When conceptualising the 1941 Remontoire, the Grönefeld brothers, Bart and Tim, had watchmaking and familial history on their minds. The inspiration for the technical aspect of the watch, the remontoire, came from their childhood memories of their grandfather and father maintaining a clock dating back to the 13th century, housed in a church near the family home in Oldenzaal. It featured a constant force device, that stores energy from the mainspring and released exactly the same quantum of it to the escapement and balance at regular intervals. This made for even balance amplitude and linear timekeeping. As a tribute, the brothers named the watch that incorporated such a constant force device after their father’s birth year, 1941.
It is understood that since its launch in 2016, Grönefeld has created just 188 examples of the calibre G-05, the machine powering the 1941 Remontoire. The 1941 Remontoire series is now closed, with Grönefeld not taking further orders for it.
Two years after it was introduced, and a year after the first example in stainless-steel was offered, the brand created a special series of 12 pieces for United States-based digital platform HODINKEE. Key to this series is the 39.5mm case in stainless-steel and a salmon-coloured dial that jettisons the remontoire governor, a visual mainstay of the 1941 Remontoire. The result is the most thoroughly classical and restrained iteration of the reference.
Created on a gold-plated sterling silver base, the dial features frosted and satinated finishing that gives it a gentle lustre. On the outside runs a chemin de fer track of minutes, followed by an Arabic chapter of hours in a font special to this edition. The stepped down centre of the case overlaps the deeper recess that is home to subsidiary seconds register at 6 o’clock. This register is furnished with a simple sector-style scale. All printing, including the brand mark and the place of origin – where there would normally be the word ‘Handcrafted’ at 6 o’clock – are in a rich shade of black. The alpha-style hours and minutes hands are heat hued as is the seconds indicator.
The case is cleverly designed to minimise its footprint. This is evident in the concave form of the bezel, as well as the flowing, stepped shape of the short but substantial lugs. This sculpting is evident even in profile where the concave form of the bezels serves to create an impression smaller than the dimensions would suggest. The lugs, 20mm apart, are fitted with a quick release, large-grained, blue, bolstered leather strap. It is secured with a signed stainless-steel pin buckle. The crown, shaped like a jet exhaust, is fluted to aid ergonomics.
The mechanics of the manually wound calibre G-05, mesmerising to behold, can only be accessed through the display caseback in this iteration. The rhythmic dance of the train, locked and unlocked every eight seconds by the remontoire, is satisfying. Through this process the energy transmitted from the mainspring through the train is employed to wind up the remontoire hairspring – a steady quantum of this energy is released to the escapement and balance every eight seconds.
The 258-component calibre is wonderfully adorned with its stainless-steel bridges designed to bring to mind gable roofs of homes in the watchmakers’ homeland. These wear micro-blasting in the centre, with raised, hand-bevelled edges. The calibre is richly decorated, with jewels outfitted with gold chatons and relief engraving referencing the jewel count and eight-second remontoire. The single barrel produces 35 hours of reserve. The free sprung, 10mm balance wheel has four white gold timing weights. The movement hacks for precise time setting.
The watch comes with its outer and inner boxes, cleaning cloth and operating instructions.
The 1941 Remontoire blends a deeply personal history with the skill of two the most accomplished watchmaking brothers creating today. This limited edition for HODINKEE represents a rare moment where high horological technicality intersects contemporary collecting culture in a tasteful way.
