doboji
4
Review of Montblanc TwinFly Flyback in Stainless Steel
I've now had the pleasure of having this watch in my possession for a few weeks now, and I thought I'd take some time to post my impressions with a bunch of pics to illustrate what I think.
Part I: The Case
1. Size.
Montblanc lists the case as being 43mm wide with a height of 15.3mm. For me personally this watch is the perfect size, the bezel is fairly thin leaving a very open face with lots of dial to look at, and the bowl-like shape of the case allows it to sit very comfortably on the wrist without feeling too tall. Bear in mind I have very large wrists and I feel comfortable with a sporty watch even up to 49/50mm. For those that prefer a smaller fit, I recommend trying the watch "in the steel". The lugs have a subtle concave curve to them that recesses them a bit from the watch. This makes the watch face front and center and I think would make the watch sit very nicely even on a smaller wrist.
2. The Dial and Hands.
The dial itself is a very rich black that seems to really swallow the light, this really allows for some interesting dimensions within the dial itself. First the dial has an embossed pattern running around the chronograph subdial. Then the hometime subdial has embossment as well, this time cleverly indicating day and night with different patterns. Finally the chronograph subdial itself is raised even a bit more creating a sense of subtle, yet complex multiple dimensions across the dial.
Offsetting the light swallowing black of the dial is the exact opposite effect with the rhodium plated hands, applied numbers and markers. These reflect light exceptionally well, and absolutely gleam in the right lighting. It's really a pleasant effect. The only minor criticism I have is the white printed numbers on and markings on the subdials... while it looks great nearly all the time, it is possible to look at the watch at such an angle, in certain lighting that the Rhodium numbers and markers become nearly invisible and all you see is the white print...
I think the size and the shape of the hands work extremely well with the design, giving the watch a real "technical" feel.
Montblanc lists the case as being 43mm wide with a height of 15.3mm. For me personally this watch is the perfect size, the bezel is fairly thin leaving a very open face with lots of dial to look at, and the bowl-like shape of the case allows it to sit very comfortably on the wrist without feeling too tall. Bear in mind I have very large wrists and I feel comfortable with a sporty watch even up to 49/50mm. For those that prefer a smaller fit, I recommend trying the watch "in the steel". The lugs have a subtle concave curve to them that recesses them a bit from the watch. This makes the watch face front and center and I think would make the watch sit very nicely even on a smaller wrist.
2. The Dial and Hands.
The dial itself is a very rich black that seems to really swallow the light, this really allows for some interesting dimensions within the dial itself. First the dial has an embossed pattern running around the chronograph subdial. Then the hometime subdial has embossment as well, this time cleverly indicating day and night with different patterns. Finally the chronograph subdial itself is raised even a bit more creating a sense of subtle, yet complex multiple dimensions across the dial.
Offsetting the light swallowing black of the dial is the exact opposite effect with the rhodium plated hands, applied numbers and markers. These reflect light exceptionally well, and absolutely gleam in the right lighting. It's really a pleasant effect. The only minor criticism I have is the white printed numbers on and markings on the subdials... while it looks great nearly all the time, it is possible to look at the watch at such an angle, in certain lighting that the Rhodium numbers and markers become nearly invisible and all you see is the white print...
I think the size and the shape of the hands work extremely well with the design, giving the watch a real "technical" feel.
3. The crown, pushers and lugs.
The crown has the Montblanc emblem emblazoned on it, which is not really a star as most might think so much as it's supposed to be a view of the mountain Montblanc from above. The crown can be pulled out to two positions. The first position serves as a travelers function to move the main hour hand an hour at a time without hacking the seconds or disturbing the hometime. The second position allows you to adjust the time with the seconds hacked, and progresses the hometime simultaneously. This works EXTREMELY well when travelling through timezones as it allows you to quickly adjust the hours to the appropriate time, and leaves your hometime dial set at hometime like it should be.
The pushers operate very nicely, they require a firm push to engage each function and feel very nice to activate. Nothing special there really.
The lugs are growing on my by the minute. I liked them at first, now I absolutely LOVE them. I already mentioned how they have a subtle concave curve to them. They are also skeletonized with the montblanc emblem present, in my opinion this makes them absolutely elegant to look at. These are really well done, and really add something special to this timepiece.
The crown has the Montblanc emblem emblazoned on it, which is not really a star as most might think so much as it's supposed to be a view of the mountain Montblanc from above. The crown can be pulled out to two positions. The first position serves as a travelers function to move the main hour hand an hour at a time without hacking the seconds or disturbing the hometime. The second position allows you to adjust the time with the seconds hacked, and progresses the hometime simultaneously. This works EXTREMELY well when travelling through timezones as it allows you to quickly adjust the hours to the appropriate time, and leaves your hometime dial set at hometime like it should be.
The pushers operate very nicely, they require a firm push to engage each function and feel very nice to activate. Nothing special there really.
The lugs are growing on my by the minute. I liked them at first, now I absolutely LOVE them. I already mentioned how they have a subtle concave curve to them. They are also skeletonized with the montblanc emblem present, in my opinion this makes them absolutely elegant to look at. These are really well done, and really add something special to this timepiece.
