Montblanc has reinvented the Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec, a chronograph that takes its inspiration from Paris’ Champ-de-Mars horse racing track.

The History

The story of this remarkable watch began 201 years ago when Nicolas Rieussec, watchmaker to the French King, tested his latest invention, a timekeeper designed to record the precise times of all the horses as they crossed the finish line at Champ-de-Mars.

The device used a fixed nib to place a drop of ink on two rotating counters (one for the minutes, the other for the seconds) each time a horse crossed the finish line. His invention was a success and a few weeks later, he presented it to the Academy of Science in Paris, whose members were fascinated and named it a ‘chronograph’ taken from the Greek word chronos for time and graphein to write. The word chronograph was born and Nicolas Rieussec became the inventor of the world’s first inking chronograph.

The First Montblanc Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Collection

Fast forward to the modern day and the year 2007, Montblanc unveiled an intriguing wristwatch version of Nicolas Rieussec’s technology, featuring its first in-house movement. The configuration of Rieussec’s design was interpreted with two horizontally aligned chronograph counters, one for 60 elapsed seconds, the other indicating 30 minutes. Instead of each counter being static with its own rotating hand, the counters were the ones to turn and a single index marker placed between the two indicated the elapsed time.

A New Era

Montblanc is unveiling two new fresh and unexpected interpretations of this timepiece – one in stainless steel, and the other in DLC-coated stainless steel (limited to 500 pieces). Both come in a new ergonomic pebble-shaped case measuring 43mm in diameter (the previous size was 44.8mm) with blue details that recall the colour of ink – as a nod to the original device – and an onion-shaped crown.

The Parisian Connection

There are a number of elements that celebrate The City of Light. A graphic Clous de Paris motif on the dial is a traditional design that originates from the geometric design of Paris’s cobbled streets. The motif, not uncommon in fine watchmaking, is more unusually continued onto the textile strap and the oscillating weight.

Other modern details include open-worked indexes; dynamic dauphine hands with Super-LumiNova; dark grey baton indexes; a new typography on the chronograph counters; a black, semi-transparent sapphire crystal on the case back; blued screws on the dial and movement; and strong colour contrasts between the anthracite grey and electric blue. Completing the Paris connection, a mention of the Academy of Sciences, Paris is engraved on the flange, as a reminder that the academy validated Rieussec’s invention in 1821. The name Chronographe Nicolas Rieussec is also engraved at 12 o’clock.

In-House Movement

The Montblanc Star Legacy Chronograph Nicolas Rieussec is powered by the self-winding manufacture monopusher chronograph movement MB R200 that was the very first in-house movement by the maison. Everything in the movement has been designed to reach a high level of technical efficiency and aesthetics. ✤

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