For a while now, the TimeWalker by Montblanc has been supercharged with high tech materials and sophisticated innovations. The latest addition to this collection is also its most technically superior. Capable of extremely precise time measurements, TimeWalker Chronograph 100, as its name suggests, is accurate to the nearest 100th of a second. But instead of a single balance oscillating at 360,000vph at all times, its movement is designed with two balance wheels, one oscillating at a very traditional 18,000vph and the other at 360,000vph (but only when the chronograph is activated). TimeWalker Chronograph 100 is Montblanc’s first commercially marketed watch that is a direct offspring of the stupendous TimeWriter II Chronographe Bi-Frèquence.
As a product of Montblanc’s Villeret manufacture, the movement of the TimeWalker Chronograph 100, Calibre MB M66.25, is at once traditional yet state-of-the-art. Internally, a patented control mechanism offers innovative column wheel control and a novel zero-return solution for the 100th of a second chronograph hand. Long story short, using conventional components, a two-level column wheel is responsible for the start and stop, as well as the zero-return on all the counters. But the zero-return for the 100th of a second chronograph hand uses a specially designed disc with a catch. The zero-return lever comes into contact with this disc in order to bring the hand back to zero. When engaged, this high-frequency chronograph keeps going for a maximum of 45 minutes on full wind. But if you want more, simply wind the crown anticlockwise as the chronograph is running. On the other hand, the going train for time display stays powered for a maximum of 100 hours on full wind.
Its innovative internal mechanism is met with an equally thrilling exterior. The three-part case consists of a DLC-coated titanium bezel, a screwed case back in titanium with a sapphire pane exposing the movement, and its middle is made of titanium that’s sheathed with carbon fibre. A Villeret made timekeeper, it is thus a single push piece chronograph with the button positioned at 12 o’clock, its high tech design bringing up the technical appeal of the timepiece by several notches. Finally, the number 100 doesn’t only refer to its timekeeping sensibilities but also its production quantity as only 100 pieces of the TimeWalker Chronograph 100 will be made, and priced at €50,000 (approximately S$90,000).