Bart and Tim Grönefeld are two rising stars in the world of independent horology. Having trained, worked and lived in Switzerland, they returned to their native Holland to launch their own company. They were kind enough to spare me a few minutes this past week and so – a few minutes with Bart and Tim Grönefeld –
James Henderson- What were your first watches? Were they gifts? Is there a story behind them?
TIM: That’s a long time ago and I can’t remember it anymore. My parents had a jewellery shop so there were a lot of old watches to wear so I suspect that it was an old Omega.
BART: When I was 12 years old I got my first watch as gift from my parents after my first communion (a catholic thingy). At the time receiving a watch from your parents was a big deal. It was (by today’s standards) a cheap LCD watch, but at the time it was a very cool gadget for a young boy. Nowadays they most probably get a mobile phone…
JH – How did you get involved in watch making in the first place?
TIM: My Grand father started watch making in 1912 and he had a jewellery shop which was taken over by my father, so the link to watchmaking was already in the family.
BART: Mechanical techniques always interested me. As a kid I was “undoing” the damage I did to my own bicycles. Later I started “repairing” alarm clocks with my grandfather. When my grandfather passed away my father taught me more about wristwatches. My teacher at WOSTEP, Antoine Simonin, taught me with a great deal of passion for the high end of watchmaking. And it was then that I really knew it: I wanted to be a watchmaker!
JH – A bit about yourselves please – what is something that we maybe don’t know about you?
TIM: I did one year of hand engraving at school.
BART: To become a good watchmaker I grabbed, in my opinion, almost every possibility to gain experience. I started of in the Netherlands, worked at Seiko in Rotterdam. I then went to WOSTEP Switzerland, then worked for a year at Asprey’s in London and then worked 8 years in Switzerland. All of these different opportunities gave me a broader view of the world (I mean Europe) and the different cultures here. In those years I met a lot of good watchmakers, and made many friends from all around. I do not regret it at all.
JH – Van Basten or Gullit?
TIM: Gullit because I remember a really nice goal he scored! I am not really a football fan but when the Dutch team plays we like to go to the pub to watch the match with a lot of friends.
BART: I do not know many watchmakers that are into soccer, but I am one of them. However I like the international games. In ’88 van Basten and Gullit treated the Netherlands to a very good party and that I do like!
JH – When you were boys – what did the two of you want to be when you “grew up”?
TIM: I always played with the tools that my father used (he was a watchmaker too).
I liked repairing mopeds, motorbikes, playing with clocks and building small houses from wood and I talked a lot about being a carpenter someday (Timmerman in Dutch). You see my name in that profession?
BART: I wanted to be a jetfighter pilot. Isn’t that a cliché?
JH – Where did you go to school – what did you study?
TIM:
1988: Qualified technical school metallurgy (4 years)
1992: Qualified watchmaker after 4 years at Vakschool Schoonhoven (watchmaking school) in the Netherlands.
1993: One year of hand engraving.
1994: WOSTEP refresher course
1995: Commenced at Renaud et Papi (Le Locle). Responsible for regulating, assembling the tourbillon cages and escapements.
1998(December): Bart and Tim started QWS Netherlands (Quality Watch Service), a company working with prestigious Swiss brands and manufactures. Quality Watch Service has 9 watchmakers.2008: Launched the Grönefeld GTM-06 featuring a minute repeater with cathedral gongs and tourbillon.
2010: Launched the One Hertz featuring deadbeat seconds, power reserve and innovative push to set/wind function.
BART:
1985: Qualified technical school metallurgy (4 years)
1989: Qualified watchmaker after 4 years at the Christiaan Huygens watchmaking school in Rotterdam The Netherlands.
1990: WOSTEP refresher course
1990: Asprey in London
1991: WOSTEP course on complicated watches
1991 (December): commenced at Renaud et Papi (Le Locle) to start up a new workshop for assembling complicated watches for several brands including Audemars Piguet, Franck Muller and Parmigiani. Responsible for the workshop in April 1992. Trained all new employees for many years. Workshop started with 5 watchmakers and grew in 8 years to 35 watchmakers.
JH – Who else is making watches that excite you?
TIM: Greubel Forsey, Kari Voutilainen, Speake-Marin (especially the new watches with his own movements)
BART: I like watchmakers who are innovative and tend to stay with classic materials and aesthetics. And for the names I would like to refer to the watchmakers Tim mentioned.
JH – You have decided to establish your atelier in the Netherlands – what have been some of the positives? Any negatives?
TIM: We decided to go back to the Netherlands because of our family and Bart found himself a girlfriend and had a long distance relationship for several years so it was better and easier for us to go back to the Netherlands and launch our own workshop here.
BART: Thanks Tim for answering! I would just like to add that we both had great jobs at Renaud et Papi and it was impossible to find the same kind of employer in the Netherlands. That gave us the idea to search for high-end customers and start our own company to serve them.
JH – How does Grönefeld operate on a daily basis?
TIM: We, and our watchmakers work for Swiss watch brands, and we are specialists in assembling complicated watches and after sales service for these brands. At the moment we are quite busy with our new watch – the Grönefeld One Hertz. It is quite a challenge to design and develop our newest creation. The future looks as though we’re going to assemble more and more movements/ watches for our own Grönefeld brand.
JH – What do you two like to do in your “down-time”?
TIM: Spending time with my family, my sons and friends.
I like good food and nice wine as well.
BART: Spending time with my family, my daughters. I also like to spend time with my friends having a good meal and a good bottle of wine.
Visit the brothers Gronefeld and the Gronefeld team at: http://www.gronefeld.nl/