The Grönefeld Boutique opens it doors on December 19th and is the first boutique representing Independent Haute Horlogerie brands in the Netherlands.

Tim and Bart Grönefeld already made name with their own highly complicated wrist watch, the Grönefeld GTM-06. On December 19th they will open the doors of their new boutique, representing Independent Haute Horlogerie brands like Kees Engelbarts, Sarpaneva, Speake-Marin, S.U.F. and of course their own watches!

Grönefeld Boutique - Kees, Speake-Marin, Sarpaneva, S.U.F., Grönefeld

Usually when you’re interested in a watch or just looking for something new, you can go to a local or nearby AD. Independent watch brands already get much lesser attention in media, both online and in print. This makes it much harder for watch collectors to come across them and get to know these watches.

That’s why i think it was very good news when the Dutch watch magazine Watching asked me to write a series of articles about Independent watch makers. And that’s why i think the opening of the Grönefeld Boutique is great news! Finally a place where watch collectors and aficionados can see and feel these beautiful hand-made watches.

The Grand Opening of the Grönefeld Boutique is on saturday December 19th. Take a look at the website for information and register for the opening. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about Independent Haute Horlogerie.

The Grönefeld Boutique is located in Oldenzaal, in the east of the Netherlands. This location makes it possible for watch collectors and aficionados from the Netherlands, northern Germany and even southern Denmark to visit the Grönefeld Boutique. Time for a road trip

Sometimes readers of Monochrome sent me an email with their thoughts or questions about something i wrote. Sometimes i receive really funny mails, like this one about a HUGE watch. Check it out!

Just imagine finding Godzilla’s wrist watch….

Godzilla's wrist watch?

This huge watch was found during a house cleaning. Well i can imagine the finder must have wondered about the previous owners of the house

The total length, from buckle to the end of the other band, is around 90 cm or 3 feet. Slightly too big for my wrist i guess… look at the wrist watch next to it.

Radio wrist watch

After taking a closer look it appeared to be a radio in a wrist watch shape. The case with crystal, lugs, a crown, hands and dial are shaped exactly like a watch. Even the strap is made of real leather and has stitching on the sides. Both strap ends are attached with a removable pin and it even comes with a buckle.

back - dial - buckle

The radio is AM only and operates on a 9 volt battery. The crown is used as on/off switch and as volume control. The hour and minute hand are actually only one hand that indicates the frequency of the radio. Via a center knob in the middle the radio can be tuned to different radio stations.

Wanna hear another song?

Thanx to Joseph for sending these photos!

Glashütte Original donates a one of a kind watch to Italian Cancer Research Organization AIRC. And to be honest, this watch is so beautiful that i hope it will be part of the novelties Baselworld 2010!

Patrizzi & Co will auction 40 watches during the Italian national day of cancer, November 26th. All proceeds will go to the Italian cancer research. Earlier this year i already blogged about the Only Watch 2009 auction Patrizzi & Co did for another good cause. For this auction, Glashütte Original donates a unique version of the PanoMaticReserve XL. This one is so beautiful… that i’m sad that it’s a one of a kind…. Here is already the off center placed hour and minutes subdial. Scroll down to see more of the watch….

Glashütte Original PanoMaticReserveXL - piece unique

The regular Glashütte Original PanoMaticReserveXL, only available in white or rose gold, has a diameter of 42mm and is 12.5mm thick. This piece unique has a steel case with PVD coating, which suits this model very well. Instead of the usual red accents, Glashütte Original has chosen yellow.

Glashütte Original PanoMaticReserveXL - piece unique

The beautiful silver markers are applied and next to every  marker, as well as on the hands, is luminous material to make it possible to tell the time in the dark. The use of yellow as accent, they went further than on the regular PanoMaticReserveXL models, which have the date in white on black date disks. This piece unique Glashütte Original that will be auctioned by Patrizzi & Co, has a yellow date on the black date disks. I just love those details

Glashütte Original PanoMaticReserveXL - piece unique

Inside ticks manufacture caliber 90-03 that gives 42 hours of power reserve. The beautifully finished movement has 61 jewels, the Glashütte three-quater plate, hand engraved balance bridge and a double swan-neck fine adjustment.

Now a photo of the watch… Glashütte Original PanoMaticReserveXL piece unique. A beauty… and i really hope GO will take such a watch into production. Look for yourself and let me know what you think!

Glashütte Original PanoMaticReserveXL - piece unique

The man behind the Sea-Dweller Jacques Piccard Edition has more great ideas. His own watch, the Steiner Limited, can be customized to the customers desires. And… it’s the first certified chronometer from the Netherlands.

Jacques Piccard Edition

In north-west Europe, and maybe even around the globe, Steiner Maastricht is famous for their huge collection of very collectable vintage watches. Steiner Maastricht also offered the already sold-out Sea-Dweller Jacques Piccard Edition, also called Single Red Deep Sea. The very last one was auctioned last month and fetched a price of 40,000 Swiss Francs. That’s more than double the retail price of just below 20,000 Swiss Francs.

Steiner started offering their own watches in 1980. Now-a-days more watch stores have their own line of watches, just think of Wempe or Steffen in Antwerp. Only Steiner Maastricht offers the possibility to customize your watch to your own ideas.

After 2 years of developing the Steiner24 was released. This watch was available in rose gold and in platinum, limited to only 24 of each model. Shortly there after a stainless steel limited edition of just 50 watches was introduced. Since October 2006 the new Steiner collection is available and now one can choose between the 39 en 42 mm diameter, stainless steel, rose or white gold, and platinum versions with 8 individual dial plates.

Steiner Limited box of 3

More than 50 parts have been designed and produced for the Steiner Limited. The crown has an engraved star which is the emblem of the city  of origin, Maastricht, home base of Steiner. The dials to choose from are white enamel, silver, brushed silver, mother of pearl, grey-green, brown, blue and enamelled black. I very much like the grey-green and the black dial.

After selecting your choices, the watch is being hand-made and will not leave the workshop before being thoroughly verified, checked and tested.

Steiner Limited - steel with white dial

The sapphire crystal is anti-relfective coated and the sapphire crystal in the case back gives a clear view of the Valjoux 7751. This well-known and very reliable movement offers a chronograph function, calendar, 24 hour hand and moon phase indicator. The day and month in Dutch

The Steiner Limited is also available as Official Certified Chronometer. At Wenge’s in Glasshütte (Germany) the movements are tested for 15 days, according to the strict Din 8319 criteria. These criteria are much stricter than the Swiss based C.O.S.C. use.

Of course i had to make a wrist shot of Philipp’s own Steiner Limited (sorry for the bad photo).

Steiner Limited in platinum

The Steiner Limited in steel starts at € 4,500 and in rose gold at € 10,000. Take a look at the Steiner Limited website to see the different dial and metal options.