Montblanc

Starting with the practical, here is a brief overview of the 4810 Dual Time.

Montblanc 4810 Dual Time

The 4810 Dual Time is the first Montblanc dual time watch in the 4810 line, featuring its in-house dual time complication. The home time indication is done through a skeletonised, heat blued regatta hand, and is so well differentiated from the rose gold plated and superluminova filled hour and minute hands. While dressier pieces do not regualrly feature lume, I find it to be a useful addition, if applied tastefully, like here. 

Futhermore the watch comes with a 24h subdial at 12, which shows the home time in a 24h format, as well as featuring a day / night indication and is linked to the main home time hand, a small seconds subdial at 6 o'clock and the date at 3 o'clock.


From: Montblanc

The watch carries over the 4810 design codes, such as the form of the stainless steel case (42mm in this application), the silvery / white guilloche dial with the exploding Montblanc logo design or the red gold plated roman numerals for the even hours and hour indices for the odd ones. The odd hour indeces also come with lume dots at their outer ends for better legibility in low light conditions. Outside of this is a minute ring, featuring 10 minute markers, the full hour one being done in red, as a highlight.


From: Montblanc

Montbanc 4810 Dual Time Verdict

The dual time is a very useful addition to the 4810 line. It carries over the relatively classic design codes of the collection - these can be said to be typically Montblanc in the meantime - and adds a very useful complication for the frequent traveller in the form of the dual time. Once the home time is set, the second time zone - as expected - is easy and convenient in that it does not stop the movement but only advances the local time hour hand. 

The combination of a stainless steel case with the red gold indices is likely a feature for those who try to fit a watch with as many outfits as possible (not a typical PuristS trait, I guess) and the overall design is likely to work with most outfits, too - even if it is on the more formal side. The 50m water resistance will ensure a reasonable level of robustness, even if I cannot see anyone actually taking a croc strap watch swimming. Still, with the very broad strap choice offered by the Montblanc and the easy change mechanism they use, the watch would at least offer the option (you will at least not suffer any heart-in-mouth moments if caught in a rain shower, or if travelling to humid environments).

The lug design is also helpful in masking the size somewhat and I could easily imagine that quite some of the wearers will not be the original owners but their better halves.

All in all, a very useful and practical addition to the line. 

Montblanc 4810 Dual Time - Specifications Ref. 114857

Movement                       Calibre MB 29.19 with Manufacture complication

Type of movement          Mechanical movement with automatic winding mechanism, second timezone and day & night display

Number of rubies           34

Power reserve                Approx. 42 hours

Balance                          Flat hoop

Frequency                      28,800 A/h (4 Hz)

Hairspring                      Flat

Displays                         Hours and minutes from the center

                                        Small seconds at 6 o’clock

 Second timezone from the center, as well as at 12 o’clock with a 24 hour time display and a day & night display

 Date at 3 o’clock

 

Habillage

Case                             Stainless steel case

Crystal                          Scratch-resistant, domed sapphire crystal with antireflective coating

Back                             Stainless steel with inset pane of sapphire crystal

Dimensions                  Diameter=42 mm; height=12.04 mm

Watertightness              5 bar

Crown                           Stainless steel with inlaid Montblanc emblem

Dial                               Silvery-white dial, with a guilloche exploding Montblanc logo, red gold roman numerals and hour indices, red gold regatta hour and minute hands with superluminova, skeletonized heat blued steel regatta hand for the second timezone,  

Wristband                       Black alligator-skin strap with stainless steel triple folding clasp

From: Montblanc

Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim

Making the transition from the practical, everyday watch to something more romantic - the 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim. An earlier version of the watch has already been covered by amanico (here: www.watchprosite.com ) and the current two models are additional variations. 

These now come in a white gold version with an aventurine dial and a red gold version with a guilloche dial and a diamond set bezel. 

Common to both is the MB29.24 (and MB29.21) movement - an in-house one minute tourbillon with a micro-rotor automatic winding mechanism. The Exo - i.e. outside - simply means that the balance is mounted outside of the tourbillon cage. The advantages of this arrangement are twofold - first of all the weight of the tourbillon cage is not burdening the balance wheel and secondly the light weight of the cage helps with isochronism. And the 18 screws of the balance wheel - 4 adjustable and 14 fixed - also give the movement a classical appearance. 

