As an avid reader of the FratelloWatches blog you probably know that I write for some other websites and magazines as well. MotoringExposure.com is one of them, every wednesday they publish the ‘Wednesday Watch’-article. Today, the Wednesday Watch is about the Grönefeld GMT-06 Tourbillon Minute Repeater. I have written this article with a bit of pride, since the Grönefeld brothers are Dutch AND are located in the same area as where I am originally from.

Above you see Bart Grönefeld (right) and myself during the opening of the Grönefeld Exclusive Timepieces Boutique in Oldenzaal. Besides creating their own time pieces, they now have a boutique for other independent watchmakers (McGonigle, Sarpaneva, Kees Engelbarts, Cornelius & Cie) as well.

However, to me, the most special time piece of their boutique is their own GMT06 Tourbillon Minute Repeater. As you can see above, I was even allowed to try it on under heavy supervision. The platinum version (limited to 10 pieces only) has a price tag of 385.000 Euro. Below, you’ll see a close-up of the GMT06 in platinum.

Anyway, for the full article on the Grönefeld GMT06 Tourbillon Minute repeater, click http://www.motoringexposure.com/761/grnefeld-gmt06-wednesday-watch. An article on the opening of their boutique will follow soon.

There is no doubt that sovereign city-state Monaco breathes magic for a lot of people. Cannes, Nice and St. Tropez are all nice places to visit, but Monaco is the crown on every trip to the Côte d’Azur. Besides being a tax heaven, Monaco is famous for the Monaco Grand Prix, the Monte Carlo Rally and ofcourse the number one source of income for this constitutional monarchy is tourism, the Monte Carlo Casino to be more precise. Did you know that citizens of Monaco are not allowed to gamble in the casino at all?

The few times I visited Monaco, I really enjoyed the view (as pictured below), the enormous yachts, the Riva boats and the passing Lambos/Ferraris/Maseratis. Driving around in Monaco gives a magic feeling, knowing that you are on the same track as some of the fastest and most special cars in the world.

And Monaco recently got more interesting for watch freaks like you and me. On the 25th of April 2009,  Pim Koeslag and Robert van Pappelendam launched new haute horlogerie brand Ateliers DeMonaco together with H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. These two Dutch guys, founded Ateliers DeMonaco together with another Dutchman Peter Stas (founder of Frederique Constant and Alpina Geneve) on the 6th of April 2009.

About a week ago, I got in touch with Pim Koeslag and his wife Susana. Their enthusiasm for watches and their own Ateliers DeMonaco brand in particular is contagious for watch lovers. The official Ateliers DeMonaco website and the pictured watches on there make you want to know more about the Carré d’Or timepiece and its creators.

Pim Koeslag is master watchmaker and responsible for the innovative tourbillon construction as well as for the whole design of the Carré d’Or watch. This is something you’ll see more often with independent watchmakers. This is a huge advantage over the existing (big) brands that need to bring all involved parties together to get a common consent with respect to design, technology, marketing etc. Pim Koeslag doesn’t have to make concessions when it comes to the design of the timepiece and the used technology.

The first noticeable detail about the Carré d’Or is the sapphire tourbillon bridge. The patented Grand XP 1 minute tourbillon has been developed and manufactured in-house and it is one of the most accurate tourbillon movements in the world. XP stands for eXtreme Precision, which can be guaranteed because the used technology allows the 28.800 beats per hour to be translated into pure accuracy that is regulated to have a tolerance of only zero to 2 seconds per 24 hours. Ateliers deMonaco uses three supporting innovations to be able to achieve this kind of tolerance for their Carré d’Or XP tourbillon timepiece. These innovations are: a perfect balance cage, silicium escapement and lever and the use of a few super precision manufacturing methodologies.

A perfect balance cage is established by using small metal weights on the sides of the escapement. By adding or removing these small weights, the watchmaker is able to balance the weight of the tourbillon cage until it is perfect. This means that the gravity point of all components should be brought to the center of the cage.

Being an IT guy for profession, I am familiar with the use of silicium for microprocessors. However, just (fairly) recently, the watch industry also found its way to this light weight, extreme hard and corrosion resistant material. In the most recent edition of Revolution Magazine (US edition), the use of silicium for mechanical movements is being further examined and discussed by several watch makers. The only problem some companies seem to have is the fact that it is technology meant for electronics and not for the traditional watchmaking craft. Basically, creating the escapement wheel and lever from silicium, will result in improved efficiency of energy. Since this material is very hard (twice as hard as regular stainless steel), there is only low friction and therefore no need for lubrication. Silicium is also anti-magnetic, which solves the old problem of interference that causes deviations in accuracy.

