The Montblanc Star Legacy Green Exploding Star Automatic Date and Chronograph Day-Date

In 1997, Montblanc launched its first watch collection, influenced, as you might expect, by its famous writing instruments. The Star Legacy collection, launched in 1997, featured the brand’s famous white star logo on the crown. Introduced in 1913, the logo gracing the caps of its fountain pens that looks like a star is, in fact, a stylised representation of a bird’s eye view of the snow-capped peak of Mont Blanc and its six glaciers. Following the two limited edition models released last year with blue dials, Montblanc proposes an Automatic Date and a Chronograph Day & Date with lively green guilloché-style dials.

The pebble-shaped 43mm stainless steel case and onion crowns shared by both models are inspired by Minerva pocket watches from the late 19^th and early 20^th century. The large 43mm case size, introduced in 2020, is coupled with a height of 11mm for the Automatic Date and 14.76mm for the Chronograph. The case is decorated with polished top surfaces and satin-brushed flanks, and the lugs have an elegant, stepped profile. A domed sapphire crystal protects the dial, the caseback has a sapphire crystal viewing pane, and both models are water-resistant to 50 metres. Befitting the collection’s name, the onion crown is embellished with the white Montblanc star-shaped logo.

The new green dials feature the star-shaped representation of the Mont Blanc emanating in a succession of swirling grooves from the lower half of the dial. Although the word ‘guilloché’ is mentioned, the mesmerising exploding star pattern is produced using a special stamping process. The large Roman numerals are rhodium-plated and treated with Super-LumiNova, matching the sword-shaped hands. The sloping sunray-brushed flange with the precision minutes/seconds track has white markers, a discreet touch of orange every fifteen minutes and small luminescent dots highlighting the hour markers.

The more straightforward  Automatic has a date window at 3 o’clock with a green background. While Minerva’s historical pocket watches might have inspired the cases, Sellita provides the automatic movements powering both models. Powered by calibre MB 24.17 (Sellita SW200-1), this automatic movement beats at 28,800vph and delivers a relatively modest power reserve of 38 hours.

In addition to the 12-hour and 30-minute totalisers of the Chronograph reference, this model also comes with a large day & date display in a rectangular aperture at 3 o’clock with a green background. A nice detail is the Montblanc exploding star featured inside the small seconds at 9 o’clock. Contrasting with the swirling pattern of the dial, the three sub-dials have smooth sunray-brushed interiors and scales. The automatic calibre MB 25.07 (Sellita SW500-1) beats at 28,800vph and has a slightly higher power reserve of 42 hours.

Both models have colour-matching green calfskin leather straps with an embossed alligator print and a steel triple-folding clasp. They are also available with an interchangeable steel bracelet.

Availability & Price

The Montblanc Star Legacy Green Exploding Star Automatic Date and Chronograph Day-Date are limited editions of 800 pieces. The time-and-date model retails for CHF 3,150, and the chronograph for CHF 4,705. For more information, please consult Montblanc.com.