Montblanc unveils a brand-new Manufacture movement inspired by the historical Minerva Pythagore calibre 48 created in the 1940s. With the Montblanc Heritage Pythagore Small Second Limited Edition 148, Montblanc takes the best vintage cues from Minerva’s rich past to create timepieces for today. Two models in 18 K rose or white gold are being unveiled with new distinctive colour dials. They feature the Minerva secret signature and are equipped with the new Manufacture calibre MB M14.08 with geometrical shapes that recall the historical Pythagore movement.
 |
Minerva did not only make chronographs. In the 1940s, Andrey Frey, owner and watch engineer of the Manufacture at the time, designed a remarkable modern movement, the calibre 48 that was used in the Pythagore. The idea was to position the bridges using mathematical proportions defined by the Golden Section (φ = 1.618...). This discovery is attributed to Pythagoras, who studied the mathematics of natural beauty to recreate harmonious aesthetics. This distinctive calibre was appreciated for its straight lines and geometrical angles and was the height of contemporary design in its day, equipping Minerva watches for many years.
 |
Taking inspiration from the shape of the original movement and meticulously following the Golden Section theorem, Montblanc’s engineers developed a brand-new Manufacture Calibre MB M14.08. They first defined the movement diameter (14 lines) so it could contain a golden pentagon (A-B-C-D-E-A), in which a five-point branch star was obtained via the intersection of golden triangles. Then the four bridges of the movement were positioned to be parallel to the section (e.g. AB or EC, and DC or EB). Furthermore, other dimensions were calculated to be multiples or fractions of the golden number φ (see below the calculations and technical drawing).
 |
