Lot Essay
'In support of L’Association Européenne contre les Leucodystrophies (ELA), Montblanc unveils a Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph 43mm that presents a never-before-seen iteration of the Maison’s famous chronograph model.' said Laurent Lecamp, Global Managing Director of Montblanc.
Tracing the roots of the collection, it depicts an historic horse race scene inspired by a 19th century drawing of jockeys and their horses approaching the finish line of the Champ de Mars race track in Paris. This was the very race track at which Nicolas Rieussec set up his inking chronograph to record the precise times of the horses as they crossed the finish line on Saturday 1st September 1821.
Montblanc and ELA hope that this one-of-a-kind piece will catch the eye of discerning collectors so that the important work of the association can continue to reach even more patients and their families in the years to come.
The Montblanc Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph
The original idea for the Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec chronograph was based on the precise timing system that Rieussec, the sixth royal watchmaker to the Kings of France, invented and applied to the scientific recording of horse races. Big business at the time, Rieussec’s system was a game changer for the sport.
Nicolas Rieussec’s device worked by using a fixed nib that would 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 Sciences in Paris, whose members were fascinated by the timing device and named it a “Chronograph”, taken from the Greek word ‘Chronos’ for time and ‘graphein’ to write. The word ‘Chronograph’ was thus born and Nicolas Rieussec became the inventor of the world’s first inking chronograph, a milestone in the history of watchmaking.
Montblanc has taken direct inspiration from Rieussec’s inking chronograph in the design of the Star Legacy wristwatch that bears his name. In addition to being a dual time watch – able to show the time in two time zones via the additional skeleton hour hand in conjunction with a day and night indicator, the chronograph registers for the elapsed 30-minutes and 60-minutes operate in a unique way. Instead of each register having a separate hand, in the Nicolas Rieussec chronograph the registers themselves actually rotate, the timings being read from a fixed double-ended hand sited between them.
Powered by the automatic caliber MB R200, Montblanc’s first in-house produced movement, it features twin barrels and a black oscillating weight with ‘clous de Paris’ decoration – a further homage to the City of Light. The date and hour hand for the second time zone can be rapidly set for the convenience of the regular traveller.
Tracing the roots of the collection, it depicts an historic horse race scene inspired by a 19th century drawing of jockeys and their horses approaching the finish line of the Champ de Mars race track in Paris. This was the very race track at which Nicolas Rieussec set up his inking chronograph to record the precise times of the horses as they crossed the finish line on Saturday 1st September 1821.
Montblanc and ELA hope that this one-of-a-kind piece will catch the eye of discerning collectors so that the important work of the association can continue to reach even more patients and their families in the years to come.
The Montblanc Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph
The original idea for the Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec chronograph was based on the precise timing system that Rieussec, the sixth royal watchmaker to the Kings of France, invented and applied to the scientific recording of horse races. Big business at the time, Rieussec’s system was a game changer for the sport.
Nicolas Rieussec’s device worked by using a fixed nib that would 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 Sciences in Paris, whose members were fascinated by the timing device and named it a “Chronograph”, taken from the Greek word ‘Chronos’ for time and ‘graphein’ to write. The word ‘Chronograph’ was thus born and Nicolas Rieussec became the inventor of the world’s first inking chronograph, a milestone in the history of watchmaking.
Montblanc has taken direct inspiration from Rieussec’s inking chronograph in the design of the Star Legacy wristwatch that bears his name. In addition to being a dual time watch – able to show the time in two time zones via the additional skeleton hour hand in conjunction with a day and night indicator, the chronograph registers for the elapsed 30-minutes and 60-minutes operate in a unique way. Instead of each register having a separate hand, in the Nicolas Rieussec chronograph the registers themselves actually rotate, the timings being read from a fixed double-ended hand sited between them.
Powered by the automatic caliber MB R200, Montblanc’s first in-house produced movement, it features twin barrels and a black oscillating weight with ‘clous de Paris’ decoration – a further homage to the City of Light. The date and hour hand for the second time zone can be rapidly set for the convenience of the regular traveller.