SIHH 2013 Spotlight: Montblanc TimeWalker Watches for Globetrotters

Watches that simultaneously show the time in more than one zone are accordingly an important specialty for watchmakers. Such timepieces belong to a genre in which Montblanc has achieved several attention-getting feats. These so-called “time-zone watches” can satisfy very different requirements for globetrotters and frequent flyers. Among these functions are the simultaneous display of the times in both the user’s local and home zones or the UTC (Coordinated Universal Time +/- time zone) function, but also the ability to show all of the planet’s 24 time zones at a glance, including day/night indication for the home zone, as well as showing the date, facilitating quick and easy changes from one zone’s display to another, etc.

Montblanc combines the TimeWalker’s modern, contemporary design with technical horological competence in three different interpretations for people who love to travel. Extremely practical functions for travelers are offered in the unmistakable TimeWalker look with narrow bezel, spacious dial, unified typography for the numerals and elegantly skeletonized horns to affix the wristband.

Browse Our Collections of Montblanc Luxury Timepieces for SaleMontblanc’s TimeWalker Hemispheres are a very special kind of world-time watches, which simultaneously show the different times in all 24 of the world’s time zones. The local time in the zone where the wearer is currently sojourning is shown by the hands, while the flange around the dial bears the names of 24 cities, each of which represents one of the 24 time zones into which our planet is divided. A 24-hour disc indicating the hours at the locations positioned radially opposite the disc’s markings on the flange turns at the center of the dial. Presto! The wearer can instantly see which hour has chimed on clocks in all of the world’s time zones.

That explains the functional principle of the mechanical Montblanc TimeWalker World-Time Hemispheres watches. As an additional exclusive feature, Montblanc has enriched these timepieces with another dimension. While the time zones progress with the sun from east to west across the meridians of longitude, Montblanc’s latest creation also brings the north-south axis into play because the Montblanc TimeWalker World-Time Hemispheres is available in a northern and a southern version. The Northern Hemisphere model shows a map of the Earth as seen from the north with the North Pole at its center; the Southern Hemisphere variant puts the South Pole in the midpoint. Logically, the ring of place names on the Northern Hemisphere model consists solely of locations in that hemisphere; the southern counterpart bears only the names of places situated south of the Equator. These different perspectives naturally affect the time displays and require corresponding adaptations in the mechanical movements. Both models have immobile rings around their dials marked with the 24 place names in the relevant hemisphere, but the 24-hour discs in the centers turn in opposite directions: the disc turns clockwise on the Northern Hemisphere watch, it bears a 24-hour scale labelled anticlockwise; the 24-hour disc on the Southern Hemisphere timepiece turns anticlockwise and bears a 24-hour scale labelled clockwise. The two TimeWalker World-Time Hemispheres models differ not only because of their different dials, but also because they’re equipped with different movements, which are necessary to rotate the 24-hour discs of the two timepieces in the proper directions. To assure that the wearer can keep an eye on the entire planet, from east to west and from north to south, the Northern Hemisphere watch bears the southern place names on its case back and vice versa.

This spectacle is packed into a stainless steel TimeWalker case which measures 42 mm in diameter and has a very narrow bezel, thus leaving ample room for large and readily legible indicators: a time-zone ring with the 24 place names, an hour circle with the TimeWalker’s typical relief numerals and indices, a 24-hour disc in the center (where it turns clockwise in the one model and anticlockwise in the other) and a window for the date at the “6”. To preclude potential confusion, the northern model and southern variant each has its own color scheme. The Northern Hemisphere watch bears a silvery grey dial and is affixed to a sporty black leather strap. The wristwatch for the Southern Hemisphere has a dark anthracite-colored dial and a stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp.

Montblanc TimeWalker World-Time Hemispheres

SKU: 108956 and 108955

Movement: Type Mechanical movement with automatic winding

Number of Jewels: 21

Power Reserve: Approx. 42 hrs.

