Moritz Grossmann Tremblage Reviewed by Tim Mosso
by Tim Mosso
Dial design can be a blessing to a watch brand – or a curse. Basic watches such the anOrdain Model 1, Tudor Black Bay Chrono Pink, and the Grand Seiko SBGA211 “Snowflake” sell on aesthetics with no other explanation required.
And yet… other brands invest in movement finish, engineering, production integrity, and breathless marketing exposition without ever putting a charismatic “face” on the fruits of their labor.
Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Glashütte’s Moritz Grossmann often found itself among the latter – until the Tremblage.
I must admit that I never understood why Moritz Grossmann doesn’t get the same amount of attention as its celebrated neighbor, A. Lange & Söhne. Despite a similar house style but lower production, more time invested per watch, and zero compromise on finish, Grossmann has always seemed as though it struggles to attract the attention of collectors.
Moritz Grossmann ‘Super Bowl LIII’ Watch
It wasn’t for want of trying. At its most extreme, there were bizarre publicity stunts including a piece unique “Super Bowl LIII” watch and the unfathomably weird “Meet in February” commemoration bearing the facial profiles of Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un “Meet in February” by Moritz Grossmann
But, for the most part, Moritz Grossmann’s advocacy for its quality focused on ensuring quality itself. The firm came close to breaking free of its chronically conservative dials with 2018’s movement-on-the-front Backpage model.
Moritz Grossman Atum Backpage
But even then – with the quality front and center – something about Grossmann movements doesn’t photograph well.
Maybe they’re too pale, or too monotone – or maybe the details are lost in the lighting. Whatever it is, too much of the Moritz Grossmann magic gets lost in translation when human eyes are replaced by camera lenses.
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If watch collector attention were a cipher, the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage finally cracked the code. I know, because as soon as the watch arrived in November of 2021, I started receiving texts, emails, and phone calls from people suddenly infatuated with the brand.
Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
My prior half-decade of advocating for these watches fell on deaf ears; in the end, it was eyes that made the difference. Seeing was believing, and countless interested parties saw Moritz Grossmann for the first time that fall.
Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
It’s easy to understand their excitement. Each Tremblage dial starts as a solid disc of the material commonly known as “German Silver” on German watches and “maillechort” on French-Swiss ones. Either way, it’s an alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc that’s similar to the material used in guitar frets and lightly golden in tone due to the copper content.
From some perspectives, it has the shaded look of aged sterling silver, hence the nickname.
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For the most part, this material had been consigned to history when pocket watches gave way to wristwatches and movements became rhodium-plated brass by convention.
Largely resurrected by Lange in the mid-1990s, German Silver has become an expected component of expensive watches made in the Fatherland. However, Moritz Grossmann’s use of German Silver for a dial breaks with convention.
Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Engraving it by hand goes a step further.
Starting with a solid block of the metal, an artisan moves slowly with gravers of various sizes and profiles. The basic texture of the Tremblage’s dial is the product of innumerable short engravings akin to tiny divots drawn out gently from the initial point of contact.
Moritz Grossmann Tremblage dial close up
Under magnification, the marks look like tiny straight lines deliberately scattered to avoid forming any kind of larger pattern, parallel lines, or shapes; it only looks random.
Moritz Grossmann Tremblage dial close up
The most impressive elements of the Tremblage’s dial are its numerals, texts, and time scales. All of these features rise from the dial base as relieved structures resembling desert mesas in profile and black-polished mirrors from overhead.
The process of creating a single dial reportedly requirs days of attention from start to finish.
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Other frontal features of the Tremblage deserve honorable mention. The first is the handset. No company in Germany spends more time manually cutting, forming, polishing, and firing hands.
Minute hand of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Moritz Grossmann’s hands are famously fine, needle-like, and nuanced under scrutiny.
Like so many of the company’s longstanding signatures, it’s the kind of refinement that astounds in person and vanishes in photographs. Dark brown oxidation on these hands requires a quick, deft firing to avoid irregular shading or, if left to cook indefinitely, bluing.
The brown-violet shade requires a shorter firing and perfect timing. At center, the hands and cannon pinion are as flawlessly bright as a mirror.
Setting a watch is often a chore. Mortiz Grossmann makes setting an event. The curious button below the crown cloaks a complex clutch system designed to enable location of the minute hand with absolute precision.
