Montblanc

With the debut of the TimeWalker Collection in 2004, Montblanc launched a new family of watches and simultaneously defined a new design vocabulary.

The Extreme Chronograph´s DLC (regular and special edition; the two watches above on the left) features include architectonic lines, 43-millimetre case, narrow bezel and elegantly skeletonised horns, plus a large, planar dial with Arabic numerals in a distinctive, clearly contoured typography and characteristic lancet-shaped hands. This innovative look, lost none of its appeal during the preceding decade, combining masculine technology with sporty elegance and has made the TimeWalker line one of Montblanc’s most successful watch collections. Now Montblanc kicks off the second decade of this iconographic watch line with the presentation of the new TimeWalker Extreme Chronograph DLC.

We haven´t seen the two watches in the metal and therefore we won´t go in further details. Just one more note, the strap is very smooth and tough at the same time. It deserves special attention because of the complexity of its material combination and manufacturing process. The strap’s inlay is made of black “Vulcarboné” cautchouc which gives the wristband extreme strength and flexibility. Breakage-resistant twine in a colour that matches the leather’s hue is used to sew the cowhide to the upper surface of the rubber “soul”. A laborious process textures the leather and simultaneously impregnates it with a treatment that doesn’t merely coat the leather, but conjoins with it and increases its structural strength – this innovative leather treatment leads to high-performance material with special shielding properties providing extra protection for the leather against abrasion, water, and fire.

The new star of the TimeWalker Collection is the Chronograph 100.

A manually wound monopusher (column-wheel) chronograph with a balance wheel for the time indication (18.000 vibrations per hour) and a balance wheel for the chronograph (360.000 vibrations per hour). The monopusher and the column-wheel are at (more or less) 12 o´clock and the latter is shown on the front side.

The tripartite case combines various materials that are commonly used in auto racing and that accentuate the innovative character of the movement. The titanium steel bezel is coated with a layer of extremely scratch-resistant DLC (diamond-like carbon). The screwed back is crafted from titanium and bears an inset pane of sapphire crystal.

The transparent dial in sapphire crystal reveals a view of the hand finished Manufacture caliber. The case back, inset with a sapphire crystal glass and the carbon-coated case middle are both made of titanium. The stainless steel bezel has an extremely resistant DLC coating.

Still not impressed? Well, what you can see here is a serious high frequency protagonist which you won´t find that often and especially not with the same level of finishing.

One movement - two hearts.

For a watch to measure intervals with 100th-of-a-second precision, its balance must be able to vibrate at a frequency of 360,000 semi-oscillations per hour (50 hertz). In conventional chronograph wristwatches, one and the same balance drives both the ordinary time display and the chronograph mechanism for measuring elapsed intervals. Activating the “start” function creates a connection between the going train and the chronograph; this link is severed when the “stop” function is triggered. Due to its need for a frequency of 360,000 semi-oscillations per hour, the Montblanc TimeWalker Chronograph 100 cannot rely on the same mechanical principle as a conventional chronograph calibre, which vibrates at a much slower pace of 2.5 or 4 hertz. This necessity prompted the watchmakers in Villeret to devise a solution with two balances. A large, massy, screw balance oscillates at a frequency of 18,000 A/h (2.5 Hz) to ensure the precise rate of the going train, while a small balance paced at the extremely high frequency of 360,000 A/h (50 Hz) regulates the chronograph function.

Rather than remaining continually in motion, the separate balance for the chronograph begins to vibrate only when the “start” function is activated by a flexible steel lamella (called fouet) mounted behind the arrowhead of the chronograph rocker. When the “stop” function is triggered, this slender steel plate arrests the tiny 50-Hz balance and holds it motionlessly in place until the next elapsed-time measurement begins.

More posts: CalibresCollection VilleretMontblanc TimeWalker CollectionTimeWalker Chronograph 100 TimeWalker Collection

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