Montblanc Star Classique Date Automatic

First unveiled in 2012, Montblanc’s Star Classique Date Automatic collection combines the very best of Montblanc’s pure and refined watchmaking aesthetic with the essential in horological functions—hours, minutes, seconds and a date. This year, the Maison welcomes two new models—in steel or two-tone steel and rose gold—endowed with traditional flinqué guilloché dials, bringing one of the most appreciated and respected decorative arts to the collection.

Dating back to the 15th century, guilloché is a decorative engraving technique that produces intersecting wavy or straight lines onto the surface of a material with the utmost precision. The process was first used on wood and ivory before being adapted to watchmaking in the 18th century, using engine-turning machines to engrave the surfaces of silver and gold watch dials. The possibilities for guilloché patterns are endless, although designs such as the wavy flinqué motif, the Clous de Paris with its tiny pyramidal shapes, and the soleil pattern with its lines that resemble rays of sunshine, have been favourites of Swiss watchmakers for over two centuries.

Montblanc has adorned a number of its collections with guilloché designs, such as the Villeret Metamorphosis II with its Clous de Paris decoration, and the Star 4810 collection with its exclusive undulating star motif. For the latest additions to the Star Classique Date Automatic collection, the Swiss watchmaker has created silver-coloured flinqué guilloché dials with wavy patterns that radiate out from the centre of the dial. This mesmerising rippled effect is accentuated by the slimmest case in Montblanc’s collection and a narrow bezel that opens the dial up for maximum effect. True to the style of traditional Swiss timekeeping, the dial features elegant red gold plated hands and a date at three o’clock, providing excellent readability at a simple glance.

An expert eye will spot that the indexes and Arabic numerals are slightly thinner and smaller in these two new models for a more elegant look that better complements the flinqué guilloche dial. With its slightly curved lugs that follow the contour of the wrist, the Star Classique Date Automatic collection is not only graceful on the wrist, but is also extremely comfortable too.