Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap
Angus Davies reviews the Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap.
This detailed review of the Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap includes live images, specification details and price.
Unless you have been cut-off from the outside world, with no access to newspapers or television for the last few months, you undoubtedly will have heard much discussion about the advent of so-called “smart watches”. Some journalists and industry pundits have suggested that this new genre of “watch” will spell the death knell for the mechanical watch industry. Before I proceed further, I have to state that I do not subscribe to this opinion, a point I will return to later.
A few weeks ago, I was approached by the BBC and asked for my opinion on a variety of topics relating to the world of horology. BBC World News is a partner of Baselworld, providing extensive coverage of the annual watch and jewellery show. Prior to attending Baselworld, I chatted to a couple of gentlemen from the well-respected broadcasting organisation and imparted my pearls of wisdoms on various facets of the watchmaking industry including “smart watches”.
As a result, I was asked if I would mind being filmed while attending the show. The prospect of enjoying my “fifteen minutes of fame”, displayed on millions of televisions around the globe, evoked deluded thoughts of being the next Jeremy Clarkson or, rather, the horological equivalent. My misguided vanity meant that I agreed without hesitation.
However, while my fanciful ideas of becoming the next darling of daytime TV sounded very appealing, I was mindful that Baselworld is the most fraught week in my yearly work schedule. Typically I work in excess of 20 hours each day and then, on my return to the UK, I hibernate for a few days, completely exhausted.
I agreed to chat on camera for a news item entitled “Baselworld: Tough times for watchmakers?” This provided one of the few, rare occasions when my children perceived that “dad was cool”. Much of my commentary on smart watches wasn’t used, but the research I carried out in preparation proved useful and has merely crystallized the opinions I held beforehand.
Smart watches – meeting different needs
Smart watches and fine mechanical timepieces fulfil two differing sets of needs. The raison d’être for selecting a smart watch relates to the functionality it confers. A “smart watch” can provide data on sleep patterns, activity levels, emails, messaging and several features usually found on a mobile phone. The smart watch, in my opinion, is not a watch per se, but rather an electronic device which delivers an impressive array of information and a plethora of diverse duties.
A fine mechanical watch, in its simplest form, sporting solely two hands, is not so much about functionality but instead an alluring combination of aesthetics, history, emotion, passion and craftsmanship. A peerless horological creation engenders an abundance of affection and elicits profound respect for the relentless pursuit of excellence manifest with its flawless composition.
The would-be purchaser of a fine timepiece harbours differing desires to those clients seeking a smart watch. This does not mean that each group is mutually exclusive, clearly some individuals will seek the benefits of both smart watches and luxury mechanical timepieces. Nevertheless, I do not imagine smart watches will adversely affect the reverence shown for haute horlogerie.
Where I do envisage that smart watches could encroach on other traditional sectors of the industry is within the existing quartz watch segment with retail prices below £750. The extra features offered by smart watches, while still offering the same comparatively low ongoing maintenance requirements, may well tip the scales in favour of this latest breed of watches.
The Swiss watch industry has never forgotten the “quartz crisis” of the 1970s and the adverse impact this had on mechanical watch sales at the time. Clearly, the industry does not wish to be caught napping and fail to respond to a potential source of competition. However, I see the arrival of smart watches increasing the demand for fine mechanical watches in years to come. My rationale is simple. Looking at my children’s peer group, few of them wear a wristwatch and determine the prevailing time by looking at the screen on a mobile phone. If the arrival of the smart watch entices this generation to become accustomed to wearing a watch, then with increased prosperity, some of them may choose to select a costlier and beautifully refined, mechanical watch. I suspect I am not alone in thinking this, reaffirming why I continue to be very optimistic for the long term future of mechanical watchmaking, an industry I love profoundly.
Smart watches – a potential problem
I remember working for a company several years ago and receiving my very first mobile phone. It was cumbersome, the reception was poor, the display was monochrome and the specification was rather limited when compared with today’s complex devices. Thereafter, I would receive a replacement cellphone every two years as various mobile phone operators competed to offer the “best deal” to entice me to sign up for two years airtime. Every time the contract came up for renewal, it was a stark reminder that the development of new technology was relentless. The redundant phones were cast aside. They were outdated with little intrinsic worth, deferentially standing aside for the entrance of new flashy offerings that proffered greater virtue. This seductive recipe would often blend eye-catching aesthetics, reduced dimensions and enhanced functionality. This cycle would be repeated again and again, each time seeing the former phone resigned to a life on a scrapyard.
The air time contract funded the replacement handset and the intrinsic obsolescence of a mobile phone was of scant significance to the user of the phone as no capital outlay was necessary. Indeed to use that old idiom, “everyone’s a winner”.
Where smart watches differ from mobile phones is the way the cost of supply is recovered from the user. The smart phone will not be gifted at little or no cost, there is no other viable means of doing so. Quite simply, the cost of the phone has to be met in full at the time of purchase.
Just imagine for one moment you have purchased a smart watch for your 15 year-old son. If my own experience of mobile phones is anything to go by, the smart watch will appear antiquated in two years time, be viewed as passé and your offspring will start to relentlessly pester for a replacement. How would you feel about scrapping a smart watch, writing off the capital outlay and starting again? It no longer sounds like “everyone’s a winner” anymore.
The Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap – the perfect solution?
By this stage, you may suspect that I am opposed to the notion of smart watches and wish for them to be a commercial flop. However, this is not the case.
First and foremost, I admire products which demonstrate breathtaking ingenuity. Furthermore, as a former marketing professional, I believe that meeting a customer’s needs is of paramount importance and, irrespective of the approach taken, customer satisfaction is a key indicator of commercial success. However, I do have reservations about the longevity of some products coming to market.
Montblanc, in my opinion, has come up with the perfect solution. The functionality of a smart watch is provided by an electronic attachment which affixes to the strap, positioned where the pin buckle usually resides. The e-strap is joined to the mechanical wristwatch in stylish union, with the successful marriage granting much charm.
Note, the e-strap display pictured for illustration purposes only.
Imagine you have purchased your Montblanc Timewalker Urban Speed chronograph e-strap and in two or three years time, the e-strap device has become outmoded. There is no need for despair. The watch, courtesy of its stylish aesthetics, craftsmanship and convenient self-winding movement will still retain relevance. The e-strap, priced at a modest €350, can be replaced without breaking the bank and the bulk of the capital outlay invested in the watch will be retained owing to the high portion of intrinsic mechanical merit.
The e-strap is potentially the perfect solution for those individuals who seek the added functionality of a smart watch paired with the tangible passion synonymous with a luxury mechanical watch.
The Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap – a brief overview of the specification
The Timewalker has been a staple of the Montblanc collection for a number of years. I have always appreciated the open-worked lug design found on the TimeWalker Extreme Chronograph and the impressively constructed TimeWalker Chronograph 100 featuring the high-end Manufacture calibre MB M66-25. The open-worked design of the lugs infuses the watch with a notable degree of litheness and reminds me of the exposed space-frame chassis found on a race car.
The case of the Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap is constructed of micro-blasted stainless steel and paired with a black ceramic bezel. The result is a watch which exudes modernity yet does not appear too avant-garde and, by default, should continue to retain eye-appeal for many years to come.
An orderly dial design delivers ease of interpretation. Hands are clean and crisp with truncated tips imparting a sense of solidity. The hour markers use Arabic numerals presented in virginal white, evincing a neoteric character and yet proving simple to read. The judicious use of red coloured parts completes the ensemble of wisely chosen hues. This is a young, handsome horological beau which turns heads with its lithe torso and chiselled features.
Note, the watch pictured still has protective film applied to caseback.
The Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap is fitted with the automatic Calibre MB 25.07, visible via an exhibition caseback. The movement lacks the exalted finishing of the Collection Villeret 1858 – Vintage Tachydate, produced at the company’s prestigious Manufacture in Villeret. Furthermore, it sadly is no match for the sublimely executed Calibre MB R200 found in the Homage to Nicolas Rieussec which is made in the company’s Le Locle production facility. However, the finishing of the Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap is perfectly acceptable for a retail price of €4,690 (RRP as at 20.1.2015).
‘Montblanc Extreme Leather’ strap. Note, the e-strap display pictured for illustration purposes only.
The chronograph is supplied with the ingenious ‘Montblanc Extreme Leather’. This is a special material which resembles carbon-fibre on its upper surface and provides an array of worthy characteristics that should prove beneficial to the majority of wearers. These attributes include abrasion resistance, water repellence and claimed resistance to heat wear, water and fire.
Closing remarks
When I shuffle off this mortal coil, my son will inherit my modest collection of wristwatches. Some are modern versions of timepieces which have been in existence since the 1920s. Their charm is that they will beautifully age and continue to retain eye-appeal for decades to come.
The problem with many smart watches is that they are unlikely to be selected as a post-dated heirloom to bequeath to the next generation. Indeed, similar to the unloved and discarded mobile phones of bygone times, many smart watches will disappear from view once a newer model has arrived on the market.
By adopting its unique approach, Montblanc has equipped the Timewalker Urban Speed chronograph with the facility to update the e-strap device at relatively low cost when new technology and additional functionality justifies replacement. The issue of intrinsic obsolescence has clearly been considered by Montblanc and the e-strap provides a useful point of differentiation for the company whose desirable products sport the snow-capped logo.
I would suspect that moving forward, Montblanc e-straps will appear on an array of timepieces from rival brands as owners wish to combine the functionality of the smart watch with the abundant charms that only a mechanical watch can provide.
When it comes to the Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap, the prestigious luxury brand has come up with a winner, pairing useful technology, attractive design and the horological appeal of hearing a Swiss lever escapement charmingly tick. Now that is what I call a smart watch!
Technical Specification
- Model: Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph e-strap
- Ref: 113827
- Case: Micro-blasted stainless steel with black stainless steel bezel; diameter 43.00 mm; height 14.40 mm; water resistant to 3 bar (30 metres); sapphire crystal to front and caseback.
- Functions: Hours; minutes; small seconds; date; chronograph.
- Movement: Calibre MB 25.07, self-winding movement; frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz); 25 jewels; power reserve approximately 46 hours.
- Strap: Black “Montblanc Extreme Leather” strap presented on a sandblasted steel pin buckle.
- Price: €4,690 (RRP as at 20.1.2015)
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