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Il y a 2 semaines je suis allé a la manufacture Moritz Grossman a Glashütte
J’ai écrit cet article pour un forum anglais
traduire tout prendrait trop de temps, J’espère que vous me pardonnerez de copier ce texte anglais
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Just back from a magnificent Manufacture visit. As most of you know it’s not my first one and it won’t be my last one I hope. This time not to Switzerland but to Germany. And when talking about Germany I’m sure most will immediately think about Glashütte. And indeed, Glashütte was the town to visit. The town well known as the cradle of German watchmaking. I believe there are 9 or 10 watch manufactures in the little but beautiful town. Most well known are of course Lange & Söhne and Glashütte original. Most others are also nice but not haute horlogerie brands like Tutima, Nomos, …
The smallest and youngest is Moritz Grossmann and that was the manufacture I wanted to visit. I met their CEO Christine Hutter for the first time a couple of weeks ago at in dinner in Brussels. We had a great talk and not much later she invited me for a manufacture visit. Anyway, what I saw weeks ago in Brussels was so nice and so well made I needed to see the manufacture. Weeks ago I took some pics of these watches but I wanted to make a more interesting report about the manufacture so that’s why I didn’t tell anything yet about the watches 6 weeks ago.
So Thursday we took the plane to Dresden and not much later a nice BMW 7-series picked us up at the airport to drive us to our hotel.
Arrived at the hotel Bülow
I found this schedule in my room
So the next day the same 7-series picked us up to drive from Dresden to Glashütte ( about 35 minutes) and parked in front of this nice building
Nice view from the top floor
Better pictures from the watches will of course follow
First a little introduction with Christine who I already knew, Rainer ( Director of communication) and Jean-Pierre ( Brand Manager).
A little more about the history of the brand : ( copy from their website)
MORITZ GROSSMANN : Carl Moritz Grossmann, the son of a mail sorter, was born in Dresden on 27 March 1826. There, he attended the Technical College for two years after having graduated from elementary school. Moritz Grossmann was fascinated by technology and the complexity of timepieces. Eager to discover new methods, he became a journeyman in 1846 and set out to acquire the world’s horological know-how. After sojourns in Hamburg and Munich, he was drawn to La Chaux-de-Fonds, the hub of Swiss watchmaking. He returned to Dresden in 1854 after stopovers in England, France, Denmark, and Sweden. Upon his arrival, he fulfilled a dream and established his own atelier. Moritz Grossmann, who was also acclaimed as an award-winning technical author, began to craft pocket watches, pendulum clocks, and precision measuring instruments — from innovative details to complete movements. But for Moritz Grossmann, Glashütte was more than merely the cradle of German watchmaking artistry. He dedicated his time to various associations and supported regional projects. From 1866 to 1878, he was committed to the welfare of the town of Glashütte, later also as a representative of the Royal Saxon Landtag. As an author, he was eager to pass on his knowledge; in 1878, he initiated the German School of Watchmaking and outlined the curriculum. The art of watchmaking permeated his life and was his greatest passion. He died unexpectedly on 23 January 1885 after delivering a speech about the introduction of World Time. Thereafter, his atelier was liquidated.
So it was a very important person for german watchmaking, just a Mr A. Lange was.
The new « Lange » started somewhere in the 1990’s and is one of the brands in the Richmond group while Mortiz Grossmann is a bit younger and exists about 10 years but this is a real independent and does not belong to Richmond nor Swatch, LVMH …
Grossmann is a small independent I believe 9 investors own the company. Probably 9 HUGE watch lovers with a great taste for art …horological artAnyway, let’s start the tour
I saw quite a few manufactures in the past ( Patek, IWC, JLC, Zenith, …) So it’s nice if you can compare those things.
