Montblanc

PuristSPro moderator and long-term Montblanc fountain pen collector Patrick_y tries to be critical of the Montblanc Heritage Orbis Terrarum Watch and finds his job so difficult he decided to focus on what was done right about the watch. 





Despite now being past Basel 2015 and SIHH 2015 many of the watches are still very memorable, especially the Montblanc Heritage Orbis Terrarum that was launched at SIHH 2015.  This watch is the latest iteration of the original World Time concept first pioneered by Louis Cottier in the early 20th century and the first Montblanc world time watch I'd consider procuring for myself.  PuristSPro moderator, Amanico, an expert with Louis Cottier's World watches, already wrote a very comprehensive review of the watch.  You can read Amanico's superb review of this superb timepiece here:

montblanc.watchprosite.com

As an attendee of the SIHH 2015 show, I found the Montblanc Heritage Orbis Terrarum watch to be the star of the show.  And then, being famously critical, I tried to find mistakes that had been made with the watch...  And wow, I really found almost no faults with the piece!  Out of desperation, you'll see that I've found some minor faults with the watch, and they're listed below. 

PROS:

1.     1.  Despite the fact the movement is an off-the-shelf Sellita movement, it's actually a fairly integrated movement, meaning the base movement and the world time mechanism functions harmoniously as one integrated movement rather than two succinctly separate pieces.  MB29.20, still comes off ever so slightly thick though. 

2.    2.  Design, the design is great with polished and brushed surfaces. 

a.     It has a very small Montblanc logo, I like watches with minimal branding. 

b.     A nice big size; 41mm diameter, and a slightly thick 12mm. 

c.      Perfectly legible dial.  Spacing between cities is legible. 

d.     Font size isn’t too small. 

e.     Information is well conveyed.  Conveys more information than some other world time watches in an even easier-to-read layout.

f.      Day/night indicator on the central map (which is a disc made of sapphire crystal), something that the Patek Philippe 5130 doesn’t have. 

3.     3.  Montblanc chose to produce this watch in a steel version. I'm not forced to buy it in gold.  

4.     4.  Price-point: 5000 Euro price (steel on strap version) is a good deal!  Excellent price performance. I really see the value and the economic utility is substantial. 

5.     5.  In addition to its beautiful dial design, it also has an elegant Germanic brushed case design (steel version has brushed side). 

6.     6.  Excellent serviceability, Montblanc has more boutiques worldwide than just about any other Richemont watch brand.

 CONS (some of these are almost not worth mentioning)

1.     1.  The case is very solid and Germanic in design, but the movement is entirely Swiss.  (Full disclosure, I fully support interracial marriages of cases and movements!)  

2.     2.  The watch is a bit thick, as mentioned before.  (Perhaps the only legitimate comment here.)

3.     3.  The case back of the watch has engraved letters that utilize a font could be more delicate and aesthetically pleasing.  (I know, it's on the back where it isn't seen.)

4.     4.  The name.  Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum?  That’s a mouthful and difficult to remember.  (I feel like an unreasonable grade school teacher blaming a student's parent for choosing an atypical name for the student.) 

The Orbis Terrarum watch does look good on my wrist, in fact it's so good on so many levels (not just the aesthetics) I could compare it to the Patek Philippe 5130P WorldTimer that literally costs over 10x the price of the steel Montblanc Heritage Orbis Terrarum.  I am a Patek Philippe fan, and even I have to concede that this Montblanc Orbis Terrarum is a worthy contender to the 5130 World Time. 

What are your thoughts?  Would you buy this piece with your own money? 

This message has been edited by patrick_y on 2015-04-08 15:29:12

41mm does not sound big. Judging from your photo, however, that the lugs seem to be overpowering your wrist. I'll have to try it on to see how it fits. I'm more and more drawn to watches ≦40mm.

