The Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Complet does exactly what it says on the cover, and the clue to this one is the last part of the name – quantième complet. This phrase indicates a complete calendar, and for Montblanc, that takes the form of a four-part calendar. Back to basics with this one – as far as traditional dial layouts are concerned, and we couldn’t be happier about that.

Given that perpetual calendars seem to be rather “in” at the moment, it is worth noting that the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Complet is not a perpetual calendar – if that’s what you want, you have to check out the Meisterstuck Heritage Perpetual (hands-on here). The one we are looking at here, though, you will need to adjust 5 times per year – for when the month has fewer than 31 days – to keep the date accurate. Displayed on the periphery of the dial surrounds by a red-tipped hand, adjusting this indication is accomplished by a button that is set in to the side of the 40mm case.

That is only one part of the four-part calendar, though, as you will find the next two indications for the calendar just below the applied 12 o’clock index. There, you have the day of the week and the month showing up in modestly-sized windows – which, based on the official images, we fear may prove to be a tad too small, but that is something we’ll determine once we go hands-on with this new release. Combined with that central hand, it would seem that we have all the pieces needed to know where in a month (or on a calendar) we actually are, no?

Well, as it turns out, on the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Complet, the moonphase indicator – which appears at the 6 o’clock position – is considered to be the fourth part of the calendar. While I would not normally consider it to be, I suppose it does make sense, as we see moon phases called out on printed calendars. On this particular implementation, I like the fact that Montblanc made it very clear (via a printed scale) that the indicator relies on a 29.5-day cycle.

As I mentioned earlier, the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Complet features a 40mm case, and it is just a hair under 10mm thick, made of stainless steel with alternating polished and brushed surfaces. Both sides of the case have a sapphire crystal, as you would expect, with the rear crystal giving you a view of the MB 29.16 automatic movement housed therein. The movement is more than likely going to be a Sellita base caliber (running at 4 Hertz with 42 hours of power reserve), with a special module on top that allows for the four calendar indications. The dial is silver in color and appears to have a mild sunburst pattern to it. I do have a concern with the dial, though – when combined with the polished and rhodium-plated handset, you do not have a whole lot of color differentiation there, so time-telling at a glance may be tricky, unless you tilt your wrist to have the beveled edges of the handset catch the light.

Then again, this may not be much of a concern in real life, and we are looking into getting one in for a review (which, of course, would settle this question). Or, if you like, you can head into your local retail location that carries Montblanc when the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Complet is availabile in July. When available, you can pick up your own for a price of $4,900 on the leather strap, or $5,200 on a 5-link bracelet. That strap seems like it would be another reason to give this watch a once-over – Montblanc claims that the three-part clasp is super flat, which could be nice for having a compact deployant. Regardless, the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Quantième Complet is a very polished-looking piece that will let you know where you are in time – unless it gets all wibbly-wobbly, that is. montblanc.com