To discover the origins of the Vintage Pulsographe, one must look back through the unbroken 153-year history of the Minerva Manufacture to the 1930s, when wristwatch chronographs first flourished. Having already established itself as an internationally renowned chronograph specialist, Minerva miniaturised and encased its movements in mechanical wristwatch chronographs that, characteristically for that period, featured dials marked with specially calibrated scales for various kinds of timekeeping. Recalling this grand era, the new Vintage Pulsographe pays homage to the Minerva Pulsometer chronograph introduced in 1928. Its enamel dial bears a pulse scale, a special feature which was particularly popular among physicians and led to the name “doctor’s watches” and which is inspired by the original design. This specialised chronograph streamlined the process of taking a patient’s pulse. Perfectly proportioned for the elegant case size of 39.5 mm, the chronograph calibre MB M13.21 used in the Vintage Pulsographe is crafted according to traditional Manufacture methods. Through only 29.5 mm in diameter, it still features all the attributes of classic chronograph mechanisms such as column wheel control and horizontal wheel coupling. The same uncompromising craftsmanship is evident in the dial which, like all watch faces in the Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858, is made from solid gold. For the Vintage Pulsographe, the dial is further refined by a traditional Grand Feu enamel coating for a gleaming finish that loses none of its intensity through the decades – another reference to the original model. The Vintage Pulsographe is limited to 58 pieces each in red gold and white gold, marking the year that the Minerva Manufacture was first established – 1858.
