Hands-On – Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition (live pics, specs & price)

This year, Montblanc has again been highly productive – and that’s a fact you’ll have to get used to, believe us. They introduced superb watches, including the ExoTourbillon Slim or the TimeWalker ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph, both part of the 4810 collection. They also introduced a more traditional watch, a regular chronograph, the 4810 Chronograph. That was not all… Based on a concept launched in 2012, the TwinFly, Montblanc integrates this great movement also in the 4810 collection, with the Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition. Dual Time, 24-hour indication and twin flyback function, in an elegant watch… Not the worst combination.

In 1906, 3 German pioneers developed a writing instrument with non-leaking technology and a piston convertor. it was the start of a success story, which actually never ended. However, no one would have expect, at that time, that 110 years later the brand named Montblanc would have been one of the main actors of Swiss watchmaking. This is what the Montblanc 4810 collection celebrates, with several watches respecting all the codes of the old Maison. Then you have this name, 4810, which is actually a reference to the altitude of the Mont Blanc, the highest European peak – and the old logo of the brand. This collection clearly has a lot about the brand’s DNA, and not only in its name.

This new Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition, introduced with the other watches of the collection, at the SIHH 2016, is in the vein of the “affordable luxury” approach of the brand. What does it mean? Well, simply that it offers a lot for a reasonable price. You’ll name it: a chronograph, with in-house movement, dual-time function, 24-hour display, twin flyback (more about this later), column wheel with vertical clutch and a dial with superb look… And that for a very decent mid-range price, placed in-between the brand’s entry level watches – like this one – and the uber-complex, ultra-finished Villeret collection – and in fact, it’s much closer from the first ones, in terms of pricing, than from the latter. So to say, the Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph has quite some arguments to start the battle.

In terms of looks, this watch reissues all the usual codes we’ve seen previously, in watches such as the regular Montblanc 4810 Chronograph or the very desirable (and more high-end) ExoTourbillon Slim. Meaning that we have this same elegantly shaped case, with a round central container, with a convex bezel, perfectly rounded and polished, as well as a lugs attached to the case, with stepped design – something that clearly is inspired by the 1960s. Same goes for the pushers, with their rectangular shape, sitting next to an onion crown, with the Montblanc logo in a black cabochon.

The good point with this year’s editions of the 4810 is that not only the design is new (and definitely more refined and elegant) but so are the proportions: slightly smaller and slimmer. It is the case for the regular chronograph, going from 44mm to 43mm, and this 4810 TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition follows the same trend, with a 43mm diameter too, even if it is more complex in terms of mechanics and deserves a bit more space. The lugs are also slimmer, shorter and more curved, resulting in a watch that is more comfortable on the wrist. Elegance is not only in shapes but also in the way the watch looks on the wrist, and here, the improvement is undeniable.

The nicest part of this 4810 collection certainly is the decorum used on the dials. This Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition is no exception to the rule. Indeed, it has a lot of different finishes, which you could easily see on more expensive watches. Again, Montblanc is clever here, by offering a look of a 40,000 Euros watch, without the costly manufacturing processes. The dial shows a nice wave pattern, which could be guilloché. In fact, it is stamped – thus easier to produce – but still very desirable. The numerals, coated in gold, are also resulting from a stamping process and are not applied. But then again, the result is visually pleasing. The indexes are stylized and give the watch a great elegance and some character.

The display of the Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph is rather unique: hours and minutes on the central axis, via large, gold plated, hands, a second time-zone with a skeletonized blued hand (also on the central axis), a small second at 6, with a widow displaying the date, a 24-hour / day & night indicator at 12 and finally, 2 more hands in the middle. Indeed, this watch has a specific way to show the chronograph functions, as both the seconds (classical…) and the minutes (less classical) are showed by large hands, running on tracks printed on the periphery of the dial. It is legible and allows to have a cleaner dial, when the chronograph is not running (no need for an additional 30-minute counter, as in the regular 4810 Chronograph). This is due to the movement that ticks inside the watch, the Calibre MB LL100.1 – and this display also explains the TwinFly function.

This innovative and modern movement was introduced first in 2012, in the Timewalker TwinFly. We’re talking proper in-house movement, specifically developed by Montblanc and produced internally. This movement features the finest combination for a chronograph: an activation of the functions via a column-wheel and the presence of a vertical clutch (allowing for a precise start of the chronograph functions, without the small jump often seen on cam chronos…). It boasts 72 hours (3 days) of power reserve and ticks at 4Hz. The finishing is pleasant, with Geneva striped and blue hands. The best part with this watch is the TwinFly function: a double flyback feature. A flyback allows to have a instant reset of the timing functions by only pressing the pusher at 4 once, instead of the classical stop-reset-start sequence. However, here, both seconds and minutes are placed in the middle of the watch, meaning that there’s a double flyback – both hands jumping back to zero.

With this Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph, the brand achieves to include a movement usually placed in sporty and robust piece, but with now an elegant and more discreet look. The strength of the present deal is of course in the price. Indeed, the 4810 TwinFly comes for 6,900 Euros, a price-range where we usually find more classical movements, mostly outsourced or without all the extra-features this watch can include. Montblanc is good in bringing luxury and complications to a large audience and we, at Monochrome-Watches, are pleased by this. Limited to 1,100 Pieces. Montblanc.com.

Specifications of the Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition

• Case: 43mm diameter x 14.58mm thick – stainless steel – sapphire crystal on the front and on the back – 50m water resistant
• Movement: Calibre MB LL100.1, in-house – automatic winding – 72h power reserve – 28,800 vibrations/h – hours, minutes, small seconds, double flyback chronograph, 24-hour indicator, second time-zone, date
• Strap: alligator leather strap on steel folding clasp