Montblanc - TimeWalker TwinFly Chronograph GreyTech Limited Edition
SIHH 2012
On Monday, January 16th 2012 at the Salon International de la Haute
Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva, the new Montblanc TimeWalker TwinFly
Chronograph GreyTech was unveiled to the public and the international
press.
Few brands can rival
Montblanc’s skill in imbuing their products with
unmistakable and timeless iconography. The Rieussec chronograph
collection has achieved unmistakable status and the
TimeWalker line has
represented the modern personification of
Montblanc’s DNA for several
years. This collection won a standing ovation last year with the TwinFly
chronograph and
Montblanc’s own movement. Now it outdoes itself again
with the debut of the GreyTech. The appeal of the
TimeWalker collection
derives from sleek and distinctive styling that’s strongly inspired by
modern, open, glass-and-steel architecture. Generously proportioned,
tidily comprehensible dials beneath sapphire crystals that are
antireflective on both their surfaces, narrow bezels and filigreed,
skeletonized horns vividly prove that all superfluity has been
eliminated.
Double Flyback in Shades of Grey
Montblanc received great honor and recognition after launching the
TimeWalker TwinFly in 2011, a manufacturechronograph that gave new
beauty to a function which had once been very popular, but had later
nearly vanished from the horological landscape: a measuring instrument
for brief intervals with both an elapsed-seconds hand and a sixty-minute
counter from the center of its dial. Manufactured in steel and in a
limited titanium edition, this wristwatch experienced such gigantic
success that
Montblanc decided to present a second limited-edition model
in an exclusively styled version one year later: the
Montblanc
TimeWalker TwinFly Chronograph GreyTech, of which only 888 specimens
will be manufactured. This watch perfectly combines technical
refinement, innovative materials and discriminating design. Television
screens, billboards, shop windows and magazines around the world are so
garishly colorful that we cannot but feel a sense of nostalgia for the
quieter monochrome era, when black-and-white films and photographs
radiated so much sensuality and style, although they worked solely with
shades of grey. The popularity that can be achieved by the absence of
color is ably shown by noble automobile brands, where the chromatic
spectrum is primarily reduced to a narrow range from midnight black to
silvery grey. The same is true in the world of interior design, where
classical furnishings made of metal, glass and black leather have
enjoyed success for many decades. These products offer welcome
relaxation for eyes that have grown weary from a surfeit of natural and
artificial colors. The new GreyTech approach from
Montblanc follows
suit. The
Montblanc TimeWalker TwinFly Chronograph GreyTech makes a very
distinguished yet at the same time modern and technical impression.
Satinized and pearl-blasted finishing gives the solid titanium case a
monochrome and simultaneously contrast-rich aspect. Various shades of
grey distinguish its large dial, where connoisseurs will find seven time
indicators, generously proportioned apertures for the grey date disc, a
pierced and anthracite-grey hour-hand and minute-hand, and large Arabic
numerals. Grey elegance continues on the back, where a pane of sapphire
crystal invites aficionados to admire the movement with its
rhodium-plated dark grey chassis parts, which create a fascinating
contrast with the golden wheels, the blued screws and the red ruby
bearings. This perfect synthesis of technically oriented design, highly
robust and extra-light case material, and elaborate micromechanics
convinces watch lovers that understatedly elegant aesthetics and
exclusive functionality have lost none of their popularity, even in the
era of the smartphone.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .... BIG FOTO
Chronograph Caliber MB LL100 – A Montblanc Movement with ManufactureQuality
Likewise developed exclusively by
Montblanc, self-winding chronograph
Caliber MB LL100
is assembled, finely adjusted and encased under the brand’s aegis and
in its spacious ateliers in Le Locle. This manufacturemovement from
Montblanc is also a chronograph, which is entirely logical because the
world’s leading name in exclusive writing implements likewise strives
toward a comparably foremost position among “time writers,” i.e.
chronographs. Considering the speed and dynamism of developments at
Montblanc, this ambitious goal doesn’t seem quite so unattainably
audacious. The chronograph
Caliber MB LL100 has all the
characteristics of highly evolved horological artistry: the
chronograph’s functions are controlled via a column-wheel; a modern and
extremely low-wear disc-coupling engages to transfer energy from the
fourth-wheel to the chronograph-wheel; and a newly calculated profile
for the gear teeth significantly improves the energy efficiency. But the
most eye-catching exclusivity is the chronograph function: a long
elapsed-seconds hand and a somewhat shorter counter for sixty elapsed
minutes are both centrally axial. When the flyback function is
triggered, these two indicators race back to their starting position and
instantly restart measuring another elapsing interval, whence the
neologism “TwinFly” in the model’s name. The number of elapsed seconds
is shown along the outermost periphery on the flange of the dial,
whereas the elapsed minute counter has a large and therefore readily
legible sixty-minute scale in the centre of the dial. Other functions
include a date window at “9 o’clock” and a 24-hour subdial for the
second time zone at “12 o’clock.” A special feature of
Caliber MB LL100
is its double barrel, which gives this movement a power reserve of
approximately 72 hours’ duration: an ample reservoir of power is better
able to compensate for amplitude fluctuations that occur when the
chronograph function is switched on or off, and it also improves the
stability of the rate in all operating modes.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .... BIG FOTO
GreyTech Expresses Technical Elegance
The matte grey titanium case is distinguished by the unmistakable
“handwriting” of
Montblanc’s
TimeWalker family of watch models. The
case’s liberal diameter of 43 mm and the narrowness of the bezel result
in a very large dial: this spaciousness visibly enhances the legibility
and the readily comprehensible arrangement of the individual displays.
