Description
Moritz Grossmann Universalzeit – Universal Time
Reference: MG-003072
It’s a bitterly cold winter’s day in January 1885. Moritz Grossmann, the outstanding watchmaker from Glashütte and initiator of the German School of Watchmaking (1878), catches the morning train from Dresden to Leipzig. His destination is the Polytechnic Society in Leipzig’s where he will present a lecture on the introduction of universal time. It’s a new concept in the world of horology, introduced only a year earlier, in 1884. The exact title of his essay was “Universal Time and the Introduction to Civilian Life”.
The end of the 19th century saw great shifts in modern life. Inventions such as the railway, telegraphy and the advent of industrialisation gave citizens a new mobility; life became faster, the corners of the world edged closer together. Throughout history, people’s perception of time had been based on the sun’s path from east to west. Noon was when the sun was at its highest. Every town or city worked with its own local time until, in 1884, the Canadian railway engineer, Sandford Fleming, came up with the idea of time zones. The earth was divided into 24 sectors and the same time applied within each of these sectors. The observatory in Greenwich served as the zero meridian and formed the reference longitude Greenwich Mean Time, GMT. The Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is now the international standard time for the world.
A beautifully crafted and conceived timepiece
Moritz Grossmann’s striking UNIVERSALZEIT timepiece makes it possible to see the current time in seven different time zones around the world at a single glance. Designed in the shape of a world map, the dial uses time windows precisely aligned with coordinates and city names as a means of providing orientation in terms of time and geography. A total of six windows displays the hour from 1 to 24 in each of the six cities. Daylight-saving time is not observed in the cities selected. This means that the UNIVERSALZEIT indicates the actual time all year round and no adjustment is necessary.
The hours of the main time are displayed by the manually crafted hour hand which allows Austrian and New Zealand/South Pacific time to be included on the dial. The minutes and seconds are indexed for all time zones via the minute and second hands.
Exquisite dial design in the shape of a world map
The exquisite dial of the UNIVERSALZEIT indicates the time to the minute all around the globe. Featuring oceans, continents, longitude and latitude, the ensemble of time windows and the hour, minute and second hands all come together to create a well-ordered layout in a classically elegant design.
The galvanised base of the dial is finished with a high-quality sunray finish. This type of finish lends the dial a luminous blue tone that makes it glow and symbolises the water of the oceans. The salmon-coloured continents come to the fore to form a subtle contrast. The filigree network of longitude and latitude encircles the globe in a pale shade of white. The rhodium-plated bevels of the windows open up a glimpse of the hours. To ensure the best readability, the numerals have been kept in black on a white lacquered background. Set slightly lower, the minute scale encircles the globe, affording it an aesthetic backdrop and structure.
Painstakingly flat polished, the lance-shaped hour and minute hands and steel hour indices are manually crafted in the manufactory. Slender and domed, the second-hand moves smoothly around its axis in the centre of the dial to create an eye-catching feature. The stainless steel case provides the perfect frame for the UNIVERSALZEIT with its 44.5 mm diameter.
All of these elements combine to make a truly unique and very beautiful timepiece, manufactured to the highest Glashuette standards of watchmaking.
In-house Calibre 100.7 – Sophisticated functionality and mechanics
The calibre 100.7 of the UNIVERSALZEIT was specially developed by Grossmann’s designers in the Glashuette manufactory and features several unique and innovative functions, executed to perfection.
A) Setting the time windows and the main time via the crown at 3 o’clock The hours in the time windows and the main time are set via the crown at 3 o’clock. When the minute hand passes 12, the time in the time windows jumps forward by one hour.
A disc connected to a 24-tooth ratchet wheel moves beneath the dial. This is printed with a multitude of numerals from 1 to 24, each arranged at an angle of 15 degrees across a total of six rings.
When the minute hand moves over the 12, the ratchet wheel and with it the disc move forward by one position. The disc is precisely positioned by a ratchet spring. Thanks to the optimal alignment of the numerals on the disc, the hours are aligned horizontally in the windows, making it easy for the wearer to read them.
When setting the watch, the time in the time windows must be adjusted in advance. Knowing the current time zone for one location is sufficient for this. The time in the other windows is automatically synchronised when it is set.
B) Setting the main time separately via the crown at 10 o’clock
The main time hour hand is then corrected via the pusher mechanism at10 o’clock. The hour hand of the main time can be moved backwards and forwards separately in hourly increments using the quick adjustment mechanism. This does not change the time display in the windows.
The mechanism allows the operator to engage the crown in two positions at 10 o’clock and then use a pusher function to correct the hour hand independently of the disc. In the middle position, a stop prevents the pusher from being operated. This prevents accidental adjustment of the time.
Superb finishing from the house of Moritz Grossmann
The calibre 100.7 is testimony to the consummate craftsmanship and ultimate in finishing for which the house of Moritz Grossmann is renowned.
The sophisticated design of the pillar movement is complemented by the intricate workmanship seen in every component, which are all finished by hand. The floral pattern on the balance and escape-wheel cock is engraved by hand, as is the lettering on the wheel bridge. Traditional cuts and polishes have been applied to the surfaces of other parts.
Further evidence of the highest standards of German craftsmanship can be seen on the ratchet wheel with its three-band snailing, framed by broad chamfers polished to a high gloss sheen.
Stainless steel case
The UNIVERSALZEIT’s elaborate manufacture movement is given an appropriate and elegant setting within a stainless steel case completed with a brown, hand-stitched alligator leather strap.
Technical data
Movement: Manufactory calibre 100.7, manual winding, regulated in five positions
No. of parts: 292
Jewels: 31 jewels, of which one in a pressed gold chaton
Escapement: Lever escapement
Oscillator: Shock-resistant Grossmann balance with 4 inertia screws and 2 poising screws, Nivarox 1 balance spring with No. 80 Breguet terminal curve, Gustav Gerstenberger geometry
Balance: Diameter: 14.2 mm, frequency: 18,000 semi-oscillations/hour
Power reserve: 42 hours when fully wound
Functions: Hours, minutes and seconds, centre second with stop second, Grossmann manual winder with pusher
Operating elements: Crowns in stainless steel to wind the watch and set the time, pusher in stainless steel to start the watch; crowns in stainless steel to correct the hour hand
Case dimensions: Diameter: 44.5 mm, height: 13.78 mm Movement dimensions Diameter: 36.4 mm, height: 7.45 mm Case Three-part, stainless steel
Dial: Solid silver, windows with rhodium-plated bevel
Dial disc: Painted and printed
Hand:s Manually crafted, polished steel
Crystal/display back: Sapphire crystal, antireflective coating on one side
Strap: Hand-stitched alligator leather with prong buckle in stainless steel
Special features: Grossmann balance; hand setting override and start of movement with lateral pusher; space-saving, modified Glashütte stopwork with backlash; adjustment with Grossmann micrometer screw on cantilevered balance cock; pillar movement with 2/3 plate and pillars made of untreated German silver; balance cock and escape- wheel cock hand-engraved; broad horizontal Glashütte ribbing; 3-band snailing on the ratchet wheel; separately removable clutch winding mechanism; stop seconds for hand setting; central second wheel; newly developed module for displaying the full hours in selected metropolitan areas; correction mechanism at
10 o’clock to adjust the hour hand when changing one’s own location
