The Horological Brothers and Kari Voutilainen – a dream come true

There is almost a year since I wrote about the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire and almost a year and a half since I’ve asked Tim and Bart Grönefeld if they intend to do a collaboration and with whom (Short question, short answer). Since then, they’ve won the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève award for the best watch in the “Men’s Watch” category, besides other prizes and they have a collaboration. This collaboration is done with the one and only Master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen.

And if you want me to admit this secret wish – I admit, I wanted a collaboration between these horological friends (they are friends, long before they started their own brands). I even wanted to ask in my short interview, but I didn’t dare… I was afraid that they will say no. That is why I kept my wish secret.

Now that the dream is alive: I can only say that the Bespoke 1941 Remontoire is more beautiful as I expected. If you still need a reason to have the Grönefeld Watches on your grail/acquisition list – I think this watch is the best one.

Every dial needs a few days of hard work and patient effort to be produced: using a century-old guilloché machine, Master Voutilainen draw every decorative line at slow speed by hand. You need precision and a well-trained eye and there are not so many people in this world that can do something like this.

But this is not all: there is also a version with guilloché and enamel. Enamel is used for his resistance in ultraviolet light – it does not fade, it keeps its look for a very long time. The marvel is done by Mrs Inès Hamaguchi: –  an independent enamel artisan that worked with Kari Voutilainen before (as an example the remarkable Voutilainen GMR Triton et Sirène) and has a lot of experience and beautiful work (she also worked for Cartier and Hermes).

To obtain the delicate enamel, Mrs Hamaguchi grinds glass and metal oxides herself: “The substrate melts by firing, usually between 750-850° C. The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating on the engine turned pattern. After cooling, the surface gently needs to be ground down and polished to obtain a flat and translucent surface.”  – Grönefeld Website.

It’s impossible not to love the deep effect that the enamel gives the guilloché dial.

Inside these watches is the beautiful Grönefeld caliber G-05 that I’ve written about in my Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire review. It’s gorgeous, an Haute Horlogerie feast.

The Bespoke 1941 Remontoire watches come with a red gold and white gold case. I am sure that other materials can be arranged. Price for bespoke pieces is on request.