The New Green Editions of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage

One of the few, if not only, women to lead an independent watch brand, Christine Hutter has steered Moritiz Grossmann down the path of refined watchmaking with low production numbers, in-house calibres, and a dedication to Schönstes deutsches Handwerk – the most beautiful German craftsmanship. First unveiled in 2021, the Tremblage model from the Benu collection is a stellar example of German craftsmanship and returns this summer with a refreshing green dial and a fascinating granulated texture.

One of the founding fathers of Glashütte’s proud watchmaking tradition, Carl Moritz Grossmann (1826-1885) co-founded the German School of Watchmaking in 1878 and produced high-precision measuring instruments in his technical workshop in Glashütte before turning his hand to astronomical pendulum clocks, marine chronometers and pocket watches. Acquired by Hutter in 2008, the brand is distinguished by its refined and understated models with design cues inspired by the founder’s pocket chronometers and patented small seconds.

Coinciding with the brand’s 13^th anniversary, the first Tremblage model appeared with a gorgeous champagne coloured dial and more recently, on the impressive Tourbillon Tremblage. The green tone selected for the dial evokes the shady refuge of a German forest. The surface of the dial with its tiny indentations is the result of tremblage (trembling or shaking) engraving. An almost forgotten craft, the skills of a master engraver are required to produce the consistency of pressure and movement to create the matte, granulated scenery. Using a range of burins and moving in different directions, the engraver produces micro-cuts in the German silver base plate. To complicate the task further, the engraver has to work around the raised numerals, brand name and tracks (minutes and small seconds) that are not applied to the dial but in relief. The elegant lance-shaped hands with their incredibly sharp tips are also made in-house.

The new Moritz Grossmann Tremblage model is available in 41mm white or rose gold cases with a thickness of 11.35mm. Like conventional manual-winding watches, the crown is used to wind the watch. However, if the crown is pulled out to set the time, it automatically springs back to its original position, activating the stop-seconds mechanism to allow precision time setting. Once the time is set, the pusher reactivates the movement and resets the crown to winding mode. The reasons behind this easy-to-use safety mechanism are to prevent dust from entering the case via the crown, to minimise wear and tear on the keyless works, and to prevent unintentional movement of the hands when pushing the crown back into place.

Powered by the hand-wound calibre 100.1, the reverse side of the Tremblage reveals signature German School of Watchmaking traits with its pillar architecture and 2/3 German silver bridge with hand engravings. Details such as the white sapphires set in raised gold chatons with annealed pan-head screws, the hand-engraved balance cock that secures the in-house 18,000vph Grossmann balance wheel, and the hand-polished chamfers attest to the impeccable level of finishing. The power reserve is 42 hours.

Limited to eight pieces in either tone of gold, the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage Green is paired with a dark brown alligator strap with a prong buckle matching the case material. In rose gold, the retail price is EUR 56,700, in white gold EUR 55,200. More information at grossmann-uhren.com.