With the debut of the TimeWalker Collection in 2004, Montblanc launched a new family of watches and simultaneously defined a new design vocabulary. Its salient features include architectonic lines, 43-millimetre case, narrow bezel and elegantly skeletonised horns, a large, planar dial, Arabic numerals and lancet-shaped hands. Now Montblanc kicks off the second decade of this iconographic watch line with the presentation of the new TimeWalker Extreme Chronograph DLC.
A “DLC” (for the “diamond-like carbon” material) treatment ensures that the toughness of the stainless steel case’s surface has been increased to the utmost. Miniscule glass spherules are blasted under high pressure to give the steel a microscopic texture to which the DLC coating can almost inseparably adhere, thus producing a fine matte finish on the surface. The same process is used on the other stainless steel components: i.e. the crown, the chronograph’s buttons, the midnight-black pronged buckle, and the screwed back with its pane of sapphire crystal. The colour of the diamond-like carbon coating is described as “Black 4”, which stands for “very black”.
The window in the case back offers a clear view of the automatic mechanical Calibre MB 4810/507, equipped with an integrated chronograph function. It ticks at a steady pace of 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour (4 Hz), so the chronograph’s elapsed-second hand advances in eighth-of-a-second increments.
The black stage set of the new TimeWalker chronograph´s case continues on the large planar dial. The various displays of this watch’s face are presented on different levels. Wholly dedicated to time measurement, this no-frills landscape is an excellent example of attention to legibility. It’s accentuated by a set of anthracite-grey ruthenium-coloured hands that clearly contrast with the midnightblack background. Five of the hands have the typical lancet shape and are inset with Superluminova; the chronograph’s elapsed-seconds hand is counterweighted and culminates in a red tip.
The black wristband of the TimeWalker Extreme Chronograph DLC makes an exceptionally technical and sportily elegant impression. It deserves special attention because of the complexity of its material combination and manufacturing process. The strap’s inlay is made of black “Vulcarboné” rubber.
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”. This innovative leather treatment leads to high-performance material with special shielding properties providing extra protection for the leather against abrasion, water, and fire. This high-tech wristband is secured by a black stainless steel pronged buckle which, like the other stainless steel parts, is micro-bead blasted and coated with a layer of Black 4 DLC.
The new Montblanc TimeWalker Extreme Chronograph DLC will become available in autumn 2014.
