Review: The New Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810

We got our hands on the new Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 as a loaner, and bring you this comprehensive review.

Review: The New Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810

The Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 has a retail price of SGD 13,400.00. It will be available from June 2024 onwards.

“Hey! Would you be keen on taking our latest Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810?” Well, “HELL YES!” was our answer. The watch was a piece that we saw at Watches and Wonders 2024 and we particularly like that it referenced the Montblanc’s height.

The Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 is the brand’s hero piece during Watches and Wonders 2024. It is a continuation of the “Zero Oxygen series” of watches that the maison have released.

First Impression/ The Case

Oh! It’s a chunky monkey! It’s a light chunky monkey! But a light weight one! The case is full titanium, and the Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 (yes, we certainly agree it’s a mouthful of a name) features a titanium case, titanium case back and titanium crown.

The watch conforms to the ISO6425:2018 standard. This standard applies to divers’ watches designed to withstand diving in water at depths of at least 100 m and equipped with a secured measuring system to indicate the diving time, which is visible in darkness. A basic requirement, which this Montblanc pass with flying colours.

Now, the interesting question: what does “Zero Oxygen” mean? According to the Montblanc, this is done by filling up a tank in nitrogen and encasing it inside the said tank. As Nitrogen is less dense than Oxygen, this would have to be a sealed tank, unlike the Argon used in Sinn watches which can be open top (like an aquarium), because Argon is denser than air. But why zero oxygen? The reason for omitting oxygen from the watch is so that it is able to eliminate fogging during drastic temperature changes but also to prevent oxidisation of the components within the watch. Nitrogen is often used to fill binoculars to drive out moisture and thus able to prevent fogging. And of course, we know that a low oxygen environment can arrest oxidation.

We also note that that the watch does not have a helium valve. The watch is clearly not designed for saturation diving. But there is more. Montblanc tells us that another reason not to have a valve is that in the event that the valve operates as designed during decompression, some oxygen will be introduced into the system. Nullifying the efforts to remove oxygen in the first place. And even though not designed for saturation diving and lacking a Helium escape valve, the watch’s case construction would guarantee good resistance even in the event of pressurised diving. This is similar, for example to the Seiko Professional Diver Watches, where the case construction is sufficient to resist the crystals from blowing out.

Looking back at the brand’s catalog, the Deep 4810 is similar to the 1858 Iced Sea Automatic that was released in 2022. The difference is the earlier watch has a ceramic bezel versus anodised aluminium on this novelty. According to Montblanc, anodised aluminium is more resistant in an extreme diving conditions as compared to ceramic. We are not able to verify this claim, which seems counter intuitive to us. Perhaps they mean that the bezel will be more resistant to breaking from scuffs with rocks during diving. Aesthetically, the anodised aluminium bezel offer lumed markers which are really quite bright. Aesthetically, we prefer the anodised aluminium because matte finish of the bezel is more attractive as compared to the shiny ceramic bezel. We hope that in time to come, the bezel would patina and grow with the owner.

The Dial

Pictures certainly does not do this dial justice. It is certainly one that is not easy to photograph due to the dark colour way but when seen under natural lighting with our naked eye.

A technique known as gratté-boisé is used to make the textures on dial which depicts an image of the ice of one of Mont-Blanc’s largest glacier – the Mer de Glacé. The blue is acculturated with a sfumato effect which depicts the tone of ice found deep under the sea. The technique uses a wooden tool to scrap the surface of the brass dial. The friction between the two materials will cause fine scratches on the dial which under different light, will mimic the ice of Mer de Glacé.

Due to the complex manufacturing process of the dial, it takes four times longer to make one as compared to a standard dial. The gorgeous dial is further complimented by the Super Luminova on the hands, indexes and a dot at 12 o’clock which glows in blue to stick to the glacier theme that the maison have set.

