It took a year and a half to produce a three-dimensional skeleton version of the movement. The Montblanc Star Legacy Exo Tourbillon Skeleton LE8 has come such a long way, repurposing the brand's in-house produced Exo Tourbillon cage.
Exo is derived from the Greek exō, meaning outside or external, a reference to the large balance wheel with screws positioned outside the tourbillon's rotating cage.
Watchmakers at Montblanc's Villeret watchmaking facility spread the 188 parts over several planes in the MB M18.69 caliber, creating a multi-dimensional structure enclosed in a 44 mm rose-gold case. Watchers will marvel at the aesthetic beauty of the piece when examining the details: all the components of the caliber are hand-finished. That includes the 420 inner angles, which took watchmakers over two weeks of work to polish.
The new watch is part of Montblanc's Star Legacy collection, inspired by the brand's extraordinary Minerva heritage. That is why they are paying tribute to the traditional crafts used by the company, whose history dates back to 1858. This can be seen in other details, not just the design of the caliber. Other hallmarks include the classic Grand Feu enamel dial and the brown Sfumato alligator leather strap (from the Italian word sfumare, meaning to tone down or to evaporate like smoke), made by artisans at their own Montblanc Pelletteria leather goods atelier in Florence.
A masterpiece combining classical watchmaking techniques with modern advancements in building movements is something that cannot be mass-produced. The Montblanc Star Legacy Exo Tourbillon Skeleton LE8 is a collection of 8 limited edition pieces.