A Closer Look At Montblanc’s Star Legacy Full Calendar Watches With New Movement

 

By Nancy Olson

Ease is the name of the game with Montblanc’s new Star Legacy Full Calendar, whose design employs two correctors rather than the previous four, making it more user-friendly when setting and adjusting. So, too, the watch presents hours, minutes, and seconds, along with the day, date, month, and moon phase in an updated, easy-to-read display. The three just-introduced timepieces shown here are 42mm, each with a perfectly polished steel case. Each houses an all-new mechanical movement, the Caliber MB 24.30.

Montblanc’s full calendar is among its best-selling watch complications, according to the company. And here it borrows some of the elements from historical Minerva pocket watches from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, with details rooted in 165 years of Minerva heritage. You’ll recognize the Star Legacy cues, such as the railway track with dots, filet sauté guilloche on the periphery of the dial, the date hand with a red half-moon tip, and the Montblanc emblem on the counterweight of the second hand. Like other watches in the Star Legacy collection, traditional craftsmanship and modern technology meet on equal ground.

The Watches

The timepieces are powered by the new Montblanc Caliber MB 24.30, which offers about 50 hours of power reserve. The automatic movement beats at 28,800 A/h (4Hz), and its functions include central hours, minutes, and seconds, as well as a full calendar with a central hand for the date. The day and month windows are at 12 o’clock, and the newly widened moon-phase aperture is at 6 o’clock. The movement is visible via the sapphire crystal at the center of the steel caseback, while a domed scratch-resistant crystal with anti-reflective coating is on the dial side. The crown is stainless steel, decorated with the well-known Montblanc emblem. The watches are water resistant to 50 meters.

 

Two of the three models feature black Roman numerals and blued steel leaf-shaped hands on a silver-white dial, while the third reference is embellished with rose gold-coated Arabic numerals and matching leaf-shaped hands, also on a silver-white dial. A stainless steel bracelet or a softly shaded blue sfumato alligator leather strap with a semi-matte finish and a stainless steel triple folding clasp are available.

 

Final Thoughts

I love calendar watches, and I like the updates on the recently released Montblanc Star Legacy Full Calendar—particularly the widened moon phase aperture and the updated day and month apertures. The move from four pushers to two gives the watch a sleeker look, I think, and the simplified setting and adjustment are a plus. At 42mm, this is a very wearable watch from a timepiece family with some history, intent on making regular tweaks to stay relevant in an ever-changing timepiece landscape. It is priced at $4,900.