Moritz Grossmann Tefnut 36 Grand Feu Enamel

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jleno shares his journey to acquiring his first luxury watch, the Moritz Grossmann Tefnut 36 piece unique with a grand feu enamel dial. After a three-year search for a simple, time-only dress watch with exceptional movement finishing, he details how this 36mm auction win perfectly met his criteria, highlighting its unique aesthetic and intricate craftsmanship.

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After looking at luxury watches for almost 3 years now, I had wanted to get a simple time-only dress watch with a highly finished movement. I previously considered a few of the usual candidates in this segment, but none of them resonated with me after putting them on the wrist.

Then last month, I found out about the MG Christie's auction on its last day with 11 hours remaining. Browsing the lots, I found this one and it immediately struck me as one of the most attractive dress watches I've seen. When I saw that it was 36mm, I knew I had to bid on it! Fortunately, I won and finally received the watch last week...

So this is my first luxury watch: a Moritz Grossmann Tefnut 36 piece unique with grand feu enamel dial!

There's something about the combination of the enamel dial and beautiful violet leaf hands that hits the perfect sweet spot for me in achieving a design that's simultaneously interesting and subtle without veering off into being too flashy or boring. I particularly like the font of the Roman numerals used here too, which seem a bit more relaxed than the usual.

The finishing on the movement is fantastic. Most notable are the engravings, black polished crown wheel, and double-snailed ratchet wheel. MG also did a nice job of exposing the movement despite being a German brand; there's no swan neck regulator obscuring the engravings, and the smaller 3/5 plate gives a nice view of the gear train, escapement, and mainspring barrel.

Overall, I'm incredibly pleased with the watch and glad I held off this long to wait for the perfect one

Key Points from the Discussion

Moritz Grossmann watches often exhibit more hand-finishing, such as engraved letterings, black polished crown wheels, and snailing on the ratchet wheel, compared to other brands at similar price points.
Moritz Grossmann and Lang & Heyne are rated higher than A. Lange & Söhne by some collectors for their finishing and overall quality.
Unique features of the Moritz Grossmann movement include clear sapphires instead of rubies, ARCAP gears, distinctive balance wheel and index adjuster designs, and a pillar architecture inspired by historical pocket watches.

The Discussion

nwk00

Jan 24, 2019

Yes, it is a very very underated brand.

The finishing is top notch and comparable to the top brands, often times even better.

jleno

Jan 24, 2019

If MG was any more well known, I doubt I would have won the watch :)

My last bid was also my max

redcorals

Jan 25, 2019

fact? better than Lange? [nt]

nwk00

Jan 25, 2019

Subjectively...

it looks like more hand work was lavished on the Grossmann, especially when comparing watches at the same price level. In this case I think the mid to entry level. Some stuff I noticed that are better on the Grossmann are hand engraved letterings on the movements vs laser(?), black polished crown wheel(cover?), snailing on the ratchet wheel(cover?) etc. The interplay of the different finishing makes the Grossmann watches richer in details. I also like that the edges of the plates and balance coc

FabR

Jan 24, 2019

A really neat piece, and the movement is indeed superbly finished. Please repost in the other thread, as this is going to get a top award in this week's wrist scan! :-) [nt]

jleno

Jan 24, 2019

Thank you, will do! :) [nt]

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Moritz Grossmann Tefnut 36 Grand Feu Enamel

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