When I first saw this watch, I didn’t believe it hailed from the Timewalker collection. The watch is ultra-sporty and it features so many aesthetic nuances that I had never encountered in earlier releases from the Timewalker series. However, I want to maintain that this watch is probably going to be their biggest seller, despite what I expect to be strong competition from the Meisterstuck Heritage Perpetual Calendar and from the 10th anniversary Timewalker edition.
The brand plays a little with the number 100 as the chronograph on this model can measure elapsed time to the nearest 100th of a second and is limited in production to only 100 examples. The Montblanc Timewalker Chronograph 100 will be released later this year, probably around autumn.
The case is made from three main parts and it uses materials normally associated with automotive racing. The titanium steel bezel is coated with DLC (Diamond Like Carbon), which make it highly scratch resistant. The case back is screw in and reveals a single pane of sapphire crystal with which the wearer can admire the movement. The middle case is made from titanium but is covered in Carbon Fiber. The robust case features a textured main crown fitted with the domed Montblanc logo. At the 12 position are the chronograph pushers. This unique positioning of the pushers honors a watch that Minerva produced in 1916. The Timewalker Chronograph 100 is outfitted with a black alligator leather strap with red contrast stitching.
To achieve a precision of 100th of a second on a chronograph the balance wheel has to vibrate at 50 Hz. To solve this problem Montblanc has instituted two balance wheels each with their own separate power supply. The main balance wheel operates at 18,000 VpH and controls the main timekeeping functions. The balance wheel regulating the chronograph vibrates at 50 Hz or 360,000 VpH. This balance wheel only starts moving when the chronograph is activated and is promptly stopped when the chronograph is at rest. The chronograph function carries a power reserve of 45 minutes. To time events longer than 45 minutes one can turn the main crown in an anticlockwise direction, which serves to add new energy to the barrel powering the chronograph. To be fair, Montblanc isn’t the first to release a watch with these features; TAG Heuer also released a watch like this last year called the Mikrograph 100th of a Second.
The dial is wonderfully open worked with the main hours and seconds in a central dial with a lone Arabic numeral 12 and indexes. At the 9 position is the small seconds register. The 100th of a second chronograph hand is central and it corresponds to the 100th of a second scale on the flange of the watch. At the 6 position is a single subdial, which displays the minutes and hours of the chronograph.
