Grone Manueel One - The Accessible Gronefeld

The Grönefeld brothers decided to launch a more accessible and affordable line - the Grøne.

The brothers Bart and Tim Grönefeld launched the Grone Oldenzaal and named their first creation Manueel One - nicknamed "Sjef's One". Designed cues from the Grönefeld range is also present here giving the owners of Grøne timepieces an identity tied to the brand. Due to the nature of the Grönefeld range of timepieces, the brand can only make between 70 and 80 pieces per year. The manufacturing time can take months and in order to reach to a wider audience, they created the Grøne Manueel One - a manual winding timepiece.

The steel case of the Manueel One takes inspiration from the Grönefeld 1941 case and at 38.5mm, is a perfect size for my petite wrist.

The dial is two parts - the outer ring in brushed steel and the centre features a salmon coloured tremblage style texture.

The overall aesthetics is harmonious and very pleasing.

Salmon centre with blued steel hands makes this a very handsome timepiece.

And when you look at the details of the timepiece, the highly polished indices extending beyond the outer ring into the centre dial adds another dimension.

For the movement, Grøne is fitted with the manual winding Sellita SW210 movement.

But alas, it comes with a closed caseback. But the caseback isn't a simple one at that. Well etched onto the caseback is a picture of the old city of Oldenzaal, paying tribute to the city they hail from.

The movement allows for a hacking seconds hand and the winding gives you a nice tactile feel.

The crown is conical and the lugs are slightly bent downwards to better fit the wrists.

The timepiece with its polished case comes with a soft and supple dark grey calf leather strap with orange stitchings.

The buckle is also signed.

This 388 limited edition release as expectedly sold out and I believe is a good first release for Grøne.

Priced at EUR2,150 I believe it is fair price for this first release. And I can't wait for the next release. Establishing a second brand like what Hajime Asaoka and MB&F had done before allows more enthusiasts to enjoy the creativity of the Grönefeld brothers. For more information about the Manueel One you may visit the link here.

Visiting Martin Luxury

Ever wonder how pre-owned dealers ensure the watches they sell are in good condition? Well, many have in-house watch specialists who are able to take apart and service watches including perpetual calendar. Such was the case with my IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar which I had sent to Martin Luxury located at Golden Landmark Hotel.

And while I was there, I had the opportunity to view his latest collection. And what a range of timepieces available there. The one that stuck out the most is the A. Lange & Sohne Double Split Flyback Chronograph. Wow!!!

The depth of the movement, the construction, the beauty...Stunning!

The finishing on the movement is also top notch.

The unmistakable Double Split Flyback Chronograph...

The other impresisve piece has to be the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire Constant Force. Winner of the Men's Watch Prize of the GPHG 2016 edition, the constant force features an eight seconds constant force mechanism that provides constant force to the balance wheel.

The manual winding watch comes with 35 hours of power reserve when fully wound. With a constant force complication, the main spring gives off a constant power to the balance wheel throughout its entire power reserve thereby ensuring a consistent amplitude leading to a more accurate timepiece.

The 8 seconds remontoire release system at the 9 o'clock position (picture above). For more information about this amazing complication (all sold out), kindly visit the Grönefeld website.

And the movement construction is another eye pleasing calibre... Limited to only 188 pieces, this range is fully sold out which means it is only available on the secondary market.

And if you look closely (and if you have been to the Netherlands), you will be able to see the "building gables" in the form of the bridges.

Impressive movement construction worthy of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) winner in 2016. And from there, the Grönefeld brothers have gone from strength to strength, the latest being the Grönograaf. But up next is another Grönefeld timepieces - the 1941 Principia.

This is the "entry level" Grönefeld timepiece but it is no slouch. Definitely not. And it comes with an automatic movement.

Up next is the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 chronograph.

This version comes with a white rubber strap - what a handsome piece.

Another surprise is this H. Moser Endeavour Tourbillon with a blue fumé dial.

The Tourbillon is constructed with a double hairspring as evident in this picture below.

If you like a classic timepiece with a Tourbillon, consider this.

I wish they would make it with a manual winding movement but in this case, the Moser comes with an automatic movement.

Another resurgent brand is Daniel Roth and this Masters chronograph from the 1990s.

This steel version comes with a salmon dial.

Fitted with the automatic calibre DR500, this steel piece is a cool 41mm with a steel bracelet to boot.

Some pieces are only avaialble in the secondary market and just like the Daniel Roth, so is this Cartier Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph.

The manual winding chronograph comes from the Collection Privé Cartier Paris aka the CPCP collection. White gold case with a column wheel chronograph

Given my limited time, I could only take photos of that many pieces on display. But these are some of the more interesting and rare pieces on sale at Martin Luxury.

