Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 Watch Review
The Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 is beautifully crafted. Featuring a rattrapante, a very desirable high-complication, the watch is endowed with a glorious burgundy dial and arguably one of the prettiest movements on the market. US-based Meehna Goldsmith employs her literary talents to convey the many reasons this watch is a shining example of Haute Horlogerie.
The Rattrapante
A split personality is normally a red flag. But there is a particular case where it’s a desirable quality. Draw the curtain on the split chronograph. It was the first mechanism that could capture a moment within a larger moment.
Let’s go off to the racetrack to illustrate. A chronograph can measure the whole time it takes for a horse to push past the wire. But a split can break that race into smaller intervals, such as timing the push through the backstretch or a single lap, without losing track of the overall run. It does this with a second chronograph hand riding alongside the first until a press sends it pausing mid-stride while the other keeps running. Another press snaps it forward to ‘catch’ its partner, ready to break away again for the next interval. That’s why many brands include the word ‘rattrapante’ in the model name, which is French for ‘catch up’.
Minerva – the chronograph specialist
We have Louis-Frédéric Perrelet to thank for introducing the first rudimentary split chronograph in a pocket watch around 1827. But Minerva took the complication to a whole new level of sophistication and beauty. Founded in 1858, Minerva had already established a reputation for crafting high-quality and precise chronographs, especially monopushers, featuring a column wheel controlled with a horizontal clutch. By the early 20th century, Minerva brought all movement production fully in-house with calibers such as the 19-09CH, at a time when most brands procured ébauches from external specialists.
Minerva x military watches
Beyond their exceptional functionality, the Minerva movements had flair, finished to a much higher standard than typical tool watches. Instead of wearing the uniform of an enlisted man, they were dressed up in officers’ clothes. The decorative choices included those reserved for Haute Horlogerie: rhodium-plated German silver plates with circular graining on both sides; bridges of rhodium-plated German silver with Côtes de Genève striping; gold-plated going train with faceted arms and diamond-polished surfaces; snail finishing on chronograph wheels; hand-bevelled bridges encompassing internal angles; and polished screw heads with chamfered slots and mirror-polished levers.
Minerva rattrapante pocket watches
When Minerva debuted the rattrapante pocket chronographs in the early 1930s, it already had an esteemed reputation for its chronographs. Its first releases were solid and purpose-built. By the mid-to-late 1930s, Minerva refined the rattrapante mechanism, applied the brand’s exceptional finishing capabilities and added its now trademark V-bridge.
Don’t mistake the Minerva chronographs and split chronographs as statement pieces presenting functionality in a pretty package. They were part of the precision playbook during the 1930s–1940s in the military; battle-tested beauties that stood up to harsh conditions. No wonder collectors salivate over these historical pieces.
Richemont acquired Minerva in 2006
Founded in 1858, Minerva never fully shut its doors, but it did fall into near obscurity during the late 20th century. In 2006, the Richemont Group acquired Minerva, giving this sleeping beauty to its Montblanc brand. Montblanc opened up the Institut Minerva de Recherche en Haute Horlogerie in Villeret, Switzerland on the site of the the original Minerva Manufacture. Montblanc didn’t just rescue a brand, it reignited a legacy.
Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 – dimensions
The Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 reaches back into Minerva’s rich history, taking inspiration from a 42 mm military monopusher split second chronograph from the 1930s. At 44 mm, the LE 100 is no shrinking violet. Current tastes have seen tool watches slim down in case size. So why did Montblanc throw down and go bigger?
Minerva’s historical rattrapantes weren’t just built, they were sculpted. The movements glowed with beautiful finishes, high-contrast bridges and polished levers that revealed the choreography beneath. Montblanc’s decision to expand the modern hand-wound MB M16.31 movement to 38.4 mm, slightly larger than its 1930s pocket-watch forebear, continues that tradition. This modest increase, paired with modern construction tolerances, allows wider spacing of components for better viewing through the sapphire caseback. To accommodate this beautiful movement, the stainless case naturally scaled up from the vintage 42 mm to today’s 44 mm.
Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 – Calibre MB16.31
The balance wheel, also with a larger circumference, offers a two-for-one bang: it gives a closer look at the oscillating ballet while improving inertia and stability. Like its predecessor, the balance leisurely swings at 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz) and is equipped with a Phillips overcoil. It also uses the same construction as the original, with two column wheels and a horizontal coupling to drive the chronograph and split function. The Limited Edition 100 has a power reserve of 50 hours and it wouldn’t be complete without the signature V-shaped bridge.
Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 – bezel and dial
Reminiscent of a work of art, it is easy to stay mesmerised by the view of the movement; however, the front of the Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 is equally compelling. The 44 mm stainless steel case wears an 18k white gold fluted bezel – a soft, luxurious flex hiding in plain sight – and flows into horned lugs with both polished and satin finishing. Its sunray dial is dressed in burgundy livery, playing host to black counters and white luminescent Arabic numerals along with rhodium-coated hour, minute, and running seconds hands. White chronograph minute, seconds, and split-seconds hands cut clean arcs across a tachymeter scale at the dial’s perimeter – a nod to the original Minerva military chronographs. Consistent with its 1930s forebear, the tachymeter scale (base 1000) on the Limited Edition 100 adds both utility and vintage charm, allowing the wearer to measure elapsed time up to one minute and calculate the speed of a moving object, such as a car or a horse, over a known distance. The historical Montblanc crest and Minerva arrow at 6 o’clock seal the connection to its roots.
Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 – a monopusher
The fluted stainless-steel crown, topped with the Montblanc emblem in relief, houses the monopusher that starts, stops and resets the chronograph. A second pusher at 2 o’clock commands the split-seconds hand, allowing intermediate times to be recorded before it snaps back in sync with the primary chronograph hand. Complementing the dial’s colour scheme, the Montblanc 1858 Split Chrono Limited Edition 100 fits to the wrist with a dark, burgundy-toned interchangeable calf leather strap in an alligator print. The strap secures to the wrist with a stainless steel triple-folding clasp with a fine adjustment system.
Closing remarks
The Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 doesn’t just tip its hat to Minerva’s past, it slaps it a high five. The rattrapante is still one of watchmaking’s trickiest magic tricks and here it’s pulled off with the same swagger that once helped soldiers and sportsmen in the field. Upsized, finely tuned and dressed to kill, it’s proof that a complication born nearly a century ago can still stop hearts – and split seconds.
Further reading
Technical specification
- Model: Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100
- Reference: 134029
- Case: stainless steel, diameter 44 mm, height 15.2 mm, water resistance 3ATM (30 metres), sapphire crystal to front and exhibition case back
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, split-seconds chronograph
- Movement: Montblanc Manufacture Calibre MB M16.31, hand-wound movement, frequency 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz), 25 jewels, power reserve of approximately 50 hours
- Strap: dark burgundy-toned interchangeable calf leather strap with alligator print. Fitted with a stainless steel triple-folding clasp with a fine adjustment system
- Price: £51,000 (RRP as of 11.8.2025)
- Limited Edition: 100 pieces