Although uncommon, independent watchmakers/ brands whose watches are not, cost-wise, entry level, have been known to diversify into something less complicated and more affordable, allowing those who do not have five or six figure single-watch budgets to enter into the world of the brand.

Amongst the most well-known and successful of these is, of course, that if the M.A.D. project from MB&F, whose level of launch popularity, which it sustained, surprised even them, but it also includes Stepan Sarpaneva’s S.U.F. Helsinki, which perhaps provides the closest point of comparison.

The demand for Tim and Bart Grönefeld’s watches in recent years has been so high that to order one of their watches is to be prepared to wait for its arrival, and we aren’t talking about a matter of months. They even had to close the books and not take any further orders for a period. To have to wait for a watch from an independent is not in and of itself surprising, and to have an excess of demand for your watches is a nice problem to have.

Longevity and succession planning are difficult things for independent watchmakers, whose brands rely as much on the individual behind the name (often the same) as the watches themselves. The Grönefeld brothers have been successful as watchmakers, but with horology in the family blood, their offspring have also been introduced to the watchmaking public as a continuation of the brand.

Tim and Bart have now diversified, with the launch of a new brand of affordable watches called GRØNE Oldenzaal, which is a nod both to the past and to the future. The launch model is the Manueel One (aka ‘Sjef’s One’), dedicated to and named for, their father on the occasion of his 83rd birthday.

The polished stainless steel case is a comfortable 38.5mm, putting it squarely in the range of sizing that appeals to everyone, with a thickness of 10mm and water resistance of 50m.

The dial side looks like a Grönefeld even without the branding, so in that sense the brand identity has been maintained. It features a tremblage salmon dial surrounded by a two-step brushed rhodium-plated ring with diamond-cut edges. The applied hour markers are polished diamond-cut batons with tips that extend and hang over the salmon-coloured centre. The metallic GRØNE logo is applied, with “Oldenzaal”, “Manueel” and “Netherlands” printed.

Flipping over, the case back is engraved with a map of Oldenzaal from 1626, with the Grönefeld logo marking the current location of the brothers’ atelier.

As you will no doubt expect from a diffusion brand of an independent, a significantly lower price means that above all, the base movement is not going to bring any ‘in-house’ surprises, and there will be more external sources. Beneath this case back is a modified manually-wound Sellita SW210 which beats at 28,800 VPH and has a power reserve of 42 hours.

Coming on a dark blue calf leather strap with red contrast stitching, the GRØNE Manueel One will be in a limited edition of 388 pieces (not numbered) with a price of EUR 2,150 (excluding taxes). Limited to one purchase per customer, it will be available for order on November 19, 2024, at 15:00 hours Amsterdam CET with deliveries commencing December 2024.

You can maybe view this move in part as a ‘space filler’ as they continue to fulfil the orders for their main brand, but its goal is mostly to have a price-accessible mechanical watch that young people can afford, especially those who like the Grönefeld brand but cannot afford it. My guess is that there will be many existing clients who will also want it – either for themselves or as a gift to offspring.

[Photo credit: GRØNE]

Categories: Grönefeld, Limited Editions, Watch Profile, watches, Women's watches