeth mesh somewhat violently causing the jump in the second hand, a vertical clutch eliminates this problem.  The last benefit of vertical clutch chronographs is that one can keep the chronograph running continuously without any detriment to the movement. 

The movement features a 72 hour power reserve (regardless of chronograph operation) and is extremely accurate.  Since the watch doesn’t have a second hand, I had to keep the chronograph running continuously in order to ascertain second accuracy.  In my power reserve tests I found the watch had a power reserve of 68 to 75 hours; these tests were especially painful because I had to give up the watch for days since it was an automatic.  In addition to the power reserve test, I was surprised that the Rieussec was among the most accurate watches I’ve ever tested; accuracy was consistently within 1 second/day and on rare days no more than 4 seconds/day.  In about a month’s worth of daily accuracy tests, the watch averaged a +0.4 second/day accuracy rating – among the best I’ve ever witnessed.  That puts it right up there with the best tourbillons and special Robin-Escapement timepieces.  In summary, the Rieussec is truly a timepiece with a modern movement that is brimming with technology and shockingly accurate as well.

This watch is a watch that looks like it should be worn to the office but at also finds itself at home as a sports spectator watch (horse racing spectator watch), something that puts the Rieussec in its own little category.  The dial layout is truly unconventional and unique, something that I liked because it adds an unexpected flavor to one’s wrist.  The Nicolas Rieussec is available either on a strap or on a bracelet and with different complications to suit various tastes.  At 43MM and a generous thickness it’s not a small watch, but the handsome big case with strong generous lugs really makes it all the more to love.  Summed up, the Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph has an undeniable cool factor from the unique dial design alone, but also has much more in terms of complications (monopusher vertical clutch chronograph and second time zone), technological advancement (vertical clutch chronograph), and practical utility (exceptional accuracy and long power reserve).  

The version Montblanc had loaned me was the Hometime with the white guilloche dial; it is important to note there is also a black guilloche dialed version as well.  But for those who don’t want a white nor a black dial, there’s also an anthracite dialed version with a more modern dial.  This version also has a dual time zone and is available on a leather strap or polished/brushed metal bracelet – you can tell I really like this one too, see the picture below and you'll understand why.  

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