The size of the watch is not small, especially for a dress watch.  My wrist is sometimes unusually small, especially when I travel to cold environments.  So unless you have an unusually small wrist, I would say you're safe on the lug issue. 

But yes, it's definitely big, and I too am unaccustomed to dress watches that are in excess of 40mm in size. 

Thanks for your response Luis! 

I would much prefer a central seconds hand - if it had one, I would be a buyer (probably not much of a criticism, as this is really just personal preference).

If you look at other world time watches from other manufacturers I don't see a second hand on any of them except the Girard Perregaux model which operates differently anyways.

I do think a central second hand would make an already complex looking watch look overly complex in this case.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Now you've got me wondering what this watch would look like with another band.

Thanks Patrick for the review of the Orbis Terrarum.  I like the dial and reasonable price point.  Only concern is the size and thickness, but will need to try it on before deciding.  Overall I think this will be a hit for MB.
Which version are you buying?

Regards,
ED-209

My biggest concern is with the size and thickness as well.  Being 41mm in diameter and quite thick is the only concern.  I only had a short time to try it on when I was at SIHH, so I'll probably look at it more closely once it comes stateside to determine the size. 

If it all pans out, I'd procure the steel version.  I like the gold version, but I'd get the steel version. 

Whenever anyone is considering to procure a WorldTime, the inevitable comparison with the Patek Philippe WorldTime arises.  What surprises me the most is that Audemars Piguet doesn't have a modern watch with the Louis Cottier world time system.  Patek Philippe is so successful with their 5130 WorldTime watch, Vacheron Constantin jumped onto the bandwagon, does Audemars Piguet have any plans to produce one and if so when is Audemars Piguet going to show the world it's version? 

I am sure AP would knock it out of the park.

I've seen a WorldTime from Patek Philippe, a super advanced one from Vacheron Constantin that can do more than 24 timezones, but nothing from AP. 
It'd be great to see all the WorldTimes from the big 3 brands.

Written.

I would have preferred without.

Yes, the case is a tad thick, yes it would have been better 1 or 2 mm thinner.

Yes I would have preferred a more " noble " movement.

And if you compare it to a Patek 5130 in the SAME metal, it i " only " 3 times less expensive.

BUT... This Montblanc has a lot of assets: Charm, it is well built nice, original with its day night indication Under the continents, and, in steel ,a true bargain.

Yes, you shouold buy one. I will!

Best,

Nicolas

The Montblanc on the dial is small enough for me, so I'm fairly happy with that.  No major complaints on that one.  But in terms of dial design, the design, the fonts and material used, the ink color used, I wonder if it will age well.  Will it still look good 20 years from now?  Or does it look modern today, only to look dated tomorrow? 

The case is much too thick, we're in full agreement there. 

The movement is better than one can expect in this price point.  It is an off the shelf movement, but I would actually consider it a very integrated movement rather than a layer cake movement.  But yes, a more noble movement would be better.  Keep in mind, the Patek Philippe World Time is not an integrated movement and is very much a modular/layer cake movement.  But despite this Patek Philippe's movement is still thinner. 

The comparison in my mind between a Patek Philippe 5110/5130 is still going on.  A 5110J, 5110P, 5130R, or a 5130P are still pieces I would like to own.  And you know I love the micro-rotored 240 caliber too...  And you're right, the rose gold for rose gold is only 3x the price, and even less if one considers a gently and carefully used version. 

The Montblanc is a true bargain.  It's not perfect, but only true PuristS whom understand movement finishing and architecture, will recognize the difference between this watch and one of its more expensive cousins from Vacheron Constantin or Patek Philippe.  I recognize these differences, yet I'm still intrigued by this Montblanc Heritage Orbis Terrarum.  It's just that good.

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Thanks for this original presentation Patrick.

The thing that surpised me the most was... the price.

When you compare it to what you usually have at this price point, this wroldtimer is a wonderful offer.

Moreover, I haven't held it yet but it seems they succeeded in offering a not so expensive watch while keeping the "luxury" image.