This time I was allowed to take pics as many as I wanted … That is not the case when entering for example Patek / JLC / IWC . Most don’t want you to take pictures inside their buildings.Every manufacture has CNC machines.
some ‘unfinished’ parts
unfortunately I broke my SLR camera a few days earlier and I could use one from my brother , but as you can see, the pictures are not very well ( not the lens I needed)
Don’t know the name of this machine but I’m sure most of you know what it is used for. I magnifies every tiny part a zillion times.
every part is compared to the original drawings and every single part must be perfect… I believe they check up to 1/100 or even sometimes 1/1000 of a mm ….
And if it’s Made in Germany, it’s know for the german gründlichkeit … so forget about any tolerance
When the part is not exactly as they want, start again !similar machines that measure pinions, wheels, plates, …
some more parts ( still unfinished )
A few more machines for cleaning some parts and elektrolyse machinery
computers and CAD is a must to if you want to create and develop movements
don’t exactly know what these are used for but it just looks so nice and somehow vintage
Finishing department
And this is what separates real haute horlogerie from the rest
This is what we want to see in our watches and this is mainly what we pay for
polishing a hand … to a level I have NEVER seen before.
These hands are the most beautiful I ever saw. Know that it takes an entire day to make a set of hands. 1 entire day only for the hands, this gives you an idea what kind of watches we’re talking about
Black polishing or mirror polishing , than changing them into a brown burgundy color
heating the hands one by one … to give them the desired color
getting another color
and the result
As you can see the tip is not exactly the same as the end of the hand … not exactly the same color
This happens with when things are done by hand
result … start all over again , re polish the hand an do it againWheel snailing
5 stages from a raw component to a very good looking 3 band snailing
black polishing
not very visible on that picture but the difference between a balance and a ‘polished’ balance
tools to polish / drill the little holes in the balance
Tin block and wood for perfect black polishing
putting the moment in the case
Time for a little lunch and looking a bit closer at their art
Pics below are a mix between iPhone pictures and the SLR with the wrong lens 🙂
It gives you an idea how beautiful and well made these watches are. I can only recommend you to try to see them in real life. You need to handle them, touch them, feel them,
wind them to really understand a Grossman wristwatchI was impressed, and I mean really impressed.
It is difficult to compare brands because most of the times it is personal opinion and personal taste but what I saw in these 2 days was beyond my expectations
The level of finishing is a level of perfection you won’t see often. Like said .. my personal opinion but a similar simple dress watch from Patek Philippe (Calatrava), Breguet, Lange ( Saxonia, 1815,…)
Vacheron, or any of the other big and well known brands doesn’t give me the feeling I got when looking at a Moritz GrossmannMy absolute dream dress watch is the Atum in red gold … I don’t believe I ever saw a more beautiful simple dress watch
For those that know me, I call it the Patek 5070 among the dress watches 🙂1 day work for the perfect set of hands, reminds me to the master RW Smith.
The hand engraved movement is another entire day of work
The big brands I mentioned above do it with a machine and it takes probably less then 5 minutes … this is done by hand, 1 movement per day !!
Hand engraved movement bridge ( and of course hand engraved balance cock)
First some extra pictures I took from their website. Pictures taken by a professional photographer with a professional camera give you a better
idea of the level of finishingthe balance, look at the polishing and beveling
again those hands
PERFECTION
checking the balance
polishing the sharp inner angles of a part of the tourbillon mechanism
so now to the watches ..
the model Benu power reserve
TOP movement !!!
same watch but in another dial and case color
My absolute PERFECT dress watch
the Atum in red gold with silver white dial
one day ….
The Tefnut
Personally I would go for the top finishing shown already above BUT if you want a cheaper solution, some watches are available with a more regular finishing and in a steel case
Forget about 3 band sailing, no hand engraved balance cock nor hand engraved 3/4 plate, no colored screws, no gold chatons ….