Although Pim Koeslag is the only watchmaker at Ateliers DeMonaco, he does source some help from only the best available parties in Switzerland. The sapphire tourbillon bridge for example, is just like any other small part, very hard to create out of sapphire. I have heard this complaint before, from Bernhard Lederer of BLU during my interview with him in Basel. After breaking a serious amount of precious sapphire parts, Atelier DeMonaco decided to use laser cutting technology to get the required result. A company called Sebal S.A, who specializes in manufacturing sapphire crystals in Boécourt, Switzerland, helped the Monaco based watch manufacturer out.

The 18ct gold rotor of the movement has been engraved and finished by Jochen Benzinger, master hand engraver. Benzinger, well-known for his work on his own line of watches and those of Chronoswiss for example, has decorated both sides of the gold rotor with the Ateliers DeMonaco shield and a hand guilloche finish.

The rectangular case of the watch is 44.3×48mm, which makes it fairly big, and consists of 33 parts. The core of the watch case is made out of titanium and the parts that create a shell around the titanium frame are made out of 18 carat solid gold, as pictured below.

Production of the Carré d’Or is limited to 18 pieces and prices are unknown (yet). For more detailed information about the Carré d’Or or Les Ateliers DeMonaco, visit the website by clicking here.

Thanks to Pim and Susana Koeslag for the photographs. I can’t wait to see one of these beauties in person, perhaps I should plan a trip to Monaco soon

In Basel, I had the pleasure to meet with Thierry Oulevay (CEO and co-founder of Jean Dunand) and one of his watches, the Jean Dunand Tourbillon Orbital. This tourbillon watch features a one-minute flying tourbillon that orbits the dial once per hour. Furthermore, it has this cool power reserve indicator in the case band and moon phase on the caseback. You really need to take this watch off your wrist if you are planning to show it off properly.

One of the things that struck me most, was the beauty of the dial and hands. I am not very much into tourbillons, so I focus a bit more on the dial and hands in these cases The sky scraper hands are one of the nicest pair of hands I’d ever seen on a watch.

This time, Jean Dunand pays tribute to the artistry of miniturist painters, who perform an art that can be traced back to the 14th century Persia. Eventually, this form of art was also found on the cases and dials of time pieces. Jean Dunand’s passion for the Orient is recreated today in this miniature line portrait of Confucius, Chinese thinker and social philosopher who lived from 551 BC till 479 BC.

The above picture was taken by myself in 2005 at the Confucius temple in Beijing. This temple was built long after his death, in 1302 to be exact. The temple was in bad condition a few years back, especially compared to a number of other large temples in the city. You can read more about Confucius and Confucian temples by clicking here.

Below, you can see the hand-painted portrait of Confucius on a very thin black onyx dial that has been inserted on top of a gold disk.

Countless hours of manual labour and fifteen kiln firings have been invested in this miniature. Because required precision, a brush with only a few marten hairs is being used for the brushes. Working from the face outwards with the aid of a binocular microscope, the artist applies the colours often repeating a stroke to increase volume that can be appreciated on Confucius’ beard or drawing out the stroke to achieve the nuance and gradation to render the curve of Confucius’ forehead. Each painting session is followed by a stint in a 90-100° C kiln culminating in a final kiln firing of 6-7 hours. The final result, a mere 3/100ths of a millimeter thick, is proof positive that complication and ornamentation, exceptional technology and consummate artistry do indeed produce remarkable results. You can find a number of interesting articles on the Jean Dunand Tourbillon Orbital Confucius in the Articles section at the Jean Dunand website.

As for the technical specifications of this watch:

The JD Orbital Tourbillon watches have a 110 hour power reserve, which is indicated by a gauge in the side of the case (as can be seen below).

Winding the handwound movement needs to be done by a folding key, located in the caseback at 3 o’clock. The 45mm case has a 15.3mm height and uses two domed non-reflecting sapphire crystals. I wouldn’t try it if I were you, but Jean Dunand claims that this watch is 3ATM water resistant

I don’t remember the price of the Tourbillon Orbital watch I have seen in BaselWorld, but I do remember that it cost a fortune. I guess that doesn’t matter for the watch connoisseur with only limited financial boundaries, these type of watches are for true fans of unique haute horlogerie.

