Luxury goods company Montblanc announced its entry into the smart watch segment, unveiling its Montblanc Summit, powered by Google’s Android Wear 2.0 platform.

“Nothing compares to the sensation of traditional fine Swiss watchmaking but, in a fast-moving world, being able to access all kinds of information digitally has become essential,” said Jerome Lambert, CEO of Montblanc International.

The launch follows shortly after Tag Heuer unveiled its second smart watch, Connected Modular 45, as more high-end watch brands look to boost their position in the sector. While the sector is still relatively small, it could nevertheless prove lucrative for some brands, as well as enabling them to defend against products such as Apple Watch where there is a pricing cross-over.

Montblanc’s device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, which it said makes it possible to “experience a very responsive, fluid user interface (UI), move seamlessly from one application to the next, personalise the look-and-feel through a range of apps and watch faces, and enjoy the power of Google Assistant and Music on the move”.

The company’s 1858 watch collection is “the main inspiration for the 46mm watch case design”, as well as for the watch faces. It has a 1.39-inch round screen covered by curved sapphire glass, said to be a “world first in smartwatches”, and is IP68 water resistant.

Montblanc Summit comes in a choice of four materials and styles, with eight different straps, and a range of faces, to offer more than 300 “unique looks”.

It will be available from May 2017, with a starting price of $890.