World-time watches are among watchmaking’s most useful complications, especially for frequent travelers or those who conduct business around the world. Recently, Montblanc rounded out its Star Legacy collection with a new watch featuring a new, in-house world-time movement, the Star Legacy Orbis Terrarum 

The name Orbis Terrarum comes from the Latin name for the first maps created by the Romans. The dial is adorned with a beautiful representation of the northern hemisphere as seen from above, a fitting design for the world-time watch. The map hovers over a stunning flinqué-froissé guilloché motif that recalls ocean waves, adding a sense of elegance to the dial. The guilloché isn’t just beautiful, it serves an important function: There are two different shades of blue or brown on the dials, one representing day, the other representing night. It’s a subtle and graceful day/night indication.

There is a city ring that displays all 24 time zones, so you can instantly know the time anywhere in the world, and surrounding that is a flange minute track with SuperLuminova dots every five minutes for easy legibility. Home time appears at 12 o’clock on the dial, which is indicated by a red triangle, and London’s GMT time is also red so you can easily orient yourself when looking for a city. A pusher at 8 o’clock moves the city ring and the hour and minute hands are synchronized with the pusher, so it is easy to set. The watches are powered by the in-house Calibre MB M29.20, which is water-resistant to 50m and has a 42-hour power reserve. The caseback is open, so you can admire the movement. There are two editions: a stainless-steel case with a blue dial and a rhodium-coated map, and an 18K rose-gold case with a brown dial and rose-gold-coated map, which is limited to 500 pieces. The watches retail for $6,800 and $20,800, respectively. For more information, visit montblanc.com 

words by Kristen Shirley