BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
When it comes to high-end watchmaking, we either talk about complications or simplicity with keen attention to details. I personally prefer simplicity over the former and for this article, I’m quite thrilled to talk about Moritz Grossmann Benu Blue Steel, a special one-off piece made to celebrate the brand’s 10th anniversary.
Benu is the brand’s primary collection and literary speaking, Benu means rebirth. I come to realize that the production watches in the Benu line are time only watches made to the highest standards of watchmaking – the rebirth thing here is a kind of bringing the mechanical beauty into the contemporary world where fancy electronics turn things to binary.
What I like about Moritz Grossmann Benu Blue Steel watch is its utter simplicity, much like a tool watch but definitely stylistic. Some fans are obsessed with its highly detailed engineering, I don’t know, perhaps they’re dazzled by the watch’s cool lines or perfect legibility, I don’t really know. What I know for sure is that the watch is unique. The Benu Blue Steel comes in a stainless steel case featuring a modern size at 41mm and a thickness of 11.35mm. 50 meters of water resistance is fair and seriously, you wear this for dressy occasions or casual events anyway.
Moving on the dial, we see a grand feu enamel featuring blue markings on the dial as well as the blued steel hands. The large Arabic hour markers, as well as the minute track and running seconds subdial are all blued. I always like blue against a peaceful surface and you get that with a lighter surface like on this dial. Moreover, the hands are filed, ground, and polished by hand until the desired blue color is acquired. They’re not machined or produced by the thousands, they’re done manually so let that sink in.
Powering the watch is an in-house hand-wound caliber 100.1. It features blued screws, regulating nut, and back bushing. It also comes with hand-polished chamfers, levers and springs to the bridges. Untreated German silver is used for the bridges and the ratchet wheel with distinctive three-band snailing. The balance cock is also hand-engraved. Power reserve is adequate at 42 hours thanks to the new Grossman balance beating at 2.5Hz claimed to improve chronometric performance.
More interestingly, the Benu Blue Steel features a separate pusher to restart the movement. Basically, when the crown is pulled it immediately snaps back into its original position and the hands can then be adjusted while the movement is stopped. This is a neat trick that protects the insides of the watch. The pusher at 4 o’clock restarts the movement.
While the simplicity of the Moritz Grossmann Benu Blue Steel is so calming, it definitely is a product of high-end watchmaking. It is very appealing to me because of its cool tricks that actually saves the wearer some headaches like the neat protection for the case. As of this writing price is not yet announced. Finally, this is a watch made to the highest standard German craftsmanship and is a one-off piece. Visit Moritz Grossmann here.
