Moritz Grossmann - BENU Collection Limited Edition NEW
Glashütte based
Moritz Grossmann
watch brand is presenting its new model
Benu, an extraordinary
timepiece featuring a distinctive personality and discreet elegance. It
has a delicate rose-gold bezel frames the solid-silver dial with its
crisp Arabic numerals and the fine-tipped brown-violet hands. They have
the same hue as the annealed screws that are visible on the surface of
the calibre. The upper half of the dial beneath the “12” displays the
traditional “
MORITZ GROSSMANN GLASHÜTTE i/SA” signature. The small arc
above the maker’s name and the horizontal lines on either side of the
provenance symbolise the brand-typical cutout of the plate above the
movement that exposes the screw balance, its beating heart, when viewed
through the sapphire-crystal back.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ...
Following an old tradition, the subsidiary seconds dial stands above the
“6” and is slightly recessed to allow the hour and minute hands to
hover as closely as possible over the dial. The precision scale
graduations and the slender hands are reminders that a watch is meant to
accurately keep the time. The aesthetic clarity of its face is
reminiscent of a Glashütte precision instrument from the 19th century.
Shaped in the form of stretched rhombuses, the steel hands consist of
two parts (hand and bushing), which are manually crafted, hardened and
ground by Grossmann’s watchmakers. This sequence of time-consuming
processes is the only way to impart three-dimensionality to the hands
and achieve the daintiness of the tips. The shape of the hands and their
remarkable length assure precise readings of time. Brown-violet was
chosen as the annealing colour – it is the darkest hue of steel
obtainable with thermal hardening.
As a prominent contrast, the
eyes of the hands are mirror-polished. The antireflective
sapphire-crystal back reveals the inner life of the watch with seductive
depth. The curved, milled cutout of the German silver 2/3 plate, a
typical Grossmann hallmark, puts the spotlight on the large screw
balance and its breathing hairspring. The plate itself bears the
hand-engraved brand signature: “
MORITZ GROSSMANN GLASHÜTTE i/SA”. The
three screwed gold chatons that secure the jewel bearings are
eyecatching plate accents just like the white sapphire bearing jewels
and the brown-violet screws that were naturally annealed over an open
fire. Three-band snailing on the ratchet wheel complements the sublime
harmony of the movement. The watch is unique in its orchestration.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ...
The construction of the calibre 100.0 movement is a functional work of
art and a feast for the eyes of every connoisseur. The German silver 2/3
plate replaces a number of bridges and improves the mechanical
stability of the movement. Polishes, graining, snailing, and wide
Glashütte ribbing embellish the parts, and the inscriptions are always
engraved by hand as well. German silver, steel, the brown-violet tint of
the screws, as well as the gold of the chatons and of the large balance
wheel rim constitute a classically discreet composition of natural
material colours. A loupe allows the observer to delight in the superb
finissage of the surfaces and the bevelled, mirrorpolished edges on a
visual excursion across the individual levels of the movement.
A
classic lever escapement establishes the link between the going train
and the oscillation system of the calibre. Found in almost all
mechanical watches, this escapement was modified according to
considerations proposed by Hugo Müller (1863 to 1943), a well-known
Glashütte regleur. The classic screw balance breathes with a Nivarox
hairspring featuring a terminal curve that was first calculated by
regleur and chronometer maker Gustav Gerstenberger (1886 to 1983) in
Glashütte. It performs 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour, which is
equivalent to a frequency of 2.5 hertz.
The
Benu incorporates a number of innovations and traditional features that reflect the heritage of
Moritz Grossmann:
• The oscillation system and the escapement are mounted on two hand-engraved cocks:
The
large one, for the balance wheel and the hairspring, is cantilevered
according to
Moritz Grossmann’s design for his lever chronometers. It
also carries the Grossmann micrometer screw. The escape wheel sits on
the smaller, adjacent cock. At a lower level, a third, snailed cock
holds the lever. Its size was deliberately reduced to showcase the
escapement.
• The
Benu features an index adjuster that allows the watch to be
regulated to onesecond accuracy without disrupting the equilibrium of
the oscillation system. The Grossmann micrometer screw enables accurate,
tension-free adjustments of the index tail in both directions.
• On the inside, the balance spring is overcoiled with a quarter arc and pinned to the classic roller.
