Montblanc Unveils $156,000 Star Legacy Exo Tourbillion Skeleton Watch

This six-figure stunner is limited to just eight pieces.

There’s a certain set of luxury watches — especially any timepiece from revered brand Montblanc — that quite literally ascends to new heights, including the astounding new Montblanc Star Legacy Exo Tourbillion Skeleton, the sort of watch that’ll set you back more than 150 grand.

Only eight of the remarkable new timepiece are available, so consider yourself very fortunate if you can get your hands on perhaps the only watch on the market that pays homage to the first ascent of Mont Blanc Mountain in 1786.

The extraordinary timepiece is defined by a new movement architecture, plus one of the more intricate dial designs to be found in the world of watchmaking today.

The watch tells the story of the 1786 ascent by hunter and gold seeker Jacques Balmat and doctor (and mineral enthusiast) Michel-Gabriel Paccard, both pursuing a prize offered by naturalist Horace-Bénédict De Saussure (who later returned to the summit with the duo).

The Mont Blanc peak itself sits within the 12-o’clock sub dial, while Balmat is depicted in an 18-karat white gold engraving to the left of the dial. On the right, the dangerous and mythical wyvern creature — believed to prevent climbers from ascending the peak — is depicted in striking fashion.

The watch is also defined largely by its extremely precise and next-level design — the Exo Tourbillon complication, featuring a large balance wheel, is actually raised above the dial, creating a floating effect.

It’s but one feature of the watch that defies convention and requires a closer look, among many of its striking features.

The watch sits handsomely on a contrasting textured blue leather strap, and the entire dial design has been fashioned as carefully as possible to showcase 420 delicately hand-polished inner angles.

Montblanc fittingly calls this already-legendary timepiece a “a celebration of the courage it takes to advance into unchartered territory in the search of beauty in all its forms,” — few timepieces tell stories like this one within one watch dial.

That sounds like it’s more than worth its $156K price tag, but again, only eight are up for grabs — act accordingly.