It has been almost 2 months ago, since Frank and I visited BaselWorld 2009. One of the highlights was visiting the Blu stand in Hall 2.0 on our last day there. After looking at their displayed watches for a while, I decided to go and ask for some more information about them, as I liked their style and use of precious materials. My questions about the brand were answered by Mrs. Lederer, wife of Bernhard Lederer (Blu stands for Bernhard Lederer Universum). She invited us over to a desk, to show us some watches of the Blu collection and give us some more explanation on the brand. Our discussion was mainly about materials, such as diamonds on Blu’s watches for men. When our questions became more and more technical, Mrs Lederer decided to bring in Mr. Bernhard Lederer himself, who seemed to be happy to sit with us and discuss the technical aspects of the Blu watches, especially the MT3 Majesty Tourbillon.

But before I continue, let me give me you some background information about Blu, because it is not the every day brand you read about on the internet. Bernhard Lederer (German from origin) is a qualified Master Watchmaker since 1984, and he started his own atelier called ‘Uhrenmanufaktur Lederer’ and specialized in the restoration of vintage time pieces. He also begun developing his own time pieces and in 1985, he got accepted to join the Horological Academy of Independent Watchmakers, better known as A.H.C.I. It wasn’t until the year 2000, when Bernhard Lederer found his watch brand Bernhard Lederer Universe, Blu, as we know it now. The Blu manufacture is located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

During our conversation, Bernhard Lederer told us that Blu creates everything in house for the MT3 Majesty Tourbillon, with the exception of the sapphire crystal. This is the only (important) part of the watch that Blu can’t do. The shape of the sapphire crystal is very hard to get right, and even his subcontractor on the crystal had to invest a lot of time to get it done properly. This means, that every small screw, gear or disc has been produced by Blu.

It goes without saying, that Blu doesn’t have a reptile farm, so the production of leather straps is being outsourced of course Because Blu is a small and independent watch maker (and this goes for most small independents), Bernhard Lederer does not have to make a lot of concessions when designing and creating a watch, because he doesn’t have to deal with large design departments, marketing departments, construction/R&D departments etcetera that each have their own specific interests when working on a watch. There are no internal conflicts of interest, so to speak.

We also received a free watchmaking class on tourbillons by Mr Lederer. There are three sorts of tourbillon constructions: the classic tourbillon, as Breguet created it, the flying tourbillon which is a spin-off on the classic tourbillon and invented by Alfred Helwig and the semi-flying tourbillon, which is a construction where the tourbillon has no (own) cage. The MT3 Majesty Tourbillon, as the name reveals, has three tourbillons. The semi-flying one-minute tourbillon is literally housed inside the flying one-hour tourbillon and both of these are arranged eccentrically within the third 12-hour flying tourbillon. In other words, the Blu Mt3 Majesty Tourbillon uses two flying tourbillons and one semi-flying tourbillon.

Luckily, our partnersite TheTimeTV did an interview with Bernhard Lederer on video, where he explains the above in his own words. Listening to him, and looking at the watch at the same time, makes it a bit easier to understand.. However, and let me speak for myself to be save, a full understanding of the whole system is not going to happen any time soon

Unfortunately, as we did not intent to take up so much time of Bernhard Lederer, he had to run off to another appointment, so we didn’t have the chance to thank him for his wonderful explanation and time. We fully understand and thank you for your precious time!

Also thanks to TheTimeTV for the great interview on video with Blu.

For your information, the Blu MT3 Majestic Tourbillon is available starting at 205.000 Euro (price information from the 2009 Armband Uhren Katalog).

Back in february, you could read about the new Glashütte Original Senator Navigator Perpetual Calendar. And as of today, the firm from Glashütte introduced a whole serie of new watches during BaselWorld 2009.

All the news from Glashütte Original is summarized in the two photos below, send to me by René Marx of Glashütte Original.

Monochrome covered some of the new models already in detail, and I suggest you visit the BaselWorld 2009 forum over at Perpetuelle.com for all the latest news, pictures and details.

As my interest is growing in this brand from Glashütte, I am looking forward to meet the guys behind the brand tomorrow in Basel. Finally able to hold some of their watches in my hands and have a look at them in detail. The Senator Meissen Tourbillon and Senator Chronometer are very interesting timepieces, being classic and still suitable for the young(er) wrist