Felix Scholz
Last week, Montblanc officially opened their seventh Australian boutique, at Chadstone in Melbourne Australia's largest high-end shopping precinct. And I must say that Montblanc looked right at home, nestled amidst some of the largest luxury and fashion names in the world.One of (Felix’s favourite) Montblanc timepieces on show at the Chadstone boutique.The brand has a strong presence in Australia, with six other dedicated retail spaces dotted across the country, but none of them looks quite like this as this boutique has been made in line with their new Neo2 design concept, designed by Noe Duchaufour-Lawrance. It's intended to be more relaxed, a nice change from the sometimes intimidating boutique experience.The space is open and inviting, almost living room-like, except that no one I know has a living room this stylish or pristine. And while the space itself was relaxing, what I was really excited about was what was inside: walls of writing instruments and timepieces including a few special higher-end pieces, like the TimeWalker Chronograph Rally Timer and leather goods. I was particularly keen to see the new (Montblanc M)Red, which is seriously sexy, as well as Montblanc's new high-end hard cases, the #MY4810 collection, which looks set to go toe-to-toe with Rimowa. Watches, however, are clearly my comfort zone, and the new 1858s were well represented, and I've got to say, every time I see the 1858 Chronograph in bronze with its champagne dial I fall a little more in love.
03.10.18