Benzinger unique – Coat of Arms of the Netherlands

Collecting · · by Christian Bissener


Benzinger steel watch with gold lions and a blue Dutch coat of arms on the dial and the motto Je maintiendrai, black strap

The Groot Rijkswapen is the personal coat of arms of the monarch of the Netherlands, at the time Queen Beatrix. The blue shield shows a crowned golden lion carrying a sword in its right paw and, in its left, seven arrows bound together, which stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht. The French motto reads “Je maintiendrai” – “I will maintain”.

Steel Benzinger caseback with a skeletonised gold and black movement and an engraved case rim
The movement, with the lion motif in the going-train bridge

Specification

  • High-grade steel case made in Pforzheim, 42mm, screwed-in strap lugs, sapphire glass on both sides
  • Hand-guilloché, hand-engraved and hand-skeletonised Unitas 6498 hand-winding movement
  • Crown wheel and ratchet skeletonised
  • Going-train bridge skeletonised by hand with a lion motif
  • Ground plate hand-guilloché and plated with black PVD
  • Bridges, bars, barrel, wheels and screws plated with yellow gold
  • Hand-guilloché and hand-skeletonised Sterling silver dial with the original Breguet frost finish and the Dutch coat of arms, with a view to the black ground plate
  • Flame-blued Breguet hands
  • Hand-sewn alligator strap with double folding clasp