So what do we have here in the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Ultra Slim? We’ve got quite a lot. If you’re just going by the numbers, this is already a pretty sweet deal --38mm in diameter, which is large enough to have a bit more presence than a really uncompromising traditionalist’s 36mm but not pushing it; and the Chronométrie Ultra Slim is only 5.8mm thick. That’s right, it’s actually thinner than the thinnest specifically flat watches from some of the top makers in the world. You do not get a movement with the full tilt haute de gamme treatment but you do get one with a very long and very interesting history which has shown its quality explicitly in some of the finest watches ever made. You get a design that has been extremely carefully thought through, and in which every detail has been carefully evaluated against every other detail so that the whole thing simply works wonderfully. That’s actually one of the biggest draws, to me, of this watch --the amount of care that went into it. Extra thin watchmaking is a lot like the Japanese cha-no-yu, the tea ceremony --or perhaps, like a sonnet. You have a very specific structure and you must find a way to express spontaneity within that structure. The challenge is all the more interesting when met well, and in a way that shows a deep understanding of its nature. The Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Ultra Slim does that and then some, and the price --I almost feel reluctant to mention it because it’s far from the most interesting thing about the watch --is a mere $2045 in steel, as shown. On top of everything else, as a member of the Heritage Chronométrie Collection every one the watches has to go through Montblanc's Chronométrie Collection 500 hour test cycle --a rigorous 3 week program you can read all about right here. Gold will run you more, natch, but think about it --for a couple of stacks of Benjamins you can get what we think is probably the hottest Value Proposition in the narrowly focused world of extra thin watchmaking out there right now. More info --and check for availability --on Montblanc.com, right here.