The Grieb & Benzinger Blue Chip Collection

Hermann Grieb, Georg Bartkowiak and Jochen Benzinger, the trio behind German watch brand Grieb & Benzinger introduce their new ‘Blue Chip’ models

‘Blue Chip’ – (adjective) ‘denoting companies or their shares considered to be a reliable investment’. It would seem that the latest Grieb & Benzinger may well be very aptly named, after all they caused quite a stir a couple of years ago by launching the heaviest platinum watch on the market and having had some first-hand experience wearing some of their fine timepieces, I can certainly vouch for the high content of precious metals and top-quality craftsmanship. While on the subject of precious metals, Grieb and Benzinger have never been a brand to scrimp in this department, it has almost been the case of more is better, but, before I get too carried away extolling the brands virtues, we mustn’t forget that this is reflected in the price of the watches which you’ll see later in this article. This aside, what you get with a Grieb & Benzinger watch is a combination of stunning skeletonisation, detailed engraving, and guilloché.

The colour blue is the common link to all of the watches within the brands platinum range, in fact, all of the platinum watches from the German watchmakers start with the word blue. Within their field, they are one of the best when it comes to high-end bespoke watchmaking and within reason they will produce a timepiece designed around just about anything your wrist desires. In recent years they introduced an alien-themed timepiece, Middle-Eastern styled pieces and even an equestrian themed piece.

For those that might be thinking, ‘I see blue on watches all-the-time?’ The characteristic blue seen on Grieb & Benzinger platinum watches is not just any ordinary blue but rather a special in-house developed blue platinum coating.

Grieb and Benzinger are known as the ‘Masters of Skeletonisation’ and I am not sure if it was myself or them that coined this particular phrase when referring to the brand, however, I digress. The good news for horology fans is they’ve listened once again to frequent customer requests concerning their bespoke services and introduced their special shade of blue onto the boutique line of watches. The Grieb & Benzinger Blue Chip models include: Blue Tulip in 18K rose gold; Blue Tulip Diamond in 18K white gold set with 77 brilliant-cut diamonds (total weight of 2.55 ct); Blue Polaris in solid platinum or 18K rose gold; and Blue Polaris Midnight Imperial in 18K white gold with a black Princess-cut diamond-set bezel.

The Blue Polaris model looks impressive with its hand-crafted guilloché blue base dial. The manually wound movement with the prominent off-center hour and minute indication is showcased underneath the skeletonized dial. The platinum version features a Breguet frosted finish upper dial, the Midnight version appears with a shiny black upper dial and the rose gold version comes with a golden one. The manually wound movement features a three-quarter plate and a blue platinum-coated base plate. All of the parts are decorated in a typical Grieb & Benzinger manner, which also displays its beauty from the rear of the watch.

The Blue Tulip is a typical, pure skeletonized watch displaying its beauty without the need for a dial, impressing instead with the fine craftsmanship associated with the German brand. According to Grieb & Benzinger, the Tulip series is the only skeletonized watch range in the world that is completely skeletonized, guilloché, and engraved by hand and of course finished with their signature blue platinum coating.

As with all of Grieb & Benzinger’s horological creations, the Blue Chip collection comprises of exceedingly rare timepieces. The prices of these watches start at a hefty €40,500 for the Blue Tulip in rose gold and moves up to €85,000 for the Blue Polaris Midnight Imperial model.

The Grieb & Benzinger Blue Chip collection

Blue Polaris (platinum or rose gold)
Two-part dial, hand-guilloché base dial, manually wound movement, skeletonized, guilloché and engraved by hand. Solid PT950 platinum or 18K rose gold case, 43 mm in diameter, hand-guilloché bezel, dark blue alligator skin strap with a PT950 platinum or 18K rose gold buckle.

Blue Polaris Midnight Imperial (white gold)
Two-part dial, hand-guilloché base dial, manually wound movement, skeletonized, guilloché and engraved by hand. Solid 18K white gold case, 43 mm in diameter, bezel set with 66 fine black Princess-cut diamonds. Black alligator-skin strap with blue stitching and an 18K white gold buckle.

Skeleton Watch Blue Tulip (rose gold)
This watch’s movement has been skeletonized, guilloché, and engraved fully by hand in floral pattern and was coated with blue platinum. Solid 18K red gold case, 43 mm in diameter, hand-guilloché bezel, blue alligator skin strap with an 18K gold buckle.

Skeleton Watch Blue Tulip Diamond (white gold)
This watch’s movement has been skeletonized, guilloché, and engraved fully by hand in floral pattern and was coated with blue platinum. Solid 18K white gold case, 43 mm in diameter, bezel and lugs set with 77 of the finest brilliant-cut diamonds (2.55 ct), blue alligator- skin strap with an 18K white gold buckle.