This 1941 Principia is 1 of just 10 made in collaboration with Chicago-based retailer Sydel & Sydel. The Principia is the first time-only from the independent watchmaking brothers Bart & Tim Grönefeld, who built their name in complication prowess. Grönefeld have made just 3 special editions of the Principia in total: 12 made for Sincere Singapore with Breguet numerals, 12 made for Cellini with meteorite dials, and these 10 made for Sydel & Sydel. It is objectively the rarest Principia, but also the most subtle with a blue that feels tailor-made to show off the Principia's austere and restrained aesthetic.
The dial for this special edition is a very teutonic grey-blue with just a hint of teal, a precise shade known as Gröneblue which varies drastically with light. It is brushed in a sunburst pattern in its outer hour track but grained matte at center, with a thin mirror-finished steel inlay separating the two. Interestingly, the text above the petite seconds track has changed as well. What used to read 'Principia Automatic' now reads 'Special Principia Edition'. The signature underneath remains unchanged, simply stating 'The Netherlands.' Cases are numbered as usual, but its calibre has received a plaque which simply reads '1 of 10'.
Its 226-component automatic calibre fully shows off the skills the brothers refined during their time at Renaud & Papi. The bridges are made of steel, which is far more difficult and expensive to manufacture than traditional brass, and shaped after the traditional bell gable rooftops on many classic Dutch houses. Each bridge takes 10 hours to make. The calibre displays exceptional hand frosting, graining, anglage, and balance bridge skeletonization. The time demands of this extensive finishing on steel result in consistently small production; Grönefeld can only make 5 examples of Principia each month. The calibre G-06 is not complicated in the traditional sense, but also not easy to produce.
The 1941 case framing this artwork remains unchanged, 39.5mm in steel with extremely refined and sculptural concavity most visible in the lugs, bezel, and crown. The concave bezel features two perfectly mirrored steps top and bottom, which flow into the most prominent lines of the lug, integrating the case body and lugs in aesthetic. The entire case architecture feels deeply considered, to the extent that even the pin buckle is sculpted to echo the lug's design language.
The Sydel & Sydel Principia is an exercise in restraint of form with unrelenting attention to detail and craft. Its calibre loses none of the technical finishing excellence that the Grönefeld brothers built their name upon, while removing all that is not necessary to simply tell the time. It is the ultimate in minimalist Dutch watchmaking, arguably never better-looking than in Gröneblue.