Part II: The Movement
Montblanc MB LL 100
The movement in this watch is really something special. I'm NOT a fan of chasing an in-house movement just because it's in-house. This movement brings a LOT to the table that you simply can't find in any outsourced movement. The movement itself is incredibly beautiful to look at, with subtle little carved out gaps in the bridge giving you little sneak peaks at the wonderful mechanisms at work throughout the watch. The decoration is impecable and just utterly gorgeous. The pictures simply don't do it justice...
Montblanc MB LL 100
The movement in this watch is really something special. I'm NOT a fan of chasing an in-house movement just because it's in-house. This movement brings a LOT to the table that you simply can't find in any outsourced movement. The movement itself is incredibly beautiful to look at, with subtle little carved out gaps in the bridge giving you little sneak peaks at the wonderful mechanisms at work throughout the watch. The decoration is impecable and just utterly gorgeous. The pictures simply don't do it justice...
But there's more to this movement than just physical beauty. The movement contains double barrel mainsprings allowing for a full 72 hours of power reserve and allowing the 28,800BPH to remain steady and true throughout the power cycle even while the chronograph is running. The chronograph itself is a column wheel chronograph with a vertical clutch. The combination of the column wheel and vertical clutch supposedly allows you to engage, and run the chronograph with much less wear and tear on the mechanism throughout the life of the watch. Of course this is also a Flyback chronograph, which is one of my personal favorite complication, it allows you to reset the chronograph to 0 while it is running, this causes the hands to fly-back to their starting point and continue counting time instantly from there. More than just these technical stats, the chronograph also features a central minute register which is very unusual in todays world of Valjoux tri-or bipax chronographs.
Part III: Other Stuff
1. Accuracy:
Since setting the watch 2 weeks ago, it is currently sitting at +2 seconds. Pretty. Darn. Nice.
2. The blood red chronograph minute hand.
One small detail I absolutely LOVE about this watch is the blood red minutes on the chronograph. This hand looks like a fresh drop of blood settled nicely on the hand and is just balanced there. I've tried to capture it in this photo... it really looks great and with the stark black and rhodium colors throughout the watch really has a BANG to it.
1. Accuracy:
Since setting the watch 2 weeks ago, it is currently sitting at +2 seconds. Pretty. Darn. Nice.
2. The blood red chronograph minute hand.
One small detail I absolutely LOVE about this watch is the blood red minutes on the chronograph. This hand looks like a fresh drop of blood settled nicely on the hand and is just balanced there. I've tried to capture it in this photo... it really looks great and with the stark black and rhodium colors throughout the watch really has a BANG to it.
3. The subseconds hand.
I love how close to the dial the seconds hand is mounted, it looks almost like it was simply applied to the dial until you notice it's smooth motion. Really love that detail.
I love how close to the dial the seconds hand is mounted, it looks almost like it was simply applied to the dial until you notice it's smooth motion. Really love that detail.
Part IV: Montblanc Customer Service
I originally purchased this watch back in December from a grey market dealer. When the watch arrived it seemed perfect, but within the first day I noticed that the chronograph seconds hand appeared to be loose such that it was moving further and further away from the correct starting position each time I reset the chronograph.
Rather than sending the watch back to the grey dealer because of a bad customer service experience and call, I elected to send the watch directly back to Montblanc for repair. I explained to Montblanc the whole situation, and their customer service was beyond excellent. They had me walk the watch into the nearby boutique and it was sent to their service center from there.
I want to make clear that the grey dealer did eventually step up and do the right thing customer service-wise apologizing for the snafu, and pledging to pay for whatever Montblanc deemed the repair cost to be.
Meanwhile Montblanc performed the repair FREE of charge, gave me a 1 year warranty, and had the watch back at the boutique in less than 2 weeks turnaround. I was VERY impressed with their level of service... not only in terms of fixing the watch quickly and effectively, but also in that EVERY conversation I had with them was exceptionally pleasant and easy. I highly recommend Montblanc, they took EXCELLENT care of me.
Thanks for taking the time to read guys!
Review of Montblanc TwinFly Flyback in Stainless Steel
I've now had the pleasure of having this watch in my possession for a few weeks now, and I thought I'd take some time to post my impressions with a bunch of pics to illustrate what I think. Part I: The Case 1. Size. Montblanc lists the case as being 43mm ...
Thanks for the review...and that is a great first post!
Welcome to PuristSPro and I hope you will continue to post pics of the TwinFly. It is always interesting to hear other owner's comments...especially how MB North America stepped up to the plate in terms of customer service. Thanks again, Mike
A great review!
makes me want a Montblanc even more... Congrats on your beautiful watch and welcome to the Purists!
A review that covers every aspect of ownership...
This is a great review. Not only does it cover the watch with a thorough description but it also covers the service as well. I'm extremely pleased to hear that Montblanc serviced the watch to your satisfaction. Thanks for pointing out the blood red chrono...
Great to See You Here Buddy!
Love it. Again, great review, great photos, awesome watch. Very interesting to see my opinion repeated WRT the white faced Twinfly as well. Enjoy that watch!
White Face Blue Hands
Yep I think you were spot on with the idea for Blue hands... so much so that every time I look at the white faced version now the red just looks wrong to me.
