The New Montblanc Meisterstuck Heritage Perpetual Calendar

The Montblanc Meisterstuck Heritage Perpetual Calendar is definitely one of the more exciting watches to come out of SIHH (Salon Internationale Haute Horlogerie). Montblanc goes back to the very foundations of Swiss watchmaking with this piece.

The news that has the entire watch world abuzz is that the stainless steel version of the watch is going to be priced at a jaw-droppingly low USD $12,800. This makes it the least expensive perpetual calendar in the world by quite a large margin. Its closest contender and previous record holder was the Jaeger LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual which was priced at $19,950. The pink gold version of this watch retails for $21,000, still just over a thousand more than the JLC watch, which is in steel. A perpetual calendar is considered to be one of the Grande Complications in horology and are usually seen floating around the $40K price range, so to cut this price point in half is a big move for Montblanc.

The case carries very conservative case dimensions of 39mm for the diameter and 10mm for the thickness of the watch. Either case material is highly polished adding a dressy feel to the watch. The bezel houses a scratch resistant sapphire crystal. The case back is transparent allowing the wearer to admire the MB29.15 self-winding movement. This movement, in fact, is an ETA base with a Dubois Depraz perpetual calendar module. The power reserve on this watch is a standard 42 hours.

The dial is silvered and features pink gold toned indexes and hands on both variations. The subdials are grouped closely together at the center of the dial, which adds a clean, sophisticated look to the entire piece. At 3 is the date, while at 9 is the day of the week; lastly is the leap year indicator at 12. The 6 position holds a moon phase on a 29 ½ day scale. Completing the watch is a black alligator leather strap.