The dial

Watchmakers in the 1860s and 70s used what was known as grain or silver plating by friction to refine the surface of high-quality dials. This process was widespread in the pre-industrial era and was often used in Glashütte and did not require electricity.

A whitish powder consisting of silver granules, salt and tartar is rubbed onto a brass sheet using a little water and a brush. It was, and still is, essential to clean and roughen the dial thoroughly beforehand. All the engravings on the dial are filled with lacquer before being silver-plated and then fired in a kiln to avoid excessive silver build-up.

The surface is sanded to roughen it, which also removes any excess lacquer so that only a deep black inlay remains in the engraved areas. As the silver powder does not stick to the lacquer, the engravings and numerals are completely left out of the silver plating process, which means they retain their rich black colour creating an optimum contrast to the bright silver.

The winding crown and the pusher

The gently curved form and the tapered chamfer of the strap lugs enhances the eloquent silhouette of the case.

Aesthetic and functional — the circumferential groove makes it easy to pull out the crown. The pusher for the  handsetting train is set directly below the winding crown.

This proprietary hand-setting mechanism eliminates two significant challenges: altering the hands unintentionally when pushing the crown back into place and avoiding the ingress of foreign particles like dust during the adjustment process.

The vintage look

The XII Birthday Edition is embellished with large Roman numerals in the style of the historical pocket watches of the Carl Moritz Grossmann manufactory’s namesake. The original Moritz Grossmann logo: ‘M. Grossmann’ from 1875 underlines the elegant vintage look. The numbers and logo have been engraved and finished with black lacquer. The delicate, handcrafted, poiré-shaped hands annealed to a blue hue harmonise perfectly.