The 1858 Iced Sea family of diver's watches welcomes a new member: the Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 model.
Many were surprised when Montblanc launched the 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date dive watch in 2022. The main feature of this novelty with a water resistance of up to 300 meters was its dial, which replicated the surface of the Mer de Glace valley glacier (French for "Sea of Ice") on the northern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif.
A technique from the 19th century called "gratté boisé" was used to depict it: the artists achieved the necessary texture by scratching a brass dial base with a brush, where each bristle is just 0.4 mm thick.
Once the base has been given the necessary relief, which is important for the play of light, it's then coated with colored lacquer. The lacquer needs to be applied with great care: it should protect the dial without concealing the necessary recesses (the dial measures a mere 0.5 mm in height here).
In 2024, the collection is welcoming a model with zero oxygen inside the movement (no fogging — guaranteed)! A source of inspiration for this engineering feat was the climber Reinhold Messner, who reached the summit of Mount Everest without using supplemental oxygen on May 8, 1978.
In Montblanc's Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810, the automatic COSC-certified MB 29.29 movement has a 120-hour power reserve. The tradition of creating "glacial" dials has been upheld, only now this model has been given a new deep blue tone (the palette of the Iced Sea series was initially inspired by naturally occurring colors of glaciers).
A key feature of this premier is the 4810 m spec for the model's water-resistant case with a unidirectional rotating bezel — the height of Mont Blanc. So with this novelty, the manufacture has added their name to the list of watchmakers that make pieces for extreme deep diving, which already features Rolex and Omega.
Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810
The caseback of the Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 depicts a view that divers might see when plunging deep below the ice. This is where the watchmaker has made use of laser engraving.