A High-End Watch from the Netherlands

Although we already have a few very interesting watchmakers in the Netherlands, there’s a new star among them. And it’s immediately the most prestigious of them all. The Grönefeld Tourbillon Minute Repeater.

Christiaan van der Klaauw’s watches are known all around the world and his complications are famous. Than there is a fairly new brand named van der Gang who make a nice chronograph based on a valjoux 7751 and last year Kees Engelbarts presented his master engraving skills in his watch line Cornelius & Cie. Look at his website to admire his magnificent work, especially the golden dragen!
Since last saturday there is a new watch brand in the Netherlands, Grönefeld. Their first masterpiece shows the skills they have mastered in Switzerland. Bart Grönefeld is specialised in minute repeaters and his brother Tim is a tourbillon specialist. So it’s no wonder the first Grönefeld has both complications.

The watch has a very nice sounding minute repeater with Cathedral gongs, spanning the movement perimeter for almost 720° for a nicer and “deeper” sounding repeater to mimic the soundquality of a bigger pocket watch. You can see the hammers from the dialside. The black minute chapter is made of black Onyx !!

Personally i just love the lugs, which look like a modern version of the old teardrop lugs. The lugs have been mounted on the case in a special way so no sounds will get lost through the lugs into the strap and this way the case will make the cathedral gongs sound even richer and warmer.

The diameter is around 44mm in diameter and it is 11.5mm thick. Lugwidth is 24mm and the rosé gold watch with strap and double folding buckle weigh a very comfortable 180 grams.

There will be a maximum of 20 pieces (10 in platinum and 10 in rose gold) of this masterpiece. Look for more information on the website.

I want to congratulate Bart and Tim Grönefeld with this achievement. Although the economic climat might not be the best at this moment, i’m pretty sure collectors of high end watches will find this masterpiece to extremely desirable. Especially with it’s limitation of only 20 pieces.

Here’s another quick shot my good friend Rich Pontier made.

Later i will post more about the GTG and our presence at launch of this new watch.