The Movement

Powering this intricate watch from Montblanc is a Manufacture caliber MB29.29. During the brief with the Montblanc Team, they specially emphasised that this is a fully in-house movement that is COSC certified. The movement features a very potent power reserve at 120 hours while beating at 28,800bph. Apart from telling the time, the movement also features a date display. We think the movement is likely based on the MB29.20 based on the nomenclature. The MB29.20 is a Selitta SW300 variant. The movement is likely manufactured by ValFleurier (the in-house Richemont movement supplier).

The case back is not open and prevents us from inspecting the movement to determine providence or finishing. But as a deep diving watch, this is quite understandable and probably standard. The case back is also in titanium and features a 3D engraving of the view while below the ice. A gorgeous three-dimensional coloured relief is achieved by a process of laser-generated oxidisation that creates both shiny and matt finishes to create such contrasting colour and texture.

The Strap

OH! Don’t get us started on the strap on this. We just love it! The rubber strap hugs the wearer snugly just like a well fitted tailored pants. And deserves a detailed look.

1. The inside of the strap has a groove that will wrap around your wrist where it will hug you snugly while giving the wrist some breathing space. Fundamentally, the rubber strap is supple and soft. It is as if the rubber strap is a second skin.
2. The extensive number of holes on the strap that will certainly enables the watch to be fitted on wrist of different size. Let’s take the example of “The Week on the Wrist” where writer Stanley’s girlfriend with a 5.5 inch wrist would be able to wear the watch and when it was Stanley’s turn to wear, he just have to move a hole or two looser to fit his 6.25 inch wrist. Now that’s versatile.
3. Finally the pièce de résistance of the strap is that AMAZING single fold deployant. What is so special about it one may ask? Well firstly, the deployant tugs the strap in between the wearer’s wrist and the buckle when buckled so that the skin does not have direct contact with the deployant that many watches do. This enables the wearer to feel more comfortable without the metal deployant poking and restricting the wrist. Secondly, it features a micro adjuster. Though the micro adjuster is meant to be for the divers to extend the strap to fit over their skin suit but let’s be real, 80% of the watches might not even have a taste of the sea water. And put into daily use, as wrist expands and contracts throughout the day, this becomes a nifty feature. The wearer is able to adjust it even just by 1mm to make them more comfortable.

Very impressive strap. indeed. To use motorsport metaphors that we are sometimes fond of using: It is like a Lamborghini Aventador made more nimble on Nurburgring when it is clad in Pirellis.

Competitive landscape

There are not many watches that can venture of the abyss of 4810m.

The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 6000M Ultra Deep immediately comes to mind. Probably the Montblanc’s closest competitor in the series is the Ref. 215.92.46.21.01.001 titanium version. It too does not have a helium escape valve but is significantly more expensive at SGD 19,700 (price is correct as of 31st May 2024). Though pricing wise, the Omegasteel version perhaps a lower price with the similar technical specifications at a slightly lower price. We compared the Montblanc and Omegasteel versions below.

Another possible candidate is the Oris AquisPro 4000M. This is a behemoth of a watch standing at 49.5mm diameter which really seems like the watch that perhaps only Dwayne Johnson could rock. Jokes aside, the Oris matches the Montblanc technically almost point for point. The Oris is also encased in titanium, the movement has a power reserve of 120 hours beating at 28,800 bph. All at a grand total of SGD 8,700.

Photo courtesy of Oris

Concluding thoughts

The Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 is the watch perhaps an ideal weekend watch. During the week, the bulky diver may not be a good match to your suit and tie. But on the weekends, it’s gorgeous to pair with a shirt, and jeans and rock it with your On Cloud trainers.

We love that the watch gives off a rugged vibe that we would be able to use it in the urban jungle, trekking up a mountain and certainly down 4810m deep into the abyss of the ocean. In conclusion, we are certainly surprised that we like it in so many ways with the minor niggle of the somewhat high asking price. But you get what you pay for, and only you can decide if the Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 has a place in your collection.