Montblanc has announced the establishment of Minerva as a separate brand under the Montblanc umbrella, with Minerva watches only bearing the Minerva logo going forward. Minerva, which is a high-end, hand-finished Swiss haute horlogy brand founded in 1858 in the village of Villeret, Switzerland, was acquired by Richemont, the parent organisation that owns Montblanc, in 2006. It was later assigned to Montblanc in a bid to build the brand's haute horology expertise and offerings. So far, the high-end watches made at the Minerva manufacture have borne both 'Montblanc' and 'Minerva' names.
"Montblanc is establishing Minerva as a distinct entity within the Montblanc Maison. This step reflects strong collector interest and the historic legitimacy of the Minerva manufacture, allowing it to further express its identity as a haute horlogerie specialist alongside Montblanc Watches," stated Montblanc in a press statement. The announcement comes just ahead of Watches and Wonders 2026, where Montblanc has refrained from participating this year.
Along with this news, Montblanc also unveiled its first set of the new Minerva timepieces - four watches that only bear the Minerva name.
Minerva The Unveiled Chronograph Limited Edition 30
Montblanc’s Minerva manufacture is synonymous with the highest level of horology seen in superlative mechanisms and limited edition pieces. A crowning glory is The Unveiled Chronograph, where watchmakers at the Minerva manufacture were able to reverse-mount a chronograph movement that spun clockwise, expose the bridges, levers and gears, and create an open-worked sapphire dial exposing all the components with superlative finishing. The timepiece was first introduced in 2023, and in the new watch, the brand has launched a version (Ref. 136352 ) where the rear-mounted plates, as well as the signature V-shaped bridge up top, are coated in a rich brown colour. This helps create a greater visual contrast against the gold.
The 43mm gold watch has an open-worked sapphire dial reduced to an outer ring, on which sit the luminescent yellow gold hour markers. At 9 o'clock is the small seconds hand in yellow gold with a small arrow tip, while the central cathedral hour hand, syringe minute hands, and chronograph seconds-hand are mounted on the main arbor, which extends up through the top-mounted V-shaped bridge in brown, which also features the names 'Minerva' and 'Villeret'. At the 3 o'clock position is the 30-minute open ring, its hand in the shape of Minerva's arrow. The Minerva fluted bezel maintains the design language of the line, while the five sapphire windows across the case middle provide a deep view into the workings of the mechanism, the Calibre M17.26 composed of 291 individual parts. This is a monopusher chronograph, which means that the pusher integrated into the crown at 3 is used to start, stop and reset the stopwatch. The caseback is in solid 18K yellow gold and displays a special laser engraving of the Minerva manufacture in Villeret, Switzerland.
Minerva The Unveiled Crownless
Minerva’s other crowning glory, the crownless mechanism, where instead of the traditional crown both winding and time-setting happens via the signature fluted bezel, has now been introduced in the Minerva The Unveiled Crownless (Ref. 137544), a time-only watch. The bezel can be unlocked by a lever on the back, which also switches its function between winding and time-setting. The mechanism is powered by the newly developed Calibre M15.08, an in-house, manually wound movement with a small seconds offering 80-hours of power reserve.
Housed in a 41.5 mm stainless steel and 18K rose gold case, the watch takes vintage cues from mid-century Minerva timepieces. The dial features guilloché, opaline textures, and rose-gold accents. There are large dauphine-shaped hands and applied markers, and a vintage 'Minerva' logo at 12. The watch comes on a green alligator strap.
Minerva The Unveiled Secret Limited Editions 18 and 58
The brand has also unveiled a new case size and colour palette in The Unveiled Secret, presented in a more compact 39mm case and in a wine-red aesthetic. The reduced proportions mean a reworking of its open-worked monopusher chronograph, resulting in an entirely new patented calibre, the Calibre M13.26. Offered in two limited editions—one in 18K rose gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds (Ref. 136384, 18 pieces), and another in a two-tone combination of steel and rose gold (Ref. 136354, 58 pieces)—the watch has a skeletonised dial, luminescent hands and Minerva’s signature arrow-tipped chronograph indicator.
The watch continues to be a visual spectacle, showcasing hand-finished bridges, a free-sprung balance, and the iconic V-shaped chronograph architecture. The calibre has a 60-hour power reserve and the caseback pays tribute to the manufacture’s heritage in Villeret.
Images: Courtesy brand
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