While we do our best to be in-depth and informative on this site, this article as much about giving you all the tools to make an informed purchase as it is about some eye candy, courtesy of Monbrey. It’s a brand that’s no stranger to oohs and aahs from our showroom visitors, irrespective of the model they look at, as it transitioned from minimalist, spec-heavy tributes to automotive design greats, to intricate dial work and colour that have now become a focal point of conversation. Monbrey has now been around for some three years and change, making their release cycle of roughly a model line per year thoroughly prolific, especially when considering the fact that these aren’t just evolutions or redials of existing designs. The two founders, Henry and Austin, draw on their decades of design experience for other brands, noting angularity and facets as the hallmarks of their brand. The real challenge in putting out a new model every year while staying true to your original intention is evolving it, making it interesting and new, but losing none of the potency. By the end of this article, we hope you’ll get a better understanding of why we’re happy to have Monbrey in the shop, and just how they managed to do that.
MB1 – the starting point
In a horological world that is no longer a stranger to the idea of a microbrand, delivering value, novelty, and good design is becoming more and more daunting of a task. The MB1 Series – or the Wedge Era, if you will – took inspiration from the 1970s, but rather than riffing off the watches of the era, it looked to the work of Giugiaro and Gandini. Sharp, dauphine hands and ingot indices, and a strongly faceted case with more than a hint of Grand Seiko meant they had design down-pat, but completing the trifecta meant they needed more. To solve the novelty and value aspects of the equation, they combined the slimness and performance of a Miyota 9000-series movement and a soft iron inner casing for improved anti-magnetism, pricing the package right around that US$500 mark.
I highlighted Monbrey’s penchant for a special dial in the introduction, and while that will really come to the forefront in future iterations, the MB1’s also work to subtly elevate the look. Take this circularly grained silver, for example. It’s coupled with the ultra-sharp, mirror-polished facets of the indices that transition into a vertical brush that perfectly intersects with the dial texture, adding the texture you’d expect to find on a finely machined piece of the suspension. The other sunburst and lacquered variants similarly remind of automotive finishes, namely the gloss of the paint, setting the tone with minimal typography that has impact, like the small lightning bolt at 6 o’clock.
MB2 – getting comfortable
The MB2 that followed saw Monbrey more closely align itself with trends that still persist, namely a reduced case diameter and a stronger focus on striking dials. At the same time, they went way back for its source of inspiration, more specifically Japan in the Middle Ages, from which they took the name – Kenkyū. The case lines remained just as sharp, but rather than retain its multiple facets, Monbrey took it to the dial to deliver light play, offering two styles.
Heat-blued or gold-plated seconds hand contrasted against the dial textures, available in either a highly textured “jewel steel” referencing metal used for katana-making, and a CNC-machined mother-of-pearl, both in a number of colours. Both of these features were new to the micro world, and in addition to keeping the slim Miyota 9000 movements and magnetic resistance ensured the MB2 would once again satisfy the trifecta for any microbrand hoping for success.
The MB2 was also used as a canvas for Monbrey’s most personal release yet – the two Hoi Tong limited editions tributing the founders’ home and its decorative glass tiles. What I like in particular about these two examples is that they’re elevated from the base models even more. The hands and indices look even sharper, and the Monbrey logo is applied in such a way that it looks like its actually floating on a piece of glass.
MB3 – letting loose
The duo’s latest release saw them once again work an established vogue, this time using natural materials for the dials of the MB3 Trinova. Here, Monbrey is really letting the uniqueness of each slice of stone and wood do the talking, pulling back the indices and arching the logo to let the materials shine. You have a choice of violet charoite, green bloodstone, blue sodalite, or orange burlwood – and one final iteration I’ll mention shortly.
Monbrey still makes sure to stay true to their original intention of playing with angles – the Trinova collection is based around trigonal symmetry, working its way into the design of the markers, bezel, and lugs. In some ways, they’re simply reformatted variations of their previous designs. The indices still have a brushed top section with polished sides, the lugs have three facets, and the bezel has evolved from smooth, to stepped, and now finally into fluted.
That last model I mentioned a few sentences ago is this – the MB3 P1, though its fax machine-sounding model name doesn’t do it any justice. Sporting a slice of natural onyx, Monbrey has replaced the cardinal indices with four triangle-cut lab-grown diamonds, making it all about bling. Here, it’s not about the carat count or some exotic (read: well-marketed) diamond mine that sourced these – it’s about Monbrey just having a bit of fun, and recognising the potential this cherry-on-top model has.
Monbrey MB1, MB2, MB3 pricing and specifications
The only thing better than reading about cool watches is getting a chance to experience them in person, which is exactly the reason why we chose to bring the brand to WatchPoint – we can’t wait to tell you more about them. Price: starting from A$820 (MB1), starting from A$990 (MB2, MB3) – find Monbrey in the WP Webstore
