Jordy Bellido
It is a literally a heatwave for Montblanc on the French Riviera this week! The Monblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date leaves its comfort zone in the French Alps for our “WorldTempus on Tour” week, swapping mountains and snow for sand and sea. The good news is that this stainless-steel timepiece can adapt to any environment, and with a water resistance of 300 metres, you don’t need to worry about getting it wet. If you decide to put on your wet suit and scuba gear, make sure you have enough oxygen for 38 hours, as this model won’t need to surface until then. With its automatic movement, the swimming movement of your arms also powers the movement so you could, theoretically, venture ever further and longer into the Mediterranean abyss if you wanted to! With the July heat, this 41mm watch is not only an ode to high altitudes but also a breath of fresh air on the wrist. Perhaps its green polished charcoal lacquered dial with glacier effect will be the key to a refreshing Tropezian stay!
Marie de Pimodan
We are by the sea this week, happily enjoying the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, but it is a different kind of water we are talking about with the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date. While this watch was designed to meet all the requirements of a diving model (it complies with the ISO 6425 standard), its designers drew inspiration from the Mer de Glace on the Montblanc massif. The result is a dial that not only reproduces the texture of the ice on the surface of the glaciers, but also gives the wearer the impression of diving into its depths. To achieve this effect, the Montblanc artisans used the age-old technique of “gratté boisé” that gives a frosted effect and goes particularly well with the two-tone ceramic unidirectional rotating bezel that sits on the 41mm stainless steel case. Whether you are diving to the depths of the ocean or climbing the highest peaks, it is a timepiece ready for adventures in all the planet’s elements.
Sophie Furley
When I first read about the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date and its dial that was crafted to look like a glacier, I’ll be honest, I was a little skeptical. Watch dials are only a millimeter or two thick, so giving the impression of depth in metres is no easy task. Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit a real-life glacier on Switzerland’s Furka pass and the depth of the ice and the play of light within its frozen structure just blew me away. I couldn’t even imagine how you would begin to reproduce this on a watch dial. But taking this timepiece out to sea on the French Riviera and I felt like I was back in the Furka glacial cave – I kid you not! The beauty of this new Montblanc sports collection is that it takes its inspiration from the mountains but offers a sporty timepiece that holds its own on any kind of adventure. So, whether you are climbing mountains, cross country skiing, scuba diving, or looking cool in the jet-set world of Saint Tropez, the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date could be just the watch for you!
Caitlyn Fish
It’s important to have the right timepiece because it can change how you go about your day. Some make you feel like you should be diving, others like you could drive an F1 car or climb a mountain, but the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date feels like you could do it all. I have very small wrists, so I don’t normally wear the more robust dials you typically see on diving watches, though I was pleasantly surprised how quickly and easily I got used to the size and weight of the Iced Sea. Walking around St Tropez sporting it on my wrist, I could not have felt cooler. I literally did a double-take when I saw the intricate pattern on the dial. At first, the whole watch can appear to be a flat blue, but when you look again you see a beautiful frosted glacier effect that mimics the natural patterns of ice. It’s a true powerhouse of bright, fun, functional, and classic timekeeping.
Suzanne Wong
People always say that they want objectivity in their watch reviews. I think this is absolute nonsense. The whole point of a watch review is to deliver an opinion. Opinions are by definition subjective. If you want to read something completely objective about a watch, I recommend you check out our WatchFinder, chock full of facts (and nothing but facts) on watches. Now, I can’t be objective about the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea. We spent a day together on the Mer de Glace glacier when I was there to meet Montblanc CEO Nicolas Baretzki earlier this year. Hanging out on glaciers in February tends to be a bonding experience, and I definitely bonded with the 1858 Iced Sea. Just to balance out that frigid first encounter, I decided to strap the 1858 Iced Sea on again while we were heading down to sunny St Tropez. What conclusions did I draw from this? Firstly, the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea is a watch for all seasons. Secondly, it feels great on the wrist — so great that I nearly got into a scuffle with Jordy when he said it was his turn to wear the watch. (I did not resort to violence, my dear WorldTempus family. I simply removed enough links from the bracelet so that it was too small for him.)
