Hermann Grieb Benzinger "Blue Hours"

[Lancillotto]

Hand made quarter repeater in rose gold limited to 1 piece

Quoted from Jochen Benzinger and Hermann Grieb

We are pleased to present the latest creation by Grieb & Benzinger – Blue Hours.

Blue Hours is actually not a watch, but rather poetry, mechanical poetry.

The idea for this watch came to us after an exhausting day of work in a local vineyard while enjoying a cool drink. The setting sun and the colors it created in the northern Black Forest sky simply inspired us to create this timepiece.

Blue Hours symbolizes the time from the beginning of dusk until the point where night begins. This period of time, lasting for about twenty minutes, is when the sky is colored in the most beautiful dark blue and red tones, originating in the sunlight reflecting in the atmosphere and the filter effect of the ozone layer. On our Blue Hour watch this interplay of colors comes from a special, galvanic treatment using both rhodium and platinum.

The hand guilloche background of the base plate adds a wide spectrum of colorful elements and reflections. In contrast, the steel levers and springs of the repeater mechanism are mirror polished and then polished matte. The screws are also polished and tempered blue, making for a beautiful contrast to the steel parts. Thanks to a number of components on various levels, the time – the display of which has consciously not been made to contrast with the other components – can be read from the hour and minute hands.

A specialty of the Blue Hours is its quarter repeater with two gongs. The repeater is activated by a sliding lever on the side of the case, after which the watch acoustically chimes the time within fifteen minutes. In the center of the dial train is the transparent hour wheel, which allows for a view of the quarter repeater. A feather tipped Cupid’s arrow second hand makes continuous rounds within its applied ring.

The transparent case back of the watch reveals the rose gold wheels peeking through skeletonized bridges and cocks. The interplay of the escapement, the screw balance and the Breguet spring as well as the centrifugal regulator and strike hammers can be clearly seen.

Other eye-catching elements include deep blue winding wheels and a crown milled from solid 18K gold with a screw mounted counter nut that was visually inspired by the ratchet wheel’s screw. Blue Hours is a dream in 18K rose gold that everyone can see.

Let’s hope they notice as well.
The base movement for this watch is a quarter repeater dating back to the 1920's.  Master watchmaker Hermann Grieb purchased this movement after he realized its value, and not only restored it but created many of the parts himself.  It would be entirely correct to call this an "in house" movement with a vintage base, and it is one of a kind.

The quarter repeater is activated through a slide lever on the left side of the case.  The repeater uses two gongs to chime the time to the nearest quarter hour when the lever is cocked.  The gongs are in two tones - for example if the time is 11:45, the first gong will strike 11 times, followed by the second gong which strikes 3 times.  The sound is rich and clear, and is among the loudest and most resonant of any repeater watches we have seen.

This watch features a massive case completely made by hand in solid 18K rose gold.  The entire watch is hand guilloched, using original machines that are themselves antiques

This watch measures 49 mm by 13 mm.
This watch carries a two year pass through manufacturer's limited warranty

$64,700





















http://www.watchbuys.com/images/griebbenzinger.pdf

[Lancillotto]

The story of master watchmaker Hermann Grieb begins in a castle, the Schloss Dätzingen to be exact.

We must admit that if you must pick a place to work a schloss built in 1263 is as good as any.

The Schloss Dätzingen is famous not only for housing the workshops of Herman Grieb, but it also serves as the official auction house of Peter Klöter, the third largest auction house of fine collectibles in Germany.  Although Hermann Grieb serves as the official watchmaker responsible for the repair and restoration of all timepieces in the auction, he still has a bit of time left over to create great watches for us in collaboration with Jochen Benzinger.

Because of the historical significance of the castle, and the number of original pieces that remained on site (including table clocks and antique pocket watches), someone of exceptional talent was needed to maintain and restore these timepieces, some of which were over 200 years old.

Herman Grieb began his work at Schloss Dätzingen in 1982.  As is the case with many master watchmakers, Hermann is also an expert with clocks, and much of his early work centered on the restoration and repair of the castle's fine table clocks.  Due to the age of some of these pieces, parts often must be made by hand to fit in the original design and style of the clock, and this type of work requires precision, knowledge and a bit of "art".

Born in 1954, Hermann Greib spent many years training as an apprentice under some of Germany's finest watchmakers at the time.  He also learned the art of goldsmith in Pforzheim, and became to have a mutual respect for Jochen Benzinger, also based in Pforzheim.

Hermann has become fascinated with antique pocket watch movements, especially those that are extremely rare.   During a recent dinner conversation, we learned that most old watch movements are in such a state of disrepair that they cannot be used, but every so often there appears "a pearl in the shell".  Grieb has a knack for locating these one of kind movements, including the IWC and Record Genève movements used in his first two watches that appear on our site.

The ability to locate such movements, recognize those that are in a state to be made near perfect, and then to restore and refinish the movements is in essence Hermann Grieb.  As we travel throughout Germany and meet with the other brands we carry, whenever the conversation turns to vintage timepieces and restored movements, Hermann Grieb's name is usually at the heart of the conversation.

[ilcommesso]

Scheletrato è un'opzione che mi piace, ma questo è troppo barocco.... un po' troppi fregi e gigli...IMHO 

[olivecrona]

Jochen Benzinger ha per le mani un orologio di un caro amico di questo forum... 

[AlexAladar]

Peccato sia scheletrato.

[vrolok]

  questa "poesia meccanica" non mi piace proprio!