For me, the A Lange & Sohne Douple Split Flyback Chronograph is the most handsome of the lot, especially when you take a look at the movement. What's your favourite?

GTG With Special Guest - Romain Gauthier - Part 1 - Independents

It is not often you host your friends from Instagram when they are in town but this time around, we had three watch friends coming in to town and both Ben and Moe had contacted me about putting a group together. As it was, I was already planning another GTG so the timing was perfect.

So who are these special friends? Well, one of them goes by the handle @thewindingstem and another @1815chronofan and the "special" guest was Romain Gauthier himself. Coincidentally, they were visiting Singapore and had reached out to me. Of course we would be happy to have them. As with other events we have had in the past, we have a theme around our gatherings. This time around, the two themes were (1) Independent brands and (2) Dual time zone or Worldtimer. This blog post features all the independents.

Let's start with the most obvious choice - at the gathering were 4 Romain Gauthier timepieces... And the awesome one must be the Logical One.

What a timepiece! The oven-fired Grand Feu white enamel dial comes with a Fusée and Chain system providing constant-force to the movement.

And that movement is a sight to behold.

And then there is the Continuum, also known as C. Featured here is the ultra-light Titanium C with an integrated bracelet. Romain has explained how he was inspired by AP (having worked there) and the Royal Oak. He had wanted a timepiece that is fully integrated - that the watch includes the bracelet and the bracelet is the watch.

The entire case and dial is made from Grade 5 titanium and so is the movement. That makes the watch ultra light. Then there is the C Platinum (below) featuring a platinum case but the timepiece is on a strap.

You immediately feel the heft of the platinum piece especially when it comes with a 18k white gold movement too.

What's the difference between the titanium movement and the white gold movement? It's in the finishing. The titanium version has a more matte finishing (polished titanium is difficult) while the white gold is more polished.

Then there is also the Insight Micro-Rotor on the wrist of Moe...

Continuing with the Independent theme, there is the F.P. Journe LineSport Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante as well as the more dressy Chronometre Souverain.

Exquisite sample of the Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante belonging to one of our fellow collector... you know who you are.

And the Chronometre Souverain (below)...

This CS, at least for me, was the one that got away... should have pulled the trigger when it was introduced and available. But it is what it is. No point regretting what got away. I am definitely fortunate and grateful for what I already have.

And the brand that has been getting lots of attention is Gerald Genta and here is an example of the Retro Solo. Perhaps the rebirth of a brand?

And who can miss this very well made Lang & Heyne Georg Sincere Edition. Limited to 12 pieces when Sincere launched the Haute Horlogerie in MBS.

Gorgeous front and back. If only...

And the one belonging to me - the Vitreum Watch Honeycomb enamel dial.

I am so enamoured with this piece. The enamelling is very well done and fact is that no two pieces are alike makes this pretty unique.

And this is an earlier year H. Moser - when it was still called the Mayu.

Now called the Endeavour, this example features a removable escapement with 3 days power reserve and with a sub-dial for the second hands. I believe this is already discontinued.

And this is from one of our guest, Ben - a Gronefeld Principia.

And what about Alain Silberstein?

This chronograph is when Alain Silberstein was still Alain Silberstein. Iconic colours

And two Baltic MR01 at the same gtg?

The salmon (above) and the silver dial (below). Featuring a micro-rotor, this is one well made timepiece for the price point. Great quality-price-ratio.

Not to be outdone, we have two Habring chronographs.

One is the Chrono Sport Sincere Haute Horlogerie edition (above) and the other the Doppel 3 (below).

Fact is Habring makes one of the most affordable doppelchronograph stemming from his time at IWC where he also developed the Pilot Doppelchronograph.

What about the Black Sector by Furlan Marri. The first mechanical timepiece by the brand featuring a 37.5mm case. Nice size.

What's also interesting is the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Vianney Halter, a collaboration between Louis Erard and Vianney Halter.

This is one of the first collaborations with many more to come for Louis Erard and their Regulateur series.

And another enamel beauty is none other than the Ulysse Nardin Marine Tourbillon.

The dial is a Guilloche Grand Feu enamel blue dial which is not common.

It is always fun to have friends and collectors meet and share the passion of collecting. It's not just the expensive timepieces that are on display but many varied styles for any budget. Watch collecting can be fun and it doesn't have to be expensive.

This was a special gtg with the presence of Mr. Romain Gauthier, Moe and Ben. We don't normally have guests from overseas but in this case, 3 came! We enjoyed ourselves with Romain's presentation of the brand, his philosophy, his work and how he sees his brand evolving. We learnt a lot about the brand and the timepieces he brought along.

Stay tuned for for Part 2 where we unveil the Dual Time and GMT timepieces at the event. Can you guess what those are?