Danish watch brand Skagen

Established in the late 1980s, the Danish brand Skagen manufactures watches and accessories. Although their catalog does not include mechanical watches, Skagen can be seen as a watch brand, since they focus more on watches than accessories. Skagen has gained strong brand recognition with their minimalistic and clean-cut design, traits found in other Scandinavian brands. Skagen has been recognized for their high level of perfection by winning the “Red Dot Award” for two years in a row. Skagen was acquired by the Fossil Group, the largest watch company in the US and a major manufacturer with fashion watch brands that include Emporio Armani, DKNY, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and the tradition-rich Zodiac, as well as STP, the movement manufacturer that also makes mechanical
caliber. 

Montblanc 1858

Montblanc owns a variety of watch collections. But particularly the 1858 inherits the legacy of Minerva which first opened its shop in 1858. It was not only the external look of the watches that carried on Minerva’s heritages. The top-ranking manual chronograph watches follow the exact movement designs of the Minerva days. A perfect finishing and limited amount of production led to great demand despite the expensive price (price of the latest model is 37.46 million KRW) and stirred up watch lovers’ passion for collection. This collection features elements such as two counters on the left and right, a Monopusher type start/stop button and cathedral hands, and has also engraved a new vintage logo. The reason why I am writing a long story about mechanic watches in a smartwatch review is because the design of the Summit is the same as the manual-winding Chronograph of 1858. 

A modern interpretation of a classic design

The graphic of the dial displayed on the LED screen looks exactly the same as the manual Chronograph of 1858. The design of the case is the same too, except for the black DLC coating. The crown does not move and has no functions, but there is one button in the middle. This is an element same as the 1858 manual Chronograph bronze case model released in 2017. An ordinary Chronograph case would have a start/stop button at its two and a reset button at its four, but this Chronograph has only one button that controls the start, stop and reset of the watch. Since the Monopusher Chronograph is of high specifications with a complex design and assembly, it can be found by traditional high-end watch makers. The Summit also controls most of its functions with this button, which is the same as using a Monopusher Chronograph. Simply put, mechanic watch lovers will enjoy using the Summit.

A finishing at another level 

I have used five different smartwatches while writing my columns. The finishing of the Summit was so exceptional to the extent that no other watch could ever be compared with this one, when it’s about the finishing of the case. The hairline was even, and the polished side was smooth and shiny. Edges that meet other sides were smart. The black coating on the case is DLC coating. As for black coating, there are the PVD and DLC coating, of which the DLC coating is way more expensive and scratch-resistant. It is hard to find DLC coated watches under the price tag of 2 million KRW in the mechanic watch market. This shows that the specifications of this watch case are high. If I would assess this case based on the standards of high-end watches, it will just be another ordinary case. But it actually is an outstanding one in the smart watch industry. As much, the finishing of a case is the specialty area of high-end watch brands. If you add up all the prices of the previously-tested five watches, you will get the price of one Summit. But this is actually the part where it shows that high-end watch brands do not make money just because of their brand name. 

Overall review

The Summit also has outstanding features as a smart device. I’ve used the watch for a month and still wasn’t able to figure out all the diverse functions. The notification vibration is so strong it can wake you up from a sound sleep and the charging is fast and simple. Even the charging cradle looks luxurious. But a shortfall is that the touch recognition is not perfect. To change the screen, I had to swipe over with my fingers several times for the watch to recognize. It’s very different from a mobile phone. Once the device is disconnected from the mobile phone, it wouldn’t always be automatically re-connected.

Montblanc is the only manufacturer that makes its leather straps on top of the watch movements. It’s because the company owns a leather workshop in Italy to cover the great volume of its leather goods collections. This is why the quality of their leather straps is satisfying. For a watch strap that is directly sold by a high-end watch brand, I think the price is quite reasonable (the price is actually similar to straps made by one-tier-lower brands) and the quick change system makes it convenient to change straps. It’s also an advantage that steel bracelets, NATO and rubber straps can be purchased as original items. But I must point out that exclusivity of the Summit is the true merit that will even make mechanic watch lovers wear it without being embarrassed. Frankly speaking, out of all my smartwatch experiences, Summit is the only watch that I can still proudly carry around.