In 2024 the watchmaking brothers Bart and Tim Grönefeld set out on a new project with the launch of their second brand Grøne. Essentially an outlet for more affordable watches produced in larger quantities in comparison to the extremely exclusive and virtually impossible to get hold of Grönefeld branded watches – a business model we’ve seen from Japanese watchmaking legend Hajime Asaoka and his second brand Kurono Tokyo. The latest addition to the Grøne lineup is the new Horologium small seconds, available to order from August 13th at €2,390 (approx. £2,050 / $2,750) excluding tax and shipping.
As a British publication, our readers might be familiar with the name Horologium because that’s the name of the watch assembly workshop recently bought out by Studio Underd0g, but that workshop and this watch are completely unrelated. The word ‘Horologium’ simply means ‘Clock’ in Latin and so is used in several places across the watch industry. I’m just making that clear now to avoid any possible confusion.
The watch itself is a 39mm x 10mm steel dress watch. It’s an iteration on their previous design where the central caseband is now satin brushed to contrast with the polished bezel and caseback, adding more definition to the design. The lugs have also been reshaped so that the downward curve follows the contours of the wrist more comfortably. Overall, it feels both classical and modern, which lends itself perfectly to the dial which is available in two versions each called ‘Something Quirky’ and ‘Something Classic’.
Essentially the difference between the two is the finish and how far you want to turn up the saturation on the colours. The ‘Quirky’ is matte orange (they are Dutch after all) with bright blue hands while the ‘Classic’ is sunray brushed salmon with dark blue hands. Both feature silver small seconds subdials, angular hour markers, and alpha hour and minute hands. There’s a raised ring around the centre of the dial that gives the watch a sector style layout commonly associated with Art Deco designs, but I would call this one more classical.
Beneath the dial is a manual-winding La Joux-Perret movement, although Grøne haven’t specified the exact reference and it’s heavily customised. For starters there’s a Grøne engraved plate with Côtes de Genève finishing obscuring much of the architecture. That means identifying the base movement isn’t quite so easy as comparing the movement to an LJP stock movement. However, as it’s a manual winding small seconds movement, we can be fairly certain that it’s either the D100 or the LJP7380.
Of the two, I would hedge my bets and say it’s more likely to be the vastly more common D100 as a base calibre. It makes the most sense to customise a more readily available movement in this way and it fits with the watch’s pricing. That would put the power reserve at approximately 50-hours but that’s not confirmed. If it does turn out to be the LJP7380 then that’s a benefit and not a disappointment.
As a last note, the ‘Quirky’ caseback bears an additional inscription on the sapphire glass of “Zoals het klokje thuis tikt, tikt het nergens”, which translates to Home Sweet Home in Dutch, a reference to the Dutch orange dial on the other side. The ‘Classic’ by comparison has a clear sapphire.
Each version is limited to 188 pieces at €2,390 (approx. £2,050 / $2,750) with orders opening on August 13th. Not exactly mass market but a lot more attainable than a Grönefeld where the website has noted that they are unable to take new orders for the past four years – and that’s not an exaggeration. It’s also cool to see a much more playful side to what has been a very serious watch brand historically, with the use of colour and expressive design elements such as that caseback inscription.
Price and Specs:
More details at Grøne.
