Climbing Higher: Montblanc Honors Reinhold Messner with a Special Edition of the 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen Chronograph

Reinhold Messner, born in 1944 in the mountainous region of South Tyrol in northern Italy, is considered one of the greatest high-altitude climbers in the world. His achievements have shaped extreme alpine sports to this day and inspired many to follow in his footsteps. He was not only the first to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, but his route to reach the famous “Seven Summits” became known as the “Messner List” in mountaineering history. Along with Peter Habeler, he was the first to scale Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen and the first person to climb the world’s highest peak solo without additional oxygen. Among his other accomplishments are skiing across the entire Antarctic continent, hiking across Greenland, and a solo trek through the Gobi Desert.

To honor some of these incredible facets of a life marked by extreme challenges, Montblanc has created the 1858 Geosphere Chronograph 0 Oxygen The 8000 Limited Edition to celebrate his 80th birthday. The production is limited to 290 pieces, a nod to the height of the world’s highest mountain, which Messner has climbed several times, standing at 29,031 feet.

The 1858 Geosphere Chronograph 0 Oxygen The 8000 Limited Edition features a lightweight 44mm case made of polished titanium and a bi-directional rotating bezel crafted from satin-finished black ceramic with compass markings. Titanium is a favored material in mountaineering due to its light weight, as every gram counts in equipment. The red dial with a glacier pattern in “sfumato” style is reminiscent of the red ice in Antarctica, which has remained frozen in a twisted web of crystals for thousands of years. A special technique called “gratté-boisé” is used for the manual finishing of the surface. Sfumato is an ancient Italian technique where shades and colors blend slowly into each other, creating soft, blurred contours and shapes. The use of the sfumato technique references the visual effect that occurs when looking at mountains from a great distance.

The “0 Oxygen” part of the model’s name refers to an innovative technology where the movement is encased in a nitrogen atmosphere, eliminating any oxygen inside the finished watch. This prevents fogging during extreme temperature fluctuations, such as when diving to great depths, and also slows the oxidation of internal metal components and the aging of oils. Without oxygen, all components have a longer lifespan and maintain consistent precision. Montblanc’s watchmakers chose not only an oxygen-free environment for assembly but also a special oil that functions flawlessly even at minus 50 degrees Celsius. The accuracy of a watch movement depends on the lubrication of its individual parts, especially under extreme temperatures. Thanks to these oils, the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere Chronograph 0 Oxygen is reliable even in the harshest conditions.

Inside the watch beats the automatic in-house caliber MB 29.27 with a world-time complication. The chronograph features a central seconds hand, a minute counter in the sub-dial at 3 o’clock, and an hour counter at 9 o’clock. The start-stop pusher is located at 2 o’clock, and the reset pusher at 4 o’clock. The chronograph also includes a world time function with rotating northern and southern hemispheres, a 24-hour scale, a day and night indicator, and a date window.

The case back features a richly colored engraving of K2, the world’s second-highest peak. The motif is based on a photograph Messner took during his first ascent in 1979. For the mountaineer, K2 is the most beautiful of all 14 peaks, and on that day, the weather was so perfect that he could see 200 kilometers away. The striking resemblance to the original photo is achieved through a laser-supported oxidation process that creates a three-dimensional relief, with matte and polished areas adding extra contrast to the metal.

The timepiece is fitted with an interchangeable black textile strap with a touch of red stitching that recalls the wonders of the rare red glaciers.

To learn more, visit Montblanc, here.