TimeWalker Urban Speed e-Strap – Montblanc’s first foray into digital wearables

The first luxury brand to combine wearable technology with fine watchmaking.

Marrying a functional e-Strap with contemporary TimeWalker timepieces, TimeWalker Urban Speed e-Strap is Montblanc’s first luxury watch to combine wearable technology with fine watchmaking. For the first time, an owner will be able to wear a mechanical timepiece with highly useful digital functionality.

The e-Strap is an interchangeable strap, with an integrated technology device that offers an activity tracker, smart notifications, remote controls and Find-Me functions. It connects, via Bluetooth Low Energy, to selected Android and iOS smartphones. This collection extension contains three new models including a chronograph and a UTC.

Smart notifications, signaled by vibrations provide an alert of incoming communication without the need to look at the smartphone. It enables the preview of e-mails by topic and sender, read text messages, see incoming calls and status updates of social media feeds or reminders of important upcoming meetings, all on the wrist.

The activity tracker is a simple tool to monitor the wearer´s physical activity over time and keep track of his personal daily goals. To do so, it measures the number of steps taken per day, calories burnt and the distance travelled. The accompanying smartphone application enables the of progress per week and month. The e-Strap will remind the wearer to stay active through unobtrusive vibration alerts and show at a glance the daily progress.

The remote controls are useful for controlling the smartphone with the e-Strap. The camera remote enables the taking of pictures with the smartphone by triggering the shutter with a tap on the e-Strap thus allowing better and easier selfies or group shots.

Playing, pausing, and skipping music on the smartphone can be also remotely steered with the music control function of the e-Strap.

Additionally, the Find-Me function allows searching for the watch or phone within a range of up to 30 meters, either by tapping on the e-Strap to find the smartphone or by using the smartphone application to find the watch.

The e-Strap device has an inbuilt touch screen display, readable in daylight, to display the information and navigate through the functionalities. The technical device is encapsulated in a stainless steel case with rubber protection and can be easily fixed and adjusted with the pass- through strap.

Depending on usage, the device needs to be recharged every 5 days using a standard micro-USB cable.

Due to its innovative manufacturing process, the upper surface of the leather wristband has a characteristic carbon appearance. In a long and meticulous process, the leather is textured and simultaneously impregnated with an innovative treatment that does not only coat the surface of the wristband, but also bonds with it and increases its structural strength. This innovative technique produces a high-performance and innovative leather, delivering abrasion resistance, water repellence and heat wear-, water- and fire-resistant.

All TimeWalker Urban Speed e-Strap models (priced between 2.990 euros for a Timewalker Urban Speed automatic e-Strap and 4.690 euros for a Timewalker Urban Speed chronograph e-Strap) will be available in markets in June 2015 with or without the e-Strap device. The E-Strap, compatible with iPhone 4S, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4 and upwards will cost 350 euros, announced Montblanc.