Montblanc

Dear Purists,

As you have no doubt already noticed, this month Robin and I will be focusing on the Star Collection.  Although PuristS know Montblanc better by the Rieussec or Villeret collections, there are quite a few attractive and interesting models in the Star family.  One of my favorite new release is the Star Quantieme Complet , first introduced to the world at SIHH 2013.

This review is by Asqwerth, a member of a small independent UK watch forum which I also belong to.  She has given me permission to repost her review on PuristSPro for our members to enjoy. 

However in addition to her review I am going to also add a previous post by her from the same forum.  In this post You can see Asqwerth "struggle", like most of us do, on which watch to purchase.

Asqwerth will stop by, please give her a warm welcome. 

Enjoy, Mike

Next, Asqwerth's "this or that"

Early this year, I had the good fortune to win a substantial amount in shopping vouchers from a posh shopping centre with lots of watch shops.

The vouchers are expiring early next year, so I decided to check out some of the watch shops to see if anything caught my eye. I had lots of fun (sorry, forgot to take any pics), and I still have one more watch shop to go, but in the meantime, here are my thoughts on what I've tried so far:


JLC classic Reverso - I thought the ladies' size was too small, and really liked the mid-size model. The price for the midsize is a fair bit more, though. Vouchers only make up about 1/3rd of the price. 

34mm blue dial Aqua Terra (steel bracelet, Olympic logo on the case back so no display back) - I didn't like the shape of the 34mm case. The planes and angles seem different from the bigger models - sharper and uglier. Also tried the black-grey dial version - same feeling.

38.5mm white dial AT (steel bracelet) - unexpectedly ho-hum on my wrist. It was ok, but just felt and looked too much like other big watches I had. Maybe it was too "guy-ish". Don't really know. I didn't try the blue dialed version.

The ATs will cost more than twice the amount of the vouchers, as will the....

Mont Blanc Star Quantieme Full Calender (steel case) - wow. NICE. I could only find a clear pic of the gold cased version:

Surprisingly for a 42mm watch, it didn't look out of place or too big on my wrist. Maybe because of its dressy and elaborate design, it has the feel of an oversized ladies' watch anyway, rather than a guy's watch. They used a modified ETA movement to make a watch with Day/Month window, moonphase indicator, and date pointer (like the Oris Big Crown). Very tempting despite its cost! It does feel a little blingier and more ostentatious than what I usually wear, though.

Zenith 33mm moonphase - I was hoping to try these:




and




I understand the 692 calibre movement is in-house.

Unfortunately they only had the rose gold case version with diamonds for hour markers and mother of pearl dial (so boringly typical):



The Zeniths I liked were about double the voucher amount. The shop said they might be able to get stock from their agents if I was really serious about it.

Tudor Clair de Rose - Pretty but maybe too delicate. And the rotating flower thingy that takes the place of the second hand is useless for counting seconds! Can't really recall its price; I think I knew it wasn't for me.




Tag Heuer Carrera Calibre 6 (39+ mm) - within the price range and a good size. I liked the scalloped waves on the dial and the blue numerals/hands. I liked how it looked on my wrist -- if only I didn't already have so many other watches with a seconds sub-dial and that general look.




Longines World Timer (38.5mm) - also within the voucher amount. Wears very nicely on my wrist and it's not chunky at all. Interesting looking, and in real life the dial is uncluttered and very legible. Apparently it uses a specially-modified ETA 2824-2 (according to my online research after I got home).

I had a cursory look at some watches from Ball (they didn't have the moonphase that highway has), Hamilton, Tissot, Baume Mercier. Nah. 

Unfortunately none of the shops there sell Bremont watches.

So now I'll need somehow to try on a Bremont 37mm Solo,




and decide if I really like it enough - at its price - to buy it, so I can decide how much I'm willing to spend on my "voucher watch"!

Would appreciate and really value your comments and opinions on all the watches above, as well as suggestions on other watches. My comfortable range for watch size would be 33-39 mm.

I still have some time to mull over this.

initially posted here and reposted with Asqwerth's permission:

www.christopherwardforum.com .php?f=8&t=21215#p267569

This message has been edited by mkt33 on 2014-05-26 17:30:02

In my previous post I mentioned that I had won shopping vouchers to spend at a shopping centre with some nice watch shops. The vouchers are expiring early next year so I was mulling over what to buy. I visited all the watch shops and viewed many watches, finally coming up with a short list of the following:

- the Longines Worldtimer (38.5mm),
- the Zenith Elite Ladies' Ultra Thin Moonphase (33mm) in blue, and
- a watch I didn't expect to like or to fit nicely on my wrist, the 42mm Montblanc Full Calendar.

After much deliberation, I chose the Montblanc Full Calendar.

The blue Zenith has been discontinued, so while I will continue to keep an eye out for one, I went back to my surprise no. 2 favourite. With my vouchers and a discount on the RRP, I paid less for the Montblanc than I did for my Ball EH! So a very satisfactory deal.

It's a beautiful watch, IMO, in a classic/traditional style that isn't found in the rest of my collection. Plus, I now have a watch with moonphase, as well as a date pointer, which I'd always liked on the Oris Big Crown.

The blued hands really glow at certain angles under the light, and I like the detailing on the silver dial. For instance, the bottom half of the moonphase window has part of the Montblanc star (flower?) etched into it. Despite the many functions, the dial is very legible and set out cleanly. There are no numbers half-eaten by any sub-dial or display window, which I know irritates many of you.



As seen in the above pic, the 42mm case does fit within the width of my wrist, and it wears surprisingly smaller than the C60 Trident. Maybe it's the less chunky style without the big bezel. I like to wear my big watches a little loose like a bracelet, where my wrist meets my hand.


The case is fairly slim, which probably helps with it wearing smaller than expected.




The official specs list the case height at 12.17mm, but that includes the curved dome of the sapphire crystal. The case alone is approx 10mm high, as measured with a ruler.




The Day, Month, Moon phase and date functions are each set by a separate inset button found on the 4 "corners" of the case. Quite straightforward. That means the crown is only used for winding and setting the time.

The moon in the moonphase display is a metallic, reflective yellow, so depending on the lighting and viewing angle, the moon will be a cheery yellow, a reflective silver, or not so visible (when it reflects something dark). The pic below shows the moon at maybe 70% cheeriness.

Movement-wise, it's a modified ETA. There's a display back but it's not very decorated. There are Geneva stripes on the rotor, and the surfaces of the movement bridges have an overall swirly brushed finish (not perlage). Screws aren't blued. Quite utilitarian when you consider the front.

initially posted here and reposted with Asqwerth's permission:

http://www.christopherwardforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=21469&hilit=montblanc

This message has been edited by mkt33 on 2014-05-26 17:33:32

And also decision making process.
Congrats to Asqwerth and many thanks for sharing this post on our Montblanc forum on PuristSPro.
I look forward to reading more sharings from Asqwerth and welcoming her to our forum!

Definitely see the Montblanc Star design DNA on this Star Quantième Complet. My favorite feature of this watch is the blued feuille hands. It is so elegant and I just love how it reflects light at certain angles. Asqwerth has captured this on her photos very well

Thanks for sharing this post here Mike!

Cheers
Robin