Cause for Collaboration

Grönefeld is a lesser-known, albeit GPHG-award-winning, manufacture that constantly threatens to dominate talk at the annual Baselworld fair. And with the release of a Kari Voutilainen collaboration this past March, the brand, run by a pair of Dutch brothers, continues to strengthen its growing stature in the industry. This collection welcomes a few new additions with the release of a stainless-steel, 25-piece limited edition watch as well as a few guilloche models handled by the master craftsmen himself, Voutilainen. The 1941 Remontoire collection that was first released at last year’s fair was already noteworthy for its constant-force mechanism, which automatically winds and releases every eight seconds, keeping its accuracy at a consistent pace. The hand-guilloched dial will be available in transparent enamel as well as other versions. The enameling is handled by a specialist named Inès Hamaguchi who has developed a new technique that involves personally grinding and melting the glass at 800 degrees Celsius. This glass powder then flows and hardens atop Voutilainen’s guilloche dial, creating a striking translucent effect that dazzles on the wrist.