Did you know that lifestyle luxury brand Montblanc made an ultra-deep diver’s watch with the added functional benefit of having an oxygen-free case environment? Neither did I until Montblanc showed me this interesting and recent entrant into their larger Iced Sea diver’s watch collection. aBlogtoWatch first covered the news of this Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 here. Iin general, Montblanc seems to be a brand in flux, but it retains a very strong watchmaking division. Some of its prices are high, but in general, there is a lot to enjoy in Montblanc’s timepiece catalog right now, and this sports model with high-end features should be on any dive watch enthusiast’s radar.
The Iced Sea collection of diver’s watches is Montblanc’s attempt to mix art with utilitarian purpose, and these watches perform well under the leadership of Montblanc’s Laurent Lecamp (who runs the brand’s wristwatch division). Over the last few years, Montblanc has released a few exclusive watches with a case that has the oxygen in the case sucked out and replaced with a different gas. aBlogtoWatch covered a few of the Montblanc O Oxygen watches here. Most of those watches were intended for high-altitude exploration (e.g., mountaineering), and now, Montblanc marries the concept with a watch intended to go very deep. I am sure that, internally at Montblanc, the brand is celebrating the fact that it has watches that can go as high or as low in depth or altitude as humans can go. So now, we have a rare example of a very deep-diving watch that also has a dial that will not fog up under the usual circumstances. It’s also almost as if Sinn had built a Montblanc, and that’s pretty cool.
Montblanc is not where you’d normally expect a high-performance diver’s watch capable of going over 15,000 feet underwater to come from. The Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810’s main competitors come from brands like Rolex, Omega, and Oris. Functionally, no one actually needs that much water resistance, but people also don’t often need extra-large tires on their trucks. This is about machismo as much as it is about tool-making or refinement. In many ways, the 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 watch looks like other Iced Sea collection models, but it has a larger case and additional text on the dial. Montblanc also uses a slightly different aesthetic technique for the face of the watch called “grate-boise,” and it helps create the appearance of sea ice. Naturally, the entire Iced Sea collection is inspired by all things “glacier.”
The rear of the case is just as interesting, with a colorful blue texture that Montblanc describes as the view from underwater looking up at ice over the surface of the water. This is one of the rarest and most beautiful views you can have in the ocean looking up. The Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 case is big but not crazy in size given its performance. The watch case is made from grade 5 titanium and is 43mm wide and 19.2mm thick. That said, the caseback is more rounded and, when on the wrist, the watch doesn’t feel all that high. As mentioned above, the watch is water resistant to 4,810 meters (15,780 feet).
Around the dial is a uni-directional rotating bezel, which is among the least distinctive parts of the Iced Sea as it looks to have been taken from a Rolex Submariner. On most Iced Sea collection watches the bezel insert is ceramic, but in this instance, it appears to be matte-finished black-colored aluminum. I am not sure why Montblanc decided to go with a more “retro” material, but it might have something to do with extreme water depth resistance. Over the dial of the watch is an AR-coated sapphire crystal, and the overall watch conforms to ISO 6425 norm standards as a professional diver’s watch.
Inside the Iced Sea 0 Oxygen timepiece is a movement that I think is well-suited for the theme: the Montblanc Manufacture caliber MB 29.29 automatic movement. This 4Hz movement has a long five days of power reserve and is COSC chronometer-certified. I don’t know much about this mechanism, but something leads me to believe it is similar to the Baume & Mercier Baumatic, which has the same performance specs and is also produced by the Richemont Group. The caliber MB 29.29 automatic offers the time along with the date. Most other Iced Sea collection watches have a simpler sourced movement with two days of power reserve, demonstrating that Montblanc wanted to bolster the value proposition here because the Deep 4810 version is more than double the price of a standard Montblanc Iced Sea Automatic Date.
Attached to the Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 watch is a very comfortable black rubber strap that comes on quick-release spring bars. I think if there were a blue strap option, it might help the blue dial color of the watch stand out a bit more. Also, no matching titanium metal bracelet option is currently available, though that would be really slick, even though this is an expensive enough watch as it is. As a big fan of handsome-looking and refined tool watches, I find a lot to like about the Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 watch. Indeed, there are things Montblanc can change about it, but as it is, this is a perfectly fun daily wear that combines practicality with the emotional appeal of a tool that can survive where you can not. Montblanc will have an uphill battle convincing many consumers to take this watch seriously, as I don’t think the brand has trained many enthusiasts to expect products like this. If, however, you are among the more open-minded timepiece lovers out there and can afford a watch like this, the Iced Sea Deep 4810 is certainly a charming watch with the power to make your wrist quite happy. Price for the reference MB133268 Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 watch is $9,100 USD. Learn more at the Montblanc website.
