The making of the Blue Danube by Grieb & Benzinger

The Blue Danube by Grieb & Benzinger is built around a historical movement made by Patek Philippe for Tiffany in New York. A video of its making shows how it was done.

Case and dial

The case is solid platinum, 43 mm in diameter, with an anti-reflective domed sapphire crystal and a flat sapphire crystal on the caseback. Pusher and crown are solid platinum, decorated with guilloché; the caseback and bezel are screwed in. The strap is navy blue alligator with a platinum buckle. The dial is hand-skeletonised sterling silver with overlapping displays and an original Breguet frosted finish.

Close view of the skeletonised dial with blue hands, gold and steel wheels and Blue Danube lettering — The skeletonised dial, lettered Blue Danube

Movement

The 26-jewel, manually wound movement is based on a historical minute repeater with split-seconds chronograph, made by Patek Philippe for Tiffany New York about 1890. At only 36.5 mm in diameter, such a concentration of complications is rare. The compensation screw balance with blued Breguet spring beats at 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour. For a movement some 120 years old, it is a tribute to historic watchmaking.

The restoration of its more than 400 components demanded great care. Every part was disassembled, treated and restored, some had to be replaced entirely, and all were reassembled into one working unit.

The base plate was hand-skeletonised and hand-guilloché before being coated with the blue platinum developed by Grieb & Benzinger. The three-quarter plate was also skeletonised and guilloché, coated with rhodium and rose gold. Every bridge was skeletonised, guilloché and rhodium-plated, and the hand-engraved balance cock was rhodium and rose gold plated. The visible spring barrel and even the wheels were guilloché, and the heads of all steel screws were polished by hand and tempered a cornflower blue over an open flame. All strike train parts, including two polished steel hammers with two gongs, levers and springs, were polished and bevelled.

Caseback of the platinum watch with blue skeletonised movement and gold-toned parts, navy strap — The movement seen through the caseback

Close view of the skeletonised movement with a bridge engraved Tiffany & Co. New York — A bridge engraved “Tiffany & Co. New York”

Close view of the movement with blue and gold bridges, silver plates and rubies — Hand-guilloché plates and bridges

Grieb & Benzinger watches can be ordered through Watch Collector – see Grieb & Benzinger or get in touch.