After centuries of staid customs, this year haute horlogerie got a big shakeup with the arrival of the
Change, as they say, has come – and the brands that are faring best are those that have developed a clear vision for reconciling this new technology with tradition. Some brands have gone the route of developing their own version of the Apple Watch, while others have moved to incorporate elements of the ‘smartwatch’. Among the most unique examples of the latter approach is Montblanc, with its e-Strap.
Instead of changing the timepiece itself, Montblanc has incorporated connectivity into the watchstrap. Like a traditional leather band, the e-Strap is interchangeable; unlike, say, a crocodile strap, it is also a piece of tech hardware, with a touchscreen that connects via Bluetooth to your phone. Features include an activity tracker, smart notifications, remote controls and Find-Me functions. As a result, the wearer gets the best of both worlds: the elegant look of a traditional timepiece on the watch face, and the functionality of a smartwatch on the strap.
Despite its being founded nearly a hundred years ago, Montblanc has been an early adopter of the web, apps, and social media. For Jérôme Lambert, the company’s CEO, the e-Strap is simply the newest way to enrich their clients’ experience. “We saw in wearable technology elements that were interesting, [and] some other elements that are very opposite to any luxury definition,” Mr. Lambert said. “We say luxury is something that lasts, and technology, by definition, is something that doesn’t last long. Nevertheless, we saw all our clients with their very sophisticated products day after day, and more and more connected devices, so we were thinking what could be the best connected device to be introduced in our range, to serve even better our clients.”
The e-Strap wasn’t the brand’s first foray into tech. In 2014, Montblanc partnered with Samsung to create accessories for the electronics giant’s Galaxy Note 4. The standout was the StarWalker, a modern-day take on Montblanc’s signature pens. The StarWalker can be filled with a traditional ink cartridge, or you can pop in an e-Refill, which turns it into a digital writing instrument for smartphones and tablets.
The StarWalker is a neat feat: it incorporates new and old technology rather seamlessly. The quest to do the same on a watch was more difficult. “We came very quickly to the point that we could not break the paradigm of something that lasts and a smartwatch,” Mr. Lambert commented. “That was something that, in a way – still today – whatever concept of a watch is being proposed by a technology brand on the market, within 18 months there is a better product in terms of content that will come and will replace it. And even if you can have software updates, from a pure product standpoint, the battery, the display, the speed to download something, the security to use your product for payment, whatever – we know that within 18 months there will be a better product out.”
Developed by an in-house tech division at Montblanc’s headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, the e-Strap presented the perfect solution. Mr. Lambert explained, “We did the watch with something that is not at all exposed to that [problem of] obsolescence, or for which obsolescence is not a problem: the strap. Because when you wear a watch, your strap – with the question of humidity or where you live, the kind of outdoor activity you do – is obsolete within three, six, nine months… So considering the fact that after 12 months you change your leather strap, and a quality leather strap will be €200, when you’re looking at a technical device at around €350 [for the E-Strap], you remain in terms of mindset in the same ballpark. And in the way of consuming that is not a rupture in terms of value and in terms of culture – that’s how we came to the e-Strap.”
Wisely, Mr. Lambert says Montblanc is cognizant that while adapting the smartwatch concept was a challenge, the ensuing product – no matter how good it is – will not satisfy customers alone. Part of the appeal of a traditional timepiece is the level of service it comes with. With the e-Strap rolling out in stores this summer, the challenge now is to be able to provide the service and expertise customers have come to expect from Montblanc. “When it comes to traditional manufacturers of watches, you’re very far from the world of IT,” Mr. Lambert said. “Imagine you have a watch, and now you have a Chinese consumer shopping in Lucerne who asks the sales person there to change the language of the watch to get from German (which is the first parameter of the watch in Lucerne) to Chinese characters – wow. If the gentleman has been selling automatic watches, with complications that have existed for more than a century, he may know the manufacture and our DNA perfectly, but if he’s not every day on his iPhone or on his Samsung device, wow, it will be a reach.”
Luckily the brand has a direct line to its nearly 500 boutiques (which are operated either by Montblanc or by a franchisee). A training program is underway to give staff at Montblanc stores worldwide the same degree of proficiency with the e-Strap as they have with the brand’s classic timepieces. “If you go to a supermarket and you grab something, you understand that nobody is very eager to give you advice,” Mr. Lambert mused. “But if you go to a watch shop, you expect to be able to sit in front of a person who will explain to you the beauty and the characteristics of the product. That’s a different way of introducing and speaking for our products, and therefore at Montblanc we're working a lot on creating our structure to be able to welcome these products, presenting them, creating value and a positive experience for our clients.”
With this new chapter in the brand’s history, a younger generation will undoubtedly be introduced to Montblanc. And the brand has plans to reach that demographic via new channels such as e-commerce. Although the grounds of the luxury watch industry continue to shift under our feet, it seems Montblanc has found its footing.
