Lot 349

Minerva

Flieger Chronograph

A large, historic single-button chronograph wristwatch in a contemporary 46 mm steel case

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At the end of the year 2000 the Italian investor Emilio Gnutti acquired the Minerva manufactury, which had been founded by Charles-Yvan and Hippolite Robert and been owned by the Frey family since 1935. This meant the new owner also automatically acquired all rights on any calibres ever developed, all spare parts and all existing timepieces as well as existing historical movements, which were then fitted in new cases and presented as "aviation chronograph Minerva". The plan was to give the Minerva brand an image as prestigious as that of the brands Patek Philippe, Lange & Söhne or Breguet and a range of supreme quality timepieces was launched. In 2006 Minerva was taken over by the Richemont Group and integrated into Montblanc as a manufacturer of high-quality chonograph movements.