Interaction and technology of the new Summit 2 with Felix Obschonka of Montblanc

Can technology get the better of a classic timepiece?

Felix Obschonka, associate director new technologies Montblanc,unveals all the secrets behind Summit 2, the new smartwatch by Montblanc, the first on the market with a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100. A smart yet luxury watch, with steel or titanium case.

How are fine watchmaking and advanced Technology mixed in this smartwatch?

Summit 2 is focusing on fine swiss watch making codes through design, material and finishing. The Summit 2 is loosely based on the 1858 collection from Montblanc, in terms of material we only use the finest material like stainless steel, titanium, fiber resin, and sapphire glass. For the finishing, all watch cases are satinated & polished by hand with care. All of this is merged with the latest technology, as we worked with Qualcomm to be the first one with their new chipset as well as with Google to incorporate their latest release of Wear OS by Google.

More than a watch; Tell us more about the functions of the of Summit 2.

The good thing about this watch is the versatility allowing to customize it according to your need. A Montblanc customer is usually business oriented, travelling a lot, curios and always want to achieve peak performance, in their job and in their free time. Therefore we focused on features around:

• Travel, with a scientific proven app to balance jet lag
• Health & Fitness, with our own running app that calculates based on VO2max your fitness level
• As well as features like turn-by-turn navigation or payment to explore your city

Timeshifter®: what is it?

TimeShifter is an app that helps you to avoid the negative effects of jet lag and adapt faster to a new time zone. It is a highly sophisticated algorithm, developed in collaboration with a professor from Harvard and already used by astronauts and professionals globally. Together with TimeShifter we make this technology accessible for every Summit 2 owner.

Travel and fitness; how can technology help and support who choose this smartwatch?

For Travel, we have a lot apps on board. Besides the jet lag app, we also have a travel app that will give information based on your current location. For example, it will detect if you arrived in Tokio and give insights about the doe`s and dont´s, favorite dishes, tipping or taxi fare, just to name a few. For sure, you also have with Google Assistant the possibility to get travel information, with Google Maps to get tun-by-turn navigation or with the UBER app to call an UBER.

For Fitness we have our running coach, which will help you to improve your health & fitness according to your goals. It basically first measures your current fitness level and then provides personalized trainings to achieve your goal. During each run it will tell you to run faster or slower, in order to avoid that you are running outside your optimal fitness zone. It also gives shows your training effect and recovery times.

Montblanc aesthetics and classic designs codes together with advanced technology. Why this choice? How can we consider it a unisex product?

We think that smart watches are something very personal, but at the same time it is also a piece of self-expression, visible to your peers. Therefore we belief that a smartwatch needs to look beautiful and stylish first, because else, it will not be worn continuously. You want to wear something that you appreciate at your wrist.

The 42mm size is one aspect on why this can be worn by man and woman. On the other hand, we also give a broad selection of different cases, colorful straps & watch faces that give you the opportunity to personalize to your taste, be it male or female.

Based on your experience and vision, how do you think smartwatch business can develop in the next 10 years?

We see that a smartwatch will become essential to your health & well-being, with new features allowing to track your current health and act based on this insight. We are only scratching the surface, you can expect to see a lot more in this direction.

We also see that more and more services will come from the phone to the watch that makes the life easier for business man and in particular travelers.

Is it a trend, an alternative or a real substitute for classic watch in the future?

I don´t think it is a trend, as a smartwatch already provides a high value to its user. They are getting better every year and we see that the market is growing healthy.

But smartwatches will not replace traditional watches. There is something magic in a mechanical movement and the art of creating a traditional watch, and this will always be valued. But on the other end, as a watch brand, we also see that there are new valuable features which are relevant for our customers and also for new customers exploring our brand. We want to share our passion in fine watch making therefore also within the smartwatch space and give selection to our customers. We also see that a lot of people own a smartwatch and a mechanical watch at the same time. Both worlds are not contradicting, but more complementing each other.

By Valentina Dalla Costa