But after all it does have the same in-house movement and it still has a pretty nice sandblasted look finishing
And this for the price of a Rolex deapsea is imo still worth considering
After all you own a watch made by an independent that makes less than 300 watches per year.the top level finishing movement in the gold Tevnut
Some for the ladies / woman
Again a few with the steel case and the less finished movement. also known as the Atum ‘Pure M’
this one is special too … not my favorite but I know a few guys who absolutely love it
The PVD Atum Pure M with in-house made mesh-dial
The Benu Tourbillon ( 3 minutes tourbillon)
Pics do not do justice to the beauty of this movement
A few pics I took from their website
Do you notice the brush made of human hair ? This mechanism make sit possible to stop the tourbillon if you want to adjust the watch
The tourbillon cage
German Silver ( as used for every movement, not only the tourbillon), and some stunning mirror polishing
Look at the piece of wood
THE PINION BREAK MADE OF GUAIACUM
An additional wheel extends the periodicity of the cage to three minutes, thus reducing overall kinetic energy and the exposure of the escapement to stress. The pinion for the seconds is segregated from the power flow of the wheel train and driven with reduced torque. To prevent arbor and seconds-hand backlash, the pinion is constantly braked by a spring. Grossmann’s watchmakers designed this function in a sustainable and maintenance-free manner by choosing guaiacum, a very oily wood with the highest degree of hardness (“rock-hard”), for the brake ring of the fourth-wheel arbor. This solution was inspired by the extremely dependable marine and tower clocks that carpenter John Harrison crafted in the 18th century thanks to his insights into the properties of different wood species.
notice how the wheels are finished …. polishing INSIDE the teeth
A nice detail , white sapphire instead of red rubies
I’m sure many of us never heard about this brand before and I’m even more sure most of us never had the chance to see one
All I can say is, I was impressed.
The hand engraved plate, the polished teeth of the wheels, the hands are a work of art on their own, the German silver, beveling, …
This is a kind of finishing I don’t see on similar watches ( same price) offered by the big and well know brands… Yes I’m talking about Vacheron, Patek, Lange, Breguet….The fact that they only make about 300 watches per year with more or less 40-45 people also gives something extra to the watch
Is you want something beautiful, something rare and original, something where they put a lot of attention in everything you can imagine … Take a closer look at these watches before you buy another one from the big brands
Finally I would like to thank Christine Hutter, Rainer Kern and Jean-Pierre Grisel for giving me this exceptional experience
It were 2 days I will never forget
And I hope to see you again the day I do buy MY Moritz Grossman Atum in red gold …. just a matter of budget right nowfor the people interested in history …
These are pictures I took in the Glashutte museum. Some Grossman watches made more than 100 years ago
J’ai eu l’occasion de voir de près les montres de cette marque et j’aime beaucoup.
Quant au reportage il est remarquable, merci !
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La mode se démode, le style jamais.Membre AHA n°1Amicalement
Guy 67Merci pour cette découverte d’une marque que je ne connaissais pas
et bravo pour ce superbe reportage exhaustif et riche en illustrations 
c’est quand même très très beau
au départ j’étais un peu étonné par leur couronne – genre capsule de kro
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et puis en fin de compte ça leurs donne une personnalité hors du commun
et c’est vrai qu’au niveau finition; ça vole très haut, ne serait ce que les aiguilles, les rouages
des boîtiers acier et des prix apparemment contenus !!très séduit, en tous cas sur le papier…
Ces index courbés sont sublimes !
Les allemands sont très forts niveau finitions, on le sent encore une fois dans le CR de visite de cette Manufacture MG
Je te remercie également pour cette jolie découverte d’une marque que je ne connaissais que de nom… Les finitions ont vraiment l’air exquises.
Félicitations pour ce magnifique reportage ! Cela me rappelle la visite du musée à Glashutte où ce Mr était effectivement mentionné
cf reportage à l’époque :
Merci pour cette magnifique revue!
Depuis que j’ai découvert cette petite manufacture j’ai été conquis! Leurs montres ont une véritable identité et une esthétique qui est propre à la manufacture tant au niveau des mouvements que des cadrans! C’est assez rare pour les marques récentes qu’il faut le souligner Merci pour cet excellent reportage…
Des montres magnifiques et, curieusement, je trouve les mouvements en finition « less » particulièrement intéressants dans leur approche brute…
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