•
When the crown is pulled, the seconds hand is stopped to allow precise
timesetting. The stop-seconds device relies on a spring that advances a
pin onto the circumference of the double roller and temporarily halts
the oscillation system.
• A modified Glashütte stopwork secures
the tension of the mainspring. After winding, it allows the ratchet
wheel to reverse somewhat and slightly relax the mainspring. Grossmann’s
watchmakers implement this controlled backlash with a slotted hole in
which the pin on the stop click can slide.
• Two beautifully
contoured pillars – evocative of Grossmann’s pocket watches of old – and
the separately removable winder – a refinement of the Glashütte clutch
winding mechanism – support the plates.
• The winding wheels have
polished bevel faces in the toothing and sparkle with exceptional
brilliance. The largest one, the ratchet wheel, is also decorated with
traditional three-band snailing, accentuating a harmonious match with
the wide ribbing and the freehand engravings on the cocks and the 2/3
plate.
• As in old Grossmann pocket watches, the jewels – white
sapphire – are set in prominent gold chatons. Together with their
brown-violet annealed steel screws, they stand out over the surface of
the plate.
The name of Grossmann’s first revival watch is
Benu. It comes from
ancient Egyptian mythology: Bennu (as spelled in English), the divine
heron, settled into its nest one evening and was consumed by fire there.
It left an egg from which another Bennu bird hatched the next morning.
Moritz
Grossmann was an ingenious watchmaker who lived from
1826 to
1885. In
the Saxon town of Glashütte, he crafted numerous pocket watches, various
chronometers, and a few precision pendulum clocks that are still
coveted collectors’ items at international auctions. Now, 125 years
after the death of this eminent German master of superior watchmaking,
watches that bear his name are once again available. The
Benu radiates
understated beauty; its gestalt flatters the eye and the wrist. It gives
Moritz Grossmann’s horological accomplishments a new life in the 21st
century: graceful in design, innovative and premeditated in its
mechanical finesse, and immaculate in its traditional artisanship. The
Benu is much more than the sum of its
188 parts. Every single element is
crafted with the same precision and perfection. As always, details are
what manifest the utmost in quality.
This also applies to the
carefully hand-stitched brown alligator strap secured with a butterfly
clasp that makes it easy to put on and take off the watch. It, too, is
crafted from 750 rose gold, and features a dependable pushbutton catch.
The Benu, Ref.
100.1010, is limited to
100 watches worldwide and is
available from 2011.
The price in Germany is 16.800 Euro
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Technical details
Movement:
manufacture
calibre 100.0, manually wound, adjusted in 5 positions
Reference: 100.1010
No. of parts: 188
Jewels: 17, of which 3 are in screwed gold chatons
Escapement: Lever escapement
Oscillation
system:
shock-resistant screw balance with Breguet overcoil shaped
after G. Gerstenberger, balance-wheel diameter 14.2 mm, frequency 18,000
semi-oscillations per hour
Power reserve: 42 hours when fully wound
Functions:
Hours and minutes, subsidiary seconds with stop seconds
Special
features:
Plate movement with 2/3 plate and frame pillars made of
untreated German silver, 2/3 plate as well as balance and escape-wheel
cocks manually engraved, Broad horizontal ribbing on the 2/3 plate,
Three-band snailing on the ratchet wheel, Screwed, raised gold chatons,
Separately removable clutch winder, Modified Glashütte stopwork with
controlled backlash, Handsetting with stop seconds, Adjustment with
Grossmann micrometer screw on cantilevered balance cock
Operating elements: crown 750/000 rose gold, for winding the watch and setting the time
Case dimensions:
Diameter: 41.0 mm, height: 11.1 mm
Movement dimensions: Diameter: 36.4 mm, height: 5.0 mm
Case:
Three-part, 750/000 rose gold
Dial: Solid silver, argenté, with Arabic numerals
Hands: steel, annealed to a brown-violet hue
Glass and caseback: Sapphire crystal, antireflective coating on one side
Strap: Hand-stitched brown alligator strap with solid 750/000 rose gold butterfly clasp
Edition: Limited to
100 watches worldwide
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PRESSE KONTAKT
Rainer Kern
Leiter Kommunikation
Telefon: +49 35
053 32 00 20
Fax: +49 35
053 32 00 99
rainer.kern@grossmann-uhren.com
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