Image: Montblanc

Montblanc, at heart a mountaineering brand, has finally discovered a way to appropriately express a diving watch, the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date, while remaining loyal to its heritage. The name of the game is glaciers, however any tourist to the Alps will be familiar with the region’s numerous beautiful lakes. The diving watch is a modern watchmaking standard, and every major watch manufacturer has one or something similar. The ISO 6425-certified Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date is a diving watch through and through. To be perfectly honest, the pricing is what you’ll want to know because it’s a great winner. It is priced at S$4,400 (CHF3,000).

Image: Montblanc

We can cheerfully report, as may no doubt other observers, that the 1858 Iced Sea is a lot of watch for the price. Whereas some may anticipate Montblanc to evoke its Minerva past and charge exorbitant prices, the firm has seen a potential at the sub CHF3,000 level. We applaud them for it and have been waiting for our chance to openly declare it since we first learned about this diving watch earlier this year. Unfortunately, it was bound for Watches & Wonders Geneva, so we had to wait.

Image: Montblanc

For a diving watch these days, a low price is only a decent starting point. Montblanc feels that the answer may be found in a magnificent dial. This is an excellent option for the company that provided the Geospheres watch, and it deserves some explanation. The dial is indeed lovely, but it is also extremely difficult, comprising no less than 30 operations for each dial. Laurent Lecamp, Montblanc’s watchmaking chief, claims that its dial is unrivaled in all aspects among diving watches, and he’s probably correct. In this regard, the 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date provides good value for money as well as a distinct personality.

Image: Montblanc

The two pillars mentioned above are two of the three that Lecamp believes are essential to every Montblanc watch. The third component is the tale that the watch conveys, and there is no genuine history here. Instead, in terms of diving watches, we have the unwritten narrative of glaciers, which may be an excellent chance for Montblanc to do some good. Without a doubt, time will tell the true story of the 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date, therefore we will conclude with the watch’s specs. It’s not a little watch at 41mm in steel, but that’s to be expected considering the 300-meter water resistance. Surprisingly, the Iced Sea boasts a brand-new adjustable bracelet. The watch is not limited edition and has a Selina movement that has been tweaked.