Moritz Grossmann continue their streak of releasing head-turning luxury watches that catch the attention for all the right reasons. The release of the Moritz Grossmann Cornerstone marks the debut of a form-fitted movement that fills the rectangular case perfectly. With five styles that mix three dial variants with either rose gold or white gold cases, there are quite a few options to choose from.
The Moritz Grossmann Cornerstone
There are two distinct dial layouts. The first features a circular sub-dial for the seconds hand at six o’clock, while the second has a square sub-register. In my opinion. The latter suits the Deco-heavy design superbly, and would definitely be the one I would choose (in rose gold, if you were wondering).
The circular sub-dial variant has two types of dial. Both use a solid silver base but one – the black one with white Arabic numerals – is coated with Lacquer, while the other two are topped with enamel, applied using the grand feu technique.
The black lacquer dial comes only in a white gold case. The enamel dial is available in either white or rose gold. The black dial is relatively straightforward and is the simplest color-way of the bunch. Polished stainless steel stamped hands coordinate with the case, and white, pad-printed Arabic numerals to complete a dial that does not lack depth or visual interest when compared to its nuanced range-mates.
The white enamel dials are pad-printed with russet numerals. The way that reddish/brown color interplays with the annealed hands, which look nice against the white gold housing (if not quite as congruous as they do against the rose gold), is truly delicious. Both enamel options are available in a limited run of 25 pieces.
My favorite piece in this release, however, is the reference MG-002145. With a rose gold case, silver-plated dial, stylish square sub-dial, and applied, polished hour markers in a mixture of Arabic and stick styles, it is a watch of exceptional balance. The dial has a great visual depth, and the harmony created by the angular seconds register when set next to the rectangular case is an absolute triumph. There is a white gold version of this watch as well, with matching markers set against the same dial. It is also a strong entry, but the real class is with the rose gold, that really pops against the yellowy/brown of the German silver movement.
The Mortis Grossmann Caliber 102.3
The Caliber 102.3 has been developed especially for the Mortis Grossmann Cornerstone to make the most of the space available within the rectangular case. This has enabled the use of a larger barrel, resulting in a very substantial 60-hour power reserve (a treat for a watch of these dimensions). The movement features hours, minutes, and seconds, with a stop-seconds function. Traditional Glashütte ribbing is applied to the ¾ plate. A particularly nice aspect of the finishing is the ratchet wheel, which has been decorated with banded snailing. A hand-engraved balance cock (and Mortiz Grossmann branding on the plates), along with hand-set, raised gold chatons that are held in place by ‘pan-head’ screws complete the look.
All watches share the same case dimensions (46.6 mm × 29.5 mm × 9.76mm) and offer 30 meters water resistance. They are all fitted with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal for an exceptionally clear view of the dial. The different reference details for each piece, and their associated pricing are below:
MG-002145 and MG-002144
750/000 rose gold and 750/000 white gold
Solid silver, opaline dial with applied and polished hour markers
Manually crafted, steel hands, annealed to a brown-violet hue
$25,100
MG-001910
750/000 white gold
Solid silver, black lacquered dial
Manually crafted, polished stainless steel hands
$24,600
MG-001950 and MG-002142
750/000 rose gold and 750/000 white gold
White Grand-feu enamel dial
Manually crafted, steel hands, annealed to a brown-violet
25 pieces each
$29,200
All images courtesy of Moritz Grossmann
