The dial of the Orbis Terrarum has a good legibility and only when lights go dim, I needed to turn up the lights in order to read the time in another time zone (and I have to admit that age is starting to have an effect on my eyesight.) So before I phone our contributor Mario, who lives in Shanghai, it’s good to check what moment of the day it is. While these 24 time zones are not all time zones of the world, it’s good to realize that the these 24 time zones cover most major countries (except India where the time difference is GMT +5.30h). When in the office (or any other place) you can see, in one glance, the times in 24 time zones around the world. The pusher at 8 o’clock will allow for adjusting the hour hand and city-ring with 1-hour increments and this can be used when you’re traveling In the office or at home With the crown pulled to the second position, bot the hour hand and minute hand can be adjusted. When the crown is pulled to the first position, you can change the hour hand with 1-hour increments, and at the same time the 24-hour disk also rotates in 1-hour increments.
On some worldtimers setting time is a bit of a hassle, but not so with the Orbis Terrarum. Aligned with each city is the time in that city, and in the entire timezone that it represents. Around that is a 24-hour ring that is half silver, half dark blue, and that rotates in 24 hours. Just around the centre depicting the continents, is a ring with cities that represent the 24 timezones. This allows for a quick view on whether it’s day or night all 24 time zones around the world. Below this sapphire disk with seas and continents, is a second disk – half silver, half dark blue – that rotates in 24 hours. Because the continents are transparent, the dark blue of the lower disk is visible and shows the part of the Earth where it’s night, and where it’s day. The seas are printed in blue, on the underside of a sapphire dial, and the continents are transparent with light blue surroundings. This multilayer dial shows the Earth from the North Pole, and all continents on the Northern Hemisphere are visible. It’s the size, the quality and finish, and especially the lovely dial that catches the attention. The reason for saying this, is that the Orbis Terrarum got a lot of very positive remarks. Most people that we encounter on a daily basis are used to seeing something new on our wrists, and I have to say that some watches just catch more attention than others. We’re in the lucky position to wear quite a few different watches, going from entry level luxury (take for instance the Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue) to ultra-high-end timepieces like the Lange & Söhne Double Split, URWERK UR-210. And it doesn’t always have to be related to a phone call, it can also be because a fast response is required and knowing the local times helps to know whether that fast response is realistic or not. One of the things that we have to realize, although this might sound rather obvious, is what time it is before calling someone on the other side of the Earth. Whether it’s business, family, friends or maybe hobby related, chances are that you’re in contact with people from all over the world as well. Here at Monochrome we’re working with people from all around the globe, and I don’t think we’re unique in that. In this review we will focus on wearing the watch on a daily basis in the office, and during a trip from Amsterdam to New York (and back.) That was the perfect opportunity to test the worldtimer properties in real life and for the exact purpose that it has been designed for. Besides the modest diameter, the case is only 11.99mm thick, making this a very comfortable watch to wear. The Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum comes in a 41mm case, in either stainless steel or 18k red gold. A worldtimer is after all one of the most convenient complications in this day and age, and with such a price, Montblanc makes this complication available for a larger audience. The watches are now becoming available in stores and we thought it would be a good idea to review it. In the past years a few more contenders entered the market of world timers, however with the launch of the Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum, earlier this year, we have a new player in luxury entry level. Until a decade ago, the worldtimer wrist watch, originally developed by Louis Cottier, was a complication that was dominated by brands like Patek Philippe and Girard-Perregaux (with their WW.TC). The world of high-end watches has seen several new releases of worldtimers in the last years.
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