The horns, which are skeletonized in the typical
TimeWalker style,
reliably hold an anthracite-grey alligator-skin wristband with large
quadratic reptilian scales and a tone-in-tone grey stitching. A pronged
buckle made of bead-blasted titanium keeps the strap securely closed
around its wearer’s wrist. In accord with the understated styling in
shades of grey, the case is matte finished all around, the middle part
of the case is vertically brushed, and both the bezel and the edge of
the case’s back are bead blasted. The result is a discreetly technical
look that instantly identifies this wristwatch as a functional
time-measuring instrument. The excitement that this high-tech aspect can
generate becomes evident at the very latest when one peers through the
sapphire crystal in the back and through the slightly cambered sapphire
crystal above the dial. The face has large piercings and a very lively
appearance thanks to various shades of grey. Circular apertures inside
the hour-circle allow one’s gaze to penetrate to a somewhat darker date
disc with raised anthracite-grey numerals; the current date is
surrounded by a white frame at “9 o’clock.” Six anthracite-grey numerals
in raised relief mark the hour-circle; white scales are printed for the
second time zone at “12 o’clock” and for the small seconds at “6
o’clock. Special mention is earned by the second time zone with its
anthracite skeletonized hand: a shiny anthracite-colored sunburst in
raised relief adorns this display’s 24-hour dial for the daytime hours
from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., while the nighttime hours are portrayed by a net
of arcs which symbolize the paths of the stars across the firmament. The
smallest details are of the utmost importance on a wristwatch: this is
evident here in the large hands for the time display and the
chronograph’s function. The anthracite-grey hour-hand and minute-hand
are coated with luminous material, which combines with noctilucent
indices to assure good legibility in the dark. These hands sweep across
the scale of the sixty-elapsed-minutes counter, so they’re slit
lengthwise to allow the wearer to see through them and read the
counter’s scale. The chronograph’s well-balanced elapsed-seconds hand is
dark anthracite in color with a light grey tip; the elapsed-minutes
counter is light grey with a dark anthracite tip. Another attractive
aspect of the GreyTech comes into view through the sapphire window in
the back: the movement with its black rhodium-plated components. A layer
of dark grey rhodium has been applied to the plate bridge, which is
traditionally decorated with Geneva waves. The same coating embellishes
the generously skeletonized winding-rotor with its extra-heavy
oscillating weight and pierced
Montblanc emblem. As one would expect an
outstanding chronograph, the column-wheel that controls the
chronograph’s start, stop and flyback commands is likewise visible. This
firework of horological technology is certain to spark enthusiasm.
The
Montblanc TimeWalker TwinFly Chronograph GreyTech will be
manufactured in a limited edition of 888 specimens and will be available
starting in autumn of 2012.
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TECHINCAL SPECIFICATIONS
Montblanc TimeWalker TwinFly Chronograph GreyTech
Movement
Manufacture C
alibre MB LL100
Type of movement Mechanical movement with automatic
winding, chronograph with flyback function, column wheel control,
vertical disc clutch, twin barrels
No. of jewels 36
Power reserve Ca. 72 hours
Balance Screwed balance, Ø 9.7 mm; moment of inertia: 12 mg/cm
2
Hairspring Flat
Frequency 28,800 A/h (4 Hz)
Wheels Special toothing for more efficient power transmission
Indications Hours and minutes in the centre; Small
seconds at “6 o’clock”; 24-hour counter for second time zone at “12
o’clock”; Date window-display at “9 o’clock”
Complications Flyback chronograph with central minute and second hands; 24 hour counter for second time zone at 12 o`clock
Features
Case Satin-finished and bead-blasted titanium case
Dimensions Ø = 43 mm, height: 15,3 mm
Water resistant To 3 bar (30 m)
Sapphire crystal Domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating
Case back Bead-blasted titanium case back with sapphire crystal
Dial Open worked, grey dial with rhodium-plated numerals and black pierced luminous hands
Bracelet/Strap Anthracite alligator-leather strap with tone-in-tone stitching and bead-blasted titanium pin buckle
Limitation 888 pieces
Ident 107338
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