patrick_y
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Review-Montblanc: 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
Part 2
Part 3
Kong’s post
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.
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.
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.
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For the rest of Patrick's review in Montblanc forum: montblanc.watchprosite.com
Review-Montblanc: Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Hometime Chronograph On the Wrist Review
Love the bracelet!
