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Mont Blanc Watches
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Author:  t.allen [ Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:57 am ]
Post subject:  Mont Blanc Watches
Hey guys,

I am a total fan of Breitling, but the other day I was looking at some Mont Blanc Timewalkers and their Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph watch.

I might change things up a little bit on the next purchase. Do any of you have one?
Author:  FEAR [ Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
We are a dealer, in like a lot of them, and you get a good amount of watch for your money, but they aren't the best for holding value.
Author:  JacksonStone [ Mon Nov 21, 2011 3:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
I wish I could offer feedback. Unfortunately, I'm just an interested spectator, as I've long been interested in the brand, but have no firsthand experience with it. There are literally no Montblanc watch dealers in the state of Oregon. My biggest reservation with the brand is that I can't help but feel the asking price is mainly for the styling and the brand itself; the movements are stock ETA, which (mostly) aren't chronometer grade. Obviously the in-house Rieussec line is an exception, and one or two of the ETA-based models are COSC certified, but most of them seem like they emphasize form over function. Still, I do find their form appealing, at least on some of them.
Author:  nr123 [ Mon Nov 21, 2011 6:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
I used to collect the pens, used to have over 50 at one point, never owned one of the watches.
Author:  JacksonStone [ Mon Nov 21, 2011 7:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
nr123 wrote:
I used to collect the pens, used to have over 50 at one point, never owned one of the watches.

Their pens are excellent. But in acknowledging that, I've touched on another reservation I have about the brand's watches, which is actually just an extension of the reservation I mentioned above. Montblanc started out making pens; that's what they did, and they did it well. Now, they're pulling the old corporate schlock of trying to branch out into other areas: watches, leather goods, eyewear...even, lord help us, fragrance. That's when you know the corporate groupthinkers are at the helm. Whereas Montblanc used to mean excellent pens, it has become a brand and an emblem to slap on things. I'm not saying the watches are crap, but the "brand over craft" philosophy is something that concerns me, as it would with any company known for making a specific type of product. I'm not interested in a Rolex fountain pen.
Author:  F14D_Tomcat [ Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
If I'm not mistaken, Montblanc pens existed before the watches did.
Author:  JacksonStone [ Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
F14D_Tomcat wrote:
If I'm not mistaken, Montblanc pens existed before the watches did.

That's a much more concise way of saying what I just blathered on about. :wink:
Author:  F14D_Tomcat [ Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
JacksonStone wrote:
F14D_Tomcat wrote:
If I'm not mistaken, Montblanc pens existed before the watches did.

That's a much more concise way of saying what I just blathered on about. :wink:


:)
Author:  nr123 [ Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
JacksonStone wrote:
nr123 wrote:
I used to collect the pens, used to have over 50 at one point, never owned one of the watches.

Their pens are excellent.


I've owned Montblancs that have cost over $1,000 (such as a gold plated boheme) and still the 25 cent Bic writes smoother!

I guess it's like saying a Timex keeps better time than a Breitling.
Author:  jlee5050 [ Tue Nov 22, 2011 8:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
As much as they really try to appeal as a true bonafide timepiece manufacturer, I can't get past the pen image... the pens are nice though... had one myself before...
Author:  JacksonStone [ Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
nr123 wrote:
I've owned Montblancs that have cost over $1,000 (such as a gold plated boheme) and still the 25 cent Bic writes smoother!

I guess it's like saying a Timex keeps better time than a Breitling.

Which kind are you using? I have a Montblanc fountain pen. A Bic can't compare...literally. No ballpoint can. It's like comparing quartz to automatic/mechanical. Ballpoints get the job done, arguably better than a fountain pen can. (I find the writing I do with a ballpoint to be more legible than my writing with my fountain pen.) But a fountain pen has that certain something a ballpoint doesn't have. That makes your Timex/Breitling comparison completely apropos. Of course, a quartz Timex will keep better time than the best automatic Breitling. But anyone who would spend thousands on an automatic watch is after something more than just the ability to tell time. Similarly, anyone who would spend hundreds or thousands on a pen is after something more than just the ability to write.
Author:  nr123 [ Wed Nov 23, 2011 4:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
JacksonStone wrote:
nr123 wrote:
I've owned Montblancs that have cost over $1,000 (such as a gold plated boheme) and still the 25 cent Bic writes smoother!

I guess it's like saying a Timex keeps better time than a Breitling.

Which kind are you using? I have a Montblanc fountain pen. A Bic can't compare...literally. No ballpoint can. It's like comparing quartz to automatic/mechanical. Ballpoints get the job done, arguably better than a fountain pen can. (I find the writing I do with a ballpoint to be more legible than my writing with my fountain pen.) But a fountain pen has that certain something a ballpoint doesn't have. That makes your Timex/Breitling comparison completely apropos. Of course, a quartz Timex will keep better time than the best automatic Breitling. But anyone who would spend thousands on an automatic watch is after something more than just the ability to tell time. Similarly, anyone who would spend hundreds or thousands on a pen is after something more than just the ability to write.


Actually only owned a couple fountain pens - never once dipped them though. They were all rollerball and ballpoint. In my office I have a silver doue that I take with me to meetings, but when I'm alone the bic comes out to play.
Author:  ryanlb [ Thu Nov 24, 2011 8:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
I have a friend who has one with silver face and leather strap and he said he was happy when he bought it a couple years ago. i think it looks great. haven't seen him wear it though in a super long time though..
Author:  Driver8 [ Fri Nov 25, 2011 3:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mont Blanc Watches
I'm afraid I tend to be a little black and white when it comes to the likes of Mont Blanc watches, and for once I agree with The Watch Snob on this one - if you want a pen, buy a Mont Blanc : if you want a watch, buy one from a watch company.

That said, they do have a kind of in-house movement - parts are made by another company, but are assembled and tested by Mont Blanc - which elevates them from a "pen-maker-that-dabbles-in-watches", to a "pen-maker-that-also-makes-nice-watches" in my eyes.

But ultimately I can't currently get past the pen-maker part when it comes to their watches.

(Their pens are superb though. I have two myself - a fountain pen and a fibretip that also takes the rollerball cartridges - and they are lovely things to write with IMO).
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