By Jovan Krstevski
In horology, world time complication does not come cheap or redundant. For the hefty prices, we are assured that the people behind such masterpieces have invested much money on innovation to provide us users with nothing but the best in the field of complicated watches.
Montblanc made an unprecedented change in its name to Heritage Spirit collection dampening the said change with a brand new model featuring a spanking world time collection. This is destined to be graced in the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in January 2015.
I like complicated watches especially the ones that feature world time. Although I may not travel the world all the time, it pays to know what time it is in some parts of the world, useful if you have friends residing in other time zones. I don’t like to be disturbed and for this reason, I usually look at world time to make sure that I don’t disturb my friends in the same manner.
The Orbis Terrarum is a new addition to Montblanc’s Spirit collection and it’s stunning. It has class and exuberance written all over it. Designed for business perhaps, and the overall appearance is impressive. Just like other complicated watches, it has flaws built into it. The sad mixture of colors in the dial makes reading time an exercise. If you look closer at the dial, you will know what I mean. I’ve been in this business in a long time and I can easily tell if I’m finding it difficult to read time. If it’s difficult for me, how much more for the average guy?
The 41mm case is marvelous and the lugs including the crown in stainless steel and red gold are works of art. Note that the red gold is more expensive than the stainless model. The research team did a wonderful job capturing class and exuberance in this watch. The crown preserves Montblanc’s tradition of putting their emblem in a raised style.
The power is provided by a self-winding mechanical movement, calibre MB29.20 with 42 hours power reserve. Now, going back to time reading, although it may seem complicated to read time at first, adjusting time on the other hand seems like a breeze with this complicated watch. There is the pusher at 8 o’clock that makes adjustment easier. With this discovery, I somehow got used to the fact that Montblanc did get it right. Changing timezones is easily done by twisting the crown to the desired city and placed at 6 o’clock. This is great if you’re traveling a lot and desires to change timezones at will. Add the day and night feature, and you will just love this watch. Perhaps you don’t have to check your mobile phones anymore just to read world time which to me, sounds pretty lame.
The Orbis Terrarum is using a large-scale black alligator strap secured with a triple folding clasp. The design is classic and superior, exceeding the expectations of the most meticulous horology eyes. There are two models for this watch and the price differs for the red gold. For more info, please visit montblanc.com
Jovan Krstevski – Founder, Proprietor & Executive Editor
Watch collector, aficionado and an Event profile in the Swedish nightlife. He launched Watchgeek back in 2011, which is now known as WristReview and is one of the most widely read watch blogs on the Web. He quotes ’WristReview is a site to help people find, explore, discover and enjoy wristwatches.’ His passion jump started in his early teens, when he was given his first mid-range wristwatch which was an Omega Seamaster. Since then he has always been in love with wristwatches! Besides WristReview, he also writes for a number of publications. Read his articles here.
