The Heritage Pythagore Small Second Limited Edition 148 pays tribute to the Minerva calibre No. 48, developed and produced in the manufacture in Villeret in 1948. In its day, the movement was the height of contemporary design, pushing the boundaries of watchmaking’s aesthetical rules with its straight lines and geometrical angles that followed the Pythagorean theorem and the golden ratio.

Taking inspiration from the original movement and meticulously following the golden ratio principle, Montblanc engineers have developed the Manufacture Calibre MB M14.08, with distinctive geometrical shapes and straight lines. They first defined the movement diameter of 31.6 mm in order to fit into a modern size case with enough room to apply the golden pentagon, in which a five-point branch star is obtained via the intersection of golden triangles.

This limited edition, with its patented manufacture complication designed by Montblanc engineers in Villeret, is one of the most readable and easy-to-use perpetual calendars ever created. 

The timepiece indicates the hours, minutes, day, date, month, moonphase, and leap year in a very legible way thanks to its large counters at 3, 6, and 9. But while it may be simple on the outside, there is incredible complexity beneath the surface. The perpetual calendar complication alone required three years to develop and makes up 259 of the 378 parts of the calibre MB 29.22. Unlike most perpetual calendars, which make use of levers, the MB 29.22 is composed solely of multiple wheels and cams. The date can be adjusted easily, via the crown in both directions, and the highly precise astronomical moonphase complication only needs to be adjusted by one day every 122 years.