At 48h the power reserve is reasonable, even if not fully 'weekend off the wrist' proof. Overall one has to say that Montblanc managed to design a well balanced, fairly thin tourbillon movement (4,5mm). The only potential downside being the quite large mainplate hiding most of the movement from the wearer / observer. 

The movement also features a second stop, for precise time setting. The 29.21 version in the red gold model additionally displays the crown position (winding / setting) on the dial side.

From: Montblanc

Red gold model

As reported recently, many watch manfuacturers (re-)introduced diamonds as a visible feature of male watches. Montblanc is no exception here, offering the red gold model of the 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim with a diamond set bezel (68 diamonds with a total weight of 1,326 carat). In addition, the roman XII hour marker is also set with 18 diamonds.

The red gold case comes with a satinated finish and features straight lugs on the top - they are gently rounded on the bottom for a better fit on the wrist. Like on the 4810 Dual Time, the upper part o the dial is a silvery white guilloche with an exploding Montblanc logo design, while the lower part is finished with vertical Geneva Stripes, surrounding the tourbillon. 

The watch also comes with rose gold plated and lume filled regatta hour and minute hands and a minute ring with the 60 being red.

White gold model

While diamonds are still not a universal choice, it will be much harder to argue (for most of us) against the white gold, aventurine dial version. The dial is definitely one of the highlights, giving a perfect impression of a star studded sky, and as a result imbuing the watch with something inherently romantic - in my humble opinion at least. The lower part of the dial is similar to the red gold version, in that it is formed by vertical Geneva stripes surrounding the tourbillon.

Unlike the red gold version, the roman numeral XII, the regatta hands and the tourbillon bridge are rhodium plated and the hands are skeletonised and lume free in this variant. The case is satin finished and the lug design the same.

From: Montblanc

Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim Verdict

The two new, additional versions of the 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim definitely expand the range, even if they will by far lack the spread and volume of the Dual Time. The red gold model has the more classical, Montblanc specific dial but will probably still remain an acquired taste in some areas, where men remain cagey about displaying diamonds on their watches. At the same time the slim case - at just over 10mm height - and the lug design may appeal to female wearers, in spite of its relatively large 42mm diameter. Even if you are bold enough to pull it off, it is likely to remain the less common choice. 

The white gold model with the aventurine dial I can see having the broader appeal. The slim design and wearable case, combined with the more subdued material and the mesmerising blue aventurine dial are likely to draw in quite a few. The model successfully bridges the gap between the lower range regular Montblanc offerings and the top of the range Villeret collection and is a good stepping stone from the one to the other. The only question that remains for me is if Montblanc is likely to offer an aventurine dial in other models of its collection, too...

Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim - Specs (for the white gold model) Ref. 116525

Movement                         Montblanc Manufacture Calibre MB 29.24

Type of movement          Mechanical movement with automatic winding mechanism, 1 minute ExoTourbillon with a seconds stop and a micro-rotor

Dimensions                       Diameter=30,6 mm; Height=4,5 mm

Number of parts              202

Number of rubies            29

Power reserve                  Approx. 48 hours

Balance                              Flat hoop

Frequency                         21,600 A/h (3 Hz)

Hairspring                        Flat

Mainplate                         Rhodium plated with Geneva Stripes

Bridges                             Rhodium plated with Geneva Stripes

Displays                            Hours and minutes from the center

                                         Patented 1 Minute Tourbillon at 6 o’clock, with a rhodium plated tourbillon bridge

 

Habillage

Case                                 18k white gold case, with a satin brushed middle section

Crystal                              Scratch-resistant, domed sapphire crystal with antireflective coating

Back                                 18k white gold with inset pane of sapphire crystal

Dimensions                      Diameter=42 mm; height=10.14 mm

Watertightness                5 bar

Crown                              18k white gold with inlaid mother of pearl Montblanc emblem

Dial                                   Upper part from blue aventurine, lower part with vertical Geneva Stripes, rhodium-plated roman XII and rhodium-plated hour and minute regatta hands

Wristband                         Black alligator-skin strap with 18k white gold pin clasp

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