Moritz Grossmann Caliber 100.1 winding-setting mechanism
Traditional keyless works tend to displace a meticulously placed minute hand when the crown is returned to its flush position. At that point, it doesn’t matter how accurate the watch is, because the damn hand just jumped to the wrong spot.
Moritz Grossmann Tremblage time setting clutch button beside the crown
Mortiz Grossmann’s system causes the withdrawn crown to snap back to its flush position; the setting works remains engaged, and the movement is stopped. Once the minute and hour hand indicate the correct time, the little button activates a spring-loaded clutch that cancels stop-seconds and reconnects the hands to the going train.
Zero displacement of the minute hand is the result in every instance.
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Around back, the Grossmann caliber 100.1 is deceptively simple. There’s a three-quarter bridge, a large balance, and a traditional center wheel going train. But look closer, and there’s magic in the machine.
Caliber 100.1 movement of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
All screws are chamfered in their slots and circumference to a degree that puts almost all rivals to shame; the same lovely brown oxidation seen on the hands applies to the screws.
Screwed gold chaton on the movement of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Each synthetic jewel is clear corundum rather than a ruby, and the chaton-style jewel settings are loving nod to the era of company namesake, watchmaker Moritz Grossmann.
Keep looking, and the wonder grows. All characters on the bridges and plates are hand-engraved in a fashion that makes each caliber unique. Even Lange doesn’t do this.
Elaborately engraved balance cock with fine adjustment screw of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Moreover, the engraving of the escape wheel and balance cocks are elaborated to a degree of intricacy not possible with Lange’s annual output of thousands – but more than viable at Grossmann volumes.
Bevels are few but immaculate and milling marks from mechanized tools are nowhere to be seen on these chamfers.
Triple- solarization of the ratchet wheel of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
The steel crown and ratchet wheels captivate on two counts. First, there’s “black” polish on the crown wheel core. Second, there’s the triple-layered solarization of the ratchet wheel.
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Polished gear teeth of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
The closer you get, the better it looks, and both wheels feature exquisite micro-beveling of their teeth. Polished screws co-exist with fired ones on this movement, and the giant atop the ratchet wheel is so finely beveled that the facets can be appreciated without a loupe.
Mirror polished screw of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Unique hardware abounds on this movement. See the balance with its extraordinary steel regulator index; there’s a micrometric rack and screw system to effect ultra-fine timing changes.
Elaborately engraved balance cock with fine adjustment screw of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Below it, Grossmann employs an enormous proprietary balance oscillating on an overcoil. Variable inertia masses are present for most routine regulation of timing.
Variable inertia screws on the balance wheel of the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Finally, although a challenge to verify, the movement’s main bridge is suspended over the baseplate by a series of polished columns – similar in style to a vintage marine chronometer.
The phrase “more than a pretty face” should be anathema to watch designers. A pretty face is 90 percent of the reason most of us decide to pull the trigger.
Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Rationalizing the engineering of technology that’s been obsolete for decades or the finish of caseback pieces we can’t see on the wrist… that’s just how we lie to ourselves.
Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
In a hobby where topside aesthetics are king, a sexy dial is the coin of the realm. With its Tremblage, Moritz Grossmann could finally channel the immortal Mel Brooks; “it’s good to be the king.”
For more information, please visit https://en.grossmann-uhren.com/watch/tremblage/
Quick Facts: Moritz Grossmann Tremblage
Reference Code: MG-003290
Edition: 2021
Case: Rose gold; 41mm; 11.8mm thick; 50.3mm lug-to-lug; 30-meters WR; sapphire caseback
Strap: Alligator top, calf leather bottom
Clasp: Rose gold pin buckle or double-deployant clasp
Dial: German silver alloy (nickel, copper, zinc) hand-engraved with burins and gravers; all text, tracks, and numerals are integral to the dial disc; steel hands manually finished and fired to brown hue
Movement: Caliber 100.1; manual 42-hour power reserve; 2.5 Hz; overcoil hairspring; adjusted in five positions; 20 clear sapphires; stop seconds by crown with drivetrain re-engagement clutch actuator; 36.4mm diameter
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Price: 41,599 euros in steel (includes 19% VAT), 56,600 euros in pink gold (includes 19% VAT)
2024 Preowned Price: $35,000-$39,000
Tim Mosso is the media director and watch specialist at The 1916 Company. You can check out their very comprehensive YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@the1916company.
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