Cheers, Mark

Aren't wee too badly used to mad prices, when it comes to watches? Which would explain that when a Watch is correctly priced, we are surprised...

Food for thought...

Best,

Nicolas

When I posted my answer I just had the same thought but I didn't edit it finally...

Where should stand the prices' level in this sector  (even in a luxury world which works with prices adjustments) ?

Is it just an unjustified run toward the skies (the more expensive the better is one's image) or is it just the increasing demand which makes this pricing policy normal ? And thus our purchase power which is decreasing in some places of the world ?

I have an idea of the answer

Cheers, Mark

The demand has no vocation to be perpetually unlimited...

Time for some fairness, in my opinion...

Best,

Nicolas

I think that these 2 last years have shown indeed that they can be put in an uncomfortable position when the economy slows down.

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Thank you for reading Mark.  I really wanted to share my thoughts, both good and negative, about this watch that really struck me and "threw" me across the room. 

Will we see Tourbillons one day for $25,000 from a major Swiss manufacturer?  Jerome Lambert did halve the price of the Tourbillon a long time ago. 

And to echo Amanico's sentiments, the fact that the industry can do this, is a shock.  Are we overpaying when we spend 35 thousand Euros on a prestige brand gold World Timer?  We know we're being overcharged, but I didn't know we were overcharged by so much! 

Well, this leads to many questions indeed.

Of course, it is a specific sector of the economy which carries a lot of dreams and meanings.

These latter are difficult to give a value to and as long as people are willing to pay, it may gain even more value.

A kind of virtuous circle in a way, from their point of view of course.

As long as there is room for everybody (i.e. different price levels), clients will find what they are looking for.

Nevertheless, I would like to emphasize the technical criteria of the price building: the better a watch is finished, the more time consuming it is , the less volumes are produced, then the higher is the cost.

So, it is interesting to keep our feet on the ground but the luxury goods are made to bring us somwhere else too. Adn this may have a cost depending on where you feel like going.

Cheers Patrick,

Mark

What you say is fundamentally true and beautifully simple.  The more expensive something is, the more meaningful it is. 

But what happens if you're extremely wealthy and money isn't a big deal to you?  An expensive watch may or may not be a big deal with you. 

Ultimately, the biggest issue is that people want to feel that they got value.  If I pay twice as much for a Patek Philippe than I did for a Rolex, I would expect the Patek Philippe to be a little bit better (law of diminishing returns, you can't expect the Patek Philippe to be twice as good just because it's twice as much money). 

So, if we buy something that's 2X the price of X, the more expensive one is expected to be a better product.  If the cheaper version is better though and the additional expense cannot be justified in another way, then the world is upside down.  Panic ensues.  Doom prevails. 

Many manufacturers try to create something in various price points to capture the entire market.  And Montblanc has decided it wants to be perceived as a value brand.  Kind of like where Jaeger LeCoultre was a few years ago. 

Scatter-brained post, but your post got me thinking a lot Mark.  Thank you! 

It will be interesting to see how Montblanc's image will behave in the next few years

Chers, Mark

Nice post Patrick_y.

Pounding my fist and throwing a tantrum here! 

Congrats on your newly ordered watch Patrickh! 

The first ones haven't even hit the US market (Asian markets and European markets will get first shipment in late summer). 

Please share with us your sentiments on PuristSPro once you procure yours! 

Just have to wait end of August......

I think the Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum (HSOT for short) has a high chance of becoming a community watch here!

Cheers
Robin

I still like the Villeret more, but the problem with the Villeret is that it's not as affordable. 

The Villeret is still the best bargain.  Truly top notch everything.  Better than the Big 3 (Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin) and A. Lange & Soehne movement architecture, more traditional manufacturing method, better movement finishing, etc. for a high but bargain price compared to those brands.  Montblanc is playing the value card here, and I recognize a good value!