DISCERNING TRAVELLER

PORTUGUESE EXPLORER VASCO DA GAMA’S DISCOVERY OF AN OCEAN ROUTE FROM PORTUGAL TO THE EAST WAS SIGNIFICANT IN CONNECTING PEOPLE LIVING IN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES. THE EXPEDITION WAS THE LONGEST OCEAN VOYAGE EVER MADE UNTIL THEN, LONGER THAN A FULL VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD BY WAY OF THE EQUATOR. THIS YEAR, MONTBLANC PAYS TRIBUTE TO DA GAMA’S AMAZING ACHIEVEMENTS WITH THE MONTBLANC COLLECTION VILLERET TOURBILLON CYLINDRIQUE GEOSPHÈRES VASCO DA GAMA. THE WATCH IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT DISPLAYS THREE TIME ZONES. THE FIRST, LOCAL TIME, IS DISPLAYED VIA REGULAR HANDS; THE SECOND, HOME TIME, IS DISPLAYED ON A THREE-DIMENSIONAL 12-HOUR COMPASS ROSE AT 6 O’CLOCK; AND THE THIRD, THE WORLD’S 24 TIME ZONES AS DEPICTED BY TWO GLOBES REPRESENTING THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES. APART FROM THE WORKMANSHIP, WHAT IMPRESSES ARE THE NUMEROUS SUPPORT FUNCTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THIS TIMEPIECE—A ONE-MINUTE TOURBILLON AT 12 O’CLOCK, THE COMPASS ROSE (HOME TIME) CONTINUALLY RUNNING AND INDEPENDENTLY ADJUSTABLE, AND THE TWO GLOBES DISPLAYING THE PASSAGE OF TIME, WHICH RECALLS THE SEA ROUTE THAT DA GAMA SAILED IN 1497.