The era of the smartwatches has begun. To tell the truth I was very skeptical about them, because I used to have a traditional approach to the watches and to an everything connected with showing the time. But, Montblanc has changed that approach in a moment with a TimeWalker Urban Speed Chronograph and its e-Strap.

It can be an useful enrichement in the luxury watchmaking industry. Despite the display isn’t really big, a new e-Strap won’t be just a notification device. It will have a OLED touchscreen with a 128×36 pixel resolution. Besides the essential functions like calls, texts, e-mails and more, e-Strap will be compatible with Android and iOS to track and monitor the activity with functions like pedometer, accelerometer. The dimension of the whole Montblanc e-strap is 14,2mm wide, 9mm thick and 40mm long. I believe that this Montblanc’s new feature will be comfortable in use and will find many fans of a new, pioneer combination and approach. Nice thing, adapted to these days lifestyle.

Now, let’s go to the main part of the review, namely to the new Montblanc from the TimeWalker collection. The Timewalker collection had to be contemporary, and in fact it is. It proudly cultivates the tradition of the watchmaking in the new 21st century way.

Cold-grey sand-blasted case and red – characteristic to this collection elements like hands and inner bezel rim give this watch dynamic impression. The design of the watch is sporty, at the first of the eye, but when we can look closer, we see a clean, very proportional and architectural lines in a design. The red elements are giving a little of the rapacity and these subdials with arabic numerals making a speed impression. The pretty big 43mm sand-blasted case presents a ceramic bezel, which contrasts very well with a red inner bezel rim. At the front we can find a scratch-resistant and antireflecitve sapphire crystal also.

There is a mechanical Calibre MB 25.07 movement with an automatic winding and a chronograph function enclosed in the case and visible through the window at the caseback. The power reserve in this watch is about 46 hours.

The chronograph includes a subdials : at 12 o’clock there is a 30-minute counter, at 6 o’clock we can see a 12-hour counter and at 9 o’clock small seconds counter. The big red seconds hand is rotating from the dial’s centre. Numerals and indexes are coated in Super-luminova. Hour-hand, second-hand and minute-hand are anthracite luminescent. The watch goes with durable leather strap. The upper layer of the strap is made of calfskin and has a matching carbon pattern.

Montblanc widen the TimeWalker collection with the new impressing watch. Sporty, elegant with a claw. Clean, proportional lines. Everything enriched with a touch of the new technology. What to want more ? 

Specifications :

Case:
– Sand-blasted stainless steel
– Sapphire glass : antireflective, scratch-resistant
– 43mm diameter / 14,4mm thick
– Water resistance : 30 meters

Movement:
– Mechanical Calibre MB 25.07
– Automatic winding
– Power reserve : 46 hours
– Frequency : 28,800 A/h
– Chronograph (30-minute counter, small seconds and 12-hour counter)