Montblanc

MTF
[PuristS]
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My nearest Montblanc Boutique is 3 hours away: a long TimeWalker....

If you factor in the slow trains to London and then the crawl to a hotel, it's a good 3 hours to my nearest Montblanc boutique. It's so far away that you need to stay the night to justify the trip.

If I did make the journey, this is what I would look at...

Montblanc TimeWalker Chronograph UTC Automatic Ref 116101

Montblanc TimeWalker Chronograph UTC Automatic

Of course, there are other more salubrious Montblanc watches and even chronographs with hand-polished uber-desirable Villeret movements but I haven't won the lottery yet!

I like the satin-finished stainless steel case; perhaps a tad over the ideal 42mm for sportive watches.

Everyone knows that I like black dial for chronographs with red chronograph hands. This one has only one red chronograph seconds hand n the center, with the chronograph hours displayed in a sub-dial at 6 o’clock, and a 30-minute chronograph counter at 12 o’clock. I would have preferred all three chronograph hands in red but at least the important seconds indicator is red.

All the readings are legible due to rhodium-plated dauphine hands with Super-LumiNova, a white minute track with Super-LumiNova and red markers for the 15-minute marks. For instruments, it always has to be white numerals and hands on black dial...OK it's silvery-white but that is acceptable. The TimeWalker font chosen is also very clear and unmistakable.

The UTC function is ideal for TimeWalkers globetrotting.

For visual pleasure, the sub-dials have circular machined patterns and the running seconds counter has a distinctive Montblanc Star pattern. Little details like this separates the luxury from the mundane.

The watch is powered by the automatic caliber MB 25.07 and can be supplied with a choice of three different strap options: perforated leather, perforated rubber, and a metal bracelet with three links

I'm torn between rubber and leather but enough of my personal foibles and fetishes....     As I don't live in tropical climes anymore, I think the perforated leather is classy and says "sportive but distinguished".

The Montblanc TimeWalker Collection was the "Big Deal" at SIHH 2017 and Jerome Lambert's Last Hurrah SIHH Collection before taking the escalator up to Richemont Group Corporate HQ as Head of Operations for Everything EXCEPT Jewellery & Watchmaking. It encapsulates all he has done in 3 years at Montblanc drawing together the heritage of Villeret craft with the accessibility of Le Locle products, not to mention the ever growing Writing Instruments and Leather Goods divisions.

Fantasy Football League

If I had won the lottery, this is what I would consider... Montblanc 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Limited Edition 100

1858 Chronograph Tachymeter 116243

Another Jerome Lambert-driven range is the Montblanc 1858 Collection that marries the mystic Villeret magic from the 1930s with the efficiency of Le Locle today.

This year’s Montblanc 1858 Collection is joined for the first time by bronze case or bezels for vintage appeal. Two models have a bronze bezel mounted on a steel case, apparently a first in the history of watchmaking. The anti-allergenic properties of stainless steel case against your skin is eminently sensible. This particular bronze alloy was designed to develop special patina as it wears.

However, the heavy hitter is the 44mm chronograph with matching champagne-colored dial and its sun-ray finish. The bronze case is backed with titanium to avoid allergic reactions. Inside is a traditional manual monopusher chronograph movement from Villeret - MB M16.29 - with a column wheel mechanism, horizontal coupling, chronograph bridge in a "V" shape, a large screwed balance wheel at a majestic 18,000 vph and a 50-hour power reserve. For the first time, the movement has red gold-coloured components that match the bronze material. The signature Minerva arrow is formed on one of the parts.

The vintage motifs are all there: the dials, antique-styled straps, 1930s Montblanc logo with traditional font and Mont Blanc mountain between the two words. Other motifs are the large cathedral cloisonné hands filled with beige Super-LumiNova, Arabic numerals, vintage shaped crowns and traditional minute railway tracks inspired by the 1930s Minerva chronographs. Don't forget the new cognac coloured calfskin and alligator straps that were given an aged look by the artisans at the Montblanc leather goods atelier in Florence. It's good to have your own leather works to I strap together handcrafts from Villeret, Le Locle and Florence.

Conclusion

My heart says 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Limited Edition 100 but my brain and bank manager prefer Montbalnc TimeWalker Chronograph UTC Automatic Ref 116101.

Which do you think (in a balanced consideration)?

Regards,

MTF

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