For the first post of Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024 we thought we’d dive straight in, with Montblanc’s new Iced Sea Oxygen Deep 4,810 Diver.

It’s kind of curious, what Montblanc did when they created the anti-fogging ‘zero (0) oxygen’ watch in 2022 for mountaineers. But if you find Monblanc’s increasing number of geographically ‘high’ watches an interesting development in the brand, you’ll be at least as interested (if not more) by a similar ‘flpside’ gradual move into more dive watches such as the Iced Sea, into whose collection family comes today’s watch, with its depth rating of 4,810m.

So on the one ‘side’ there’s the mountaineering-themed watches and on the other, the Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 going down instead of up.

The Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 comes in a 43mm (19.4mm thick) grade 5 titanium case, with both the case and the crystal being thicker to deal with the water pressure when diving at great depths. It has a knurled unidirectional turning bezel with a black anodised aluminium insert, and a titanium crown with a Montblanc emblem.

The name of the model may specify 4810m, but this is in fact not a reference to the depth at which the watch was tested, but a reference to the height of Mont Blanc. I guess you should feel free to test it when free diving.

The ‘oxygen-free’ nature of the case is not just about the aforementioned fogging, but also about the issues of oxidation on the movement. The case and sapphire crystal of the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 are much thicker, to resist the pressures of the deep in this ISO 6425-certified diving watch. The ISO 6425 requires the watch to have 125 per cent of the stated water resistance, and the new Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 was tested for water resistance of over 6,000m. There are also adjustors in the strap clasp so that it can be worn over a diving suit.

The case has curved horns with a mix of polished and satin finishing, and has a domed sapphire crystal. The case back features a familiar thing for this collection family – a coloured 3D laser relief engraving featuring underwater ice as seen by a diver using laser-generated oxidisation of the metal to create both texture and (blue) color.

The glacier pattern of the deep blue dial is a nod to the Mer de Glace, with its texture created using gratté-boisé. The blue Sfumato glacier pattern dial has rhodium-coated Arabic numerals and markers, Super-LumiNova on the rhodium-coated hour, minute and seconds hands, and a logo inspired by a vintage Minerval export seal.

The Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 is powered by the new COSC-certified Calibre MB 29.29 manufacture movement which beats at 28,800 VPH and has a power reserve of 120 hours. The plate and bridges are rhodium-plated with micro-blasted finishes, and there is a gold-plated going-train.

This new model comes on an interchangeable black rubber strap with a stainless steel double-folding clasp with fine adjustment system and has an Australian RRP of $14,800.

Free diving record-holder William Trubridge was the first diver to go deeper than 100m without oxygen, and features in the promotional material for this watch, including visuals of him diving with it. It will probably be sufficient for the rest of us.

Categories: Divers watches, Hands-on, IWC, watches, Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024