MORITZ GROSSMANN – unveils two new HAMATIC Vintage versions in white and rose gold

Born out of tradition  – HAMATIC Vintage silver-plated by friction is the epitome of innovative design and horological craftsmanship fused with consummate aesthetics.

Throughout their history, Glashütte’s watchmakers have always exercised meticulous care in the finishing of their timepieces. Indeed, the outward appearance of luxury timepieces has consistently been seen as a reflection of the first-class workings within. In keeping with the best Glashütte tradition, even the smallest parts concealed from view were painstakingly finished and embellished with the finest cuts, polishes and engravings.

Moritz Grossmann follows this traditional principle, in which the ultimate in precision is fused with sophisticated aesthetics, by introducing two new versions of the HAMATIC Vintage in 750/000 white and rose gold.

The silver-plated by friction dial features the authentic finishing technique used in the 19th century. The exquisite manufactory movement with an innovative automatic hammer mechanism similarly dates back to this period. Masterfully perfected by the Grossmann designers, the historic mechanism using a pendulum-style weight is endowed with a modern interpretation in the HAMATIC Vintage. As a result, the HAMATIC Vintage silver-plated by friction is a superb example of craftsmanship and technical finesse worthy of Carl Moritz Grossmann himself.

Simple elegance and the highest standards of craftsmanship: The dial of the HAMATIC Vintage silver-plated by friction

Moritz Grossmann is one of a small circle of luxury manufactories worldwide that has mastered the entire spectrum of designing and manufacturing haute horlogerie timepieces. The state-of-the-art technology and exceptional artistic craftsmanship make them the ultimate expression of traditional Saxon fine watchmaking today. This art flourished in the second half of the 19th century and is what made Glashütte’s precision timepieces famous all over the world. Today, the Moritz Grossmann manufactory embodies ‘Schönstes Deutsches Handwerk’ to perfection. The two new versions of the HAMATIC Vintage bear witness to this.

Their classically elegant dial comes with a very rare finish: grain or silver plating by friction. Creating a fine-grained, velvet-like surface, it reflects most of the incident light without causing glare – giving a charming appearance with excellent readability.

This traditional method entails rubbing a special mixture of silver powder, salt and cream of tartar with a little water onto the dial blank – meticulously cleaned beforehand – using a small brush to create a fine-grained structure. All engravings were previously filled with lacquer and fired in a kiln so that they would be excluded from the silver-plating process. The silver powder does not adhere to the lacquer. The surface is then carefully sanded, which also removes any excess lacquer. As a result, the engravings and numerals are completely omitted from the silver plating process, which means they retain their rich black color creating an optimum contrast the bright silver background. To protect the high-quality silver-plating by friction from oxidation and other environmental influences, the piece is finished with a protective coating.

The technique is executed entirely by hand. It requires a high degree of concentration, dexterity and experience and is mastered by a mere handful of skilled craftsmen today. But the result justifies the high complexity: The interplay of light and shade, lustre and matte finish creates a unique effect that will retain its brilliant quality for decades and centuries to come.  Inspired by the historical pocket watches of Carl Moritz Grossmann, who gave the watch its name, the HAMATIC Vintage is embellished with striking Roman numerals silver-plated by friction.

The original Moritz Grossmann logo ‘M. Grossmann’ from 1875 underscores the classically elegant charm of the dial.  Poiré-shaped hands, finely crafted by hand and annealed in brown-violet, circle over the dial.

Superbly executed and finished down to the smallest detail: The calibre 106.0 with bidirectional hammer winding mechanism

An understated case of 750/000 white or rose gold houses the precision-finished Grossmann 106.0 manufactory calibre with stop-seconds function for ultra-precise time setting. This classic pillar movement has a 2/3 plate and six Glashütte stripes. The hammer winding mechanism is a recent innovation and works on both sides. It features a supremely efficient and reliable winding mechanism via two click wheels. When fully wound, the movement offers a power reserve of 72 hours, which means that the HAMATIC continues to run for an entire weekend or three days without any further movement.

Another advantage of the hammer-style pendulum system is that the hammer’s center of mass is relatively far away from its rotational axis. This results in a high torque, which in turn results in a powerful force acting on the spring. The movement’s mainspring is wound even if the hammer moves only five degrees, which corresponds to an oscillation of two millimeters.

The newly developed mechanism is so sophisticated that it exploits any form of movement perfectly. Intricately crafted end springs in the hammer frame act as shock absorbers for excessive deflections of the hammer body. The swing radius is smaller for gentle movements, resulting in hardly any friction losses and energy can be transmitted virtually loss-free.

The watch can be wound by hand in addition to the self-winding mechanism. To achieve this, a manual winder designed as a yoke winder is mounted on a separate bridge. This yoke ensures that the manual winder is always uncoupled from the ratchet wheel when the HAMATIC system is active in response to motion. In manual winding mode, the reduction gear is isolated from the ratchet wheel by the click-pawl idler. 

The many advantages of the calibre 106.0 not only lie in the ingenious technology, but also in the extraordinary architecture, which shows the filigree mechanism, exquisitely finished down to the smallest detail, in all its beauty. The spotlight falls on the small yet powerful hammer head made of gold, which transforms even the slightest movement into energy.

Limited to eight watches each worldwide

The rose gold version comes with a dark-brown hand-stitched alligator leather strap and the white gold version has a black alligator leather strap.  Both versions are each limited to eight pieces worldwide.