Montblanc launched a technically unusual watch- Villeret ExoTourbillon Rattrapante.This isn’t a completely new watch, it unveiled in 2013.

The Montblanc Villeret ExoTourbillon Rattrapante, as show, in 18k white gold; 47 mm x 17.5 mm. Movement, Montblanc manufacture caliber 16.61, 38.4 mm x 11.9 mm. Split seconds monopusher chronograph with two column wheels, and second time zone indication. Cageless “exotourbillon” with 14.5 mm balance, four minute rotation; balance spring with mathematically correct Philips terminal curve. All plates and bridges of maillechort . Power reserve approximately 55 hours. 18 pieces worldwide; price available from Montblanc on request. The ExoTourbillon Rattrapante is, like the Montblanc Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco da Gama, built around a pocket watch scale movement; it’s a quite large wristwatch, with a 47 mm diameter, 17.5 mm thick case. The balance is the same size as that on the Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco da Gama: 14.5 mm, and the beat rate is the same . The name of the watch raises two questions, of course-what is a rattrapante chronograpgh,and what is an “ExoTourbillon.”
The ExoTourbillon is so-called because there is no traditional tourbillon cage in the construction of the watch. Normally, a tourbillon consists of a rotating cage, inside which the escape wheel, escapement, balance, and balance spring all rotate together; as most of us know, the tourbillon was originally invented by Breguet and patented by him in 1801 and its purpose was to negate the deleterious effects of gravity on the accuracy of a watch . The single biggest problem with a tourbillon, however, is that the gear train, instead of just making the balance oscillate, now has to generate enough power to make the entire cage assembly and all its components move as well; this is a huge additional load and to cope with it, the tourbillon historically had to be constructed to very high standards of precision in order to reduce energy losses due to friction to an absolute minimum.The ExoTourbillon Rattrapante also has a dual time-zone function; you can see the pusher for adjusting the second time zone indication at 8:00. And, as the sharp-eyed amongst you have probably noticed, this is a monopusher rattrapante chronograph as well – the start/stop/reset button is co-axial with the winding/setting crown, with the split-seconds button at 2:00.

As with the Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco da Gama, this is obviously a major horological showpiece, not an every-day wearer. At the same time, though, it is for its size quite comfortable on the wrist, and it shares the same generally approachable ergonomics of the Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco da Gama in terms of wearability. It’s perhaps a bit less overtly dramatic but it’s got a tremendous amount of visual punch of its own, with a creamily beautiful gold and grand feu enamel dial. And the view through the case-back of the movement is one of the most breathtaking we’ve seen in a long, long time.

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