1941 Remontoire for Hodinkee, Steel

In 2018, the Grönefeld brothers chose to create 12 examples of their storied 1941 Remontoire in collaboration with Hodinkee, all featuring a closed dial. The goal was to make more understated the immensely technical and beautiful calibre G-05, revising the entire calibre with a new bridge geometry in order to keep the dial quiet. The re-engineering took over a month, but eventually succeeded in creating this more discreet take on complication. The smallest-production limited edition of the Remontoire Grönefeld made excepting Only Watch, this is a quiet three-hand watch with 258-component complication lurking beneath. 

The Remontoire complication gets to the heart of Grönefeld as an entity. Brothers Bart and Tim Grönefeld grew up in Oldenzaal, a medieval Dutch town in the eastern Netherlands, within earshot of the chiming clock of the Basilica of Saint Plechelmus—a 13th century tower. That clock was maintained, for decades, by their grandfather Johan Grönefeld. When Johan passed away, the responsibility transferred to his son Sjef. As boys, Bart and Tim spent time inside the tower itself, where the swinging blades of the clock's remontoire mechanism—the constant-force device that equalized the massive driving energy before it reached the delicate escapement—made a particularly strong impression on young Tim. He received more than one stern warning from his father to keep his hands clear of them. When the brothers eventually launched their independent watchmaking company, the direction was never really in question. They would miniaturize that church clock mechanism and put it on the wrist. The watch is named 1941 after the year their father Sjef was born—a tribute as personal as any in modern horology. 

When the Hodinkee team sat down to work on the Remontoire, it was already a winner of the 2016 GPHG Men’s Watch winner. The angle they set out to pursue was to restrain the dial, which traditionally features an open, spinning governor. This was closed to create an uninterrupted salmon dial, frosted with Arabic hours. Gone too are many inscriptions such as ‘Eight Seconds Remontoire’ text above the seconds register, the silvered track, and the ‘Handcrafted’ signature below six—replaced here simply with ‘The Netherlands’. What remains is a paradoxically simple appearance, belied by one of the most technical time-only movements of their generation. 

To conceal the remontoire governor, Grönefeld's engineers had to redesign a new, flatter governor profile, shorten the associated pinion, and develop an entirely new bridge to accommodate the revised geometry. The brothers spent over a month determining whether the modification was even feasible before committing to it. The movement underneath — Caliber G-05, still fully intact and still firing that eight-second remontoire cycle — is the same 258-component, hand-wound machine found in the standard watch, featuring stainless steel bridges shaped to echo the Dutch bell gable rooflines of the brothers' hometown, hand-beveled to a mirror finish with micro-blasted centers, screw holes polished on the inside, and screw heads mirror-polished individually. Over a dozen finishing techniques appear across the movement, visible in full through the sapphire exhibition caseback. The 39.5mm stainless steel case — just 10.5mm thick — retains the original's characteristic concave bezel recesses and convex lug profile, with lugs secured by hidden titanium screws. Just the finishing, assembly, and adjustment requires at least 220 hours or about 10 days straight of complete focus.  

In a comparable show of restraint, only 12 examples of the Remontoire were created. All sold shortly after announcement. Only one example has traded hands since. The Remontoire is the signature of the Grönefeld brothers, here shown with an immense attention to detail, thoroughly revised to ensure that only its owner understands the full weaponry and the depth of the story underpinning its constant-force timekeeping. 

This 1941 Remontoire for Hodinkee presents in exceptional overall condition. The case only bears very superficial hairlines, commensurate with occasional very careful wearing. The calibre G-05 is running well in specification on our timing equipment. Please be advised there is no warranty card, but the sale includes inner & outer Boxes, owner's letter, original strap & pin buckle clasp.

This example is modelled on an average-sized 7-inch wrist.