Montblanc combines two of the hottest case materials – DLC and red gold – to create the TimeWalker Dual Carbon Chronograph. If you don’t know, DLC stands for diamond-like carbon, and it produces an extremely corrosion-resistant coating with a hardness of 3,000 Vickers. By way of comparison, steel has a hardness of 230 Vickers. And Montblanc does not stop there.
Unlike other brands using DLC, Montblanc employs a unique two-step process. In step one, the 43mm stainless steel case is hardened. A thermal treatment applied to the case surface fuses it with additional carbon atoms to increase the hardness of the exterior to as much as 1,000 Vickers. In step two, the black DLC coating is applied to the already-hardened surface.
Both front and back crystals are sapphire, and the front crystal is domed with anti-reflective coating on both sides. Of course the crown incorporates an inlaid Montblanc signet. Inside the case resides an integrated automatic winding chronograph movement beating at 4 Hz (28,800 vph). Continuous seconds appear at 9 o’clock, and a 12 hour elapsed time indicator is located at 6 o’clock.
The Dual Carbon Chronograph has a European MSRP of 4750 euros. You may click the image to view a larger version.