Frequency: 28.800/h (4 Hz)

Indications: Central hours, minutes and seconds
– World time indication with 24 hour time zones and 24 hour hour-disc
– Date window at 6 o‘clock

Model Northern Hemisphere (108955)

Material: Stainless steel, domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating
– Satin-finished titanium bezel
– >Stainless steel case back with display of 24 time zones of southern hemisphere

Dimensions: Ø 42 mm; height: 12,05 mm

Water Resistance: 3 bar (30 m)

Dial: Silver-colored dial showing the northern hemisphere as seen from the north pole, rhodium-plated luminescent hands
– Central 24 hour hour-disc with day/night indication

Strap/Bracelet: black embossed calfskin strap with blue stitching and stainless steel pin buckle

Model Southern Hemisphere (108956)

Material: Stainless steel, domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating
– Satin-finished titanium bezel
– Stainless steel case back with display of 24 time zones of northern hemisphere

Dimensions: Ø 42 mm; height: 12,05 mm

Water Resistance: 3 bar (30 m)

Dial: Anthracite-colored dial showing the southern hemisphere as seen from the south pole, rhodium-plated luminescent hands

Strap/Bracelet: Stainless steel bracelet with satin-finished titanium central links
– Triple-folding clasp

Montblanc TimeWalker Voyager UTC

SKU: 109135, 109136 and 109137

Movement: Type Mechanical movement with automatic winding

Number of Jewels: 21

Power Reserve: Approx. 42 hrs.

Frequency: 28.800/h (4 Hz)

Indications: Local time: central hours, minutes, seconds
– Second time zone with 24-hour display on the flange with day/night indication
– Date window at 6 o’clock

Material: Stainless steel (titanium bezel for model 109137), domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating

Sapphire: crystal case back

Dimensions: Ø 42 mm; height: 11 mm

Water Resistance: 3 bar (30 m)

Dial: Silver-colored dial with red gold-plated luminescent hands (109136)
– Anthracite-colored dial with rhodium-plated luminescent hands (109137)
– Black dial with rhodium-plated luminescent hands (109135)
– Flange with 24-hour display and day/night indication

Strap/Bracelet: Stainless steel bracelet with triple-folding clasp (109135)
– Black embossed calfskin strap with orange stitching and stainless steel pin buckle (109137)
– Black alligator-skin strap with stainless steel pin-buckle (109136)

Montblanc TimeWalker TwinFly Chronograph

SKU: 109133 and 109134

Movement: Type Mechanical movement with automatic winding, Flyback-Chronograph with twin barrel, column wheel control and vertical disc clutch

Number of Jewels: 36

Power Reserve: Approx. 72 hrs.

Frequency: 28.800/h (4 Hz)

Indications: Hours, minutes
– Central 60-second- and 60-minute-chronograph indication
– 24-hour display at 12 o’clock with second time zone
– Date at 9 o‘clock

Material: Stainless steel, domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating

Dimensions: Ø 43 mm; height: 15,3 mm

Water Resistance: 3 bar (30 m)

Dial: Silver-colored dial, rhodium-plated luminescent hands

Strap/Bracelet: Stainless steel bracelet with triple-folding clasp (109133), or brown alligator-skin strap with triple-folding clasp (109134)

King Jewelers is an authorized dealer for Montblanc watches and writing instruments in Middle Tennessee and South Florida, as well as over forty luxury Swiss watch brands including Bell & Ross, Breguet, Breitling, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, DeWitt, Harry Winston, Hublot, IWC, Jaquet Droz, Roger Dubuis and TAG Heuer. King Jewelers is a member of the American Watch Guild and has been named a Leading Watch Retailer in North America by International Wristwatch Magazine. King Jewelers also offers expert watch repair and watch restoration at their retail locations in Aventura, FL and Nashville, TN. For more information on Montblanc watches, please visit www.montblanc.com or take a look at our Montblanc page.