Editor’s Note: Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) has moved online and Baselworld 2020 is canceled, but that hasn’t stopped watch brands large and small from debuting their new wares. Stay on top of this year’s best new watch releases here.
The availability of multiple, easily scannable time zones on the wrist is useful to more than just travelers — it’s arguably the most practical information watches can offer to internationally connected wearers apart from the local time itself. The required density of information on a world time watch also often lends itself to a striking look, and newly revised Montblanc Star Legacy Orbis Terrarum puts all that together in a highly compelling package.
The map dial is a feature traditionally associated with world time watches — in this case, it corresponds to 24 city that the user can rotate via the 8 o’clock pusher. The time is then easily read in each city by the rotating 24-hour disc alongside it. All this is accomplished by a modified Sellita SW350-1 automatic GMT movement with in-house module and an independently adjustable hour hand, which is visible through a display case back.
Measuring 43mm, the Orbis Terrarum offers a bold wearing experience and enough dial space for the city names to be nice and legible. The new version introduces several updates over the previous version, with a subtle case redesign and a more sophisticated, three-dimensional dial execution. It also costs a bit more, at $6,800 in steel or $20,800 in rose gold.
