1941 Remontoire

The name ‘remontoire’ is derived from the French word ‘remonter' and means ‘to wind’. A remontoire timepiece winds itself to charge a small power source near the escapement.

Housed within the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire is a release system that is activated every 8 seconds and winds a small hairspring which is located underneath the dial. Based on a 24 hour day divided by 8 seconds means that the Remontoire’s mechanism is releasing and winding itself 10,800 times a day or almost 4 million times a year.

Where does the inspiration for the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire come from?
Ever since Bart and Tim were young boys they would frequently play to the sounds of the Saint Plechelmus church clock movement, close to the location of the company's workshops. This movement has always played an important part in the history of Grönefeld.

Johan Grönefeld, the brothers’ grandfather, was responsible for maintaining the church clock.  When Johan passed away, this responsibility transferred to his son, Sjef, the brothers’ father.

The church clock, created in 1913 by the firm Royal Eijsbouts in the Netherlands is equipped with a remontoire mechanism. The rationale for the remontoire being used in the church clock was the clock's display was positioned much higher than the movement, necessitating significant force. However, the magnitude of such force would prove too great for a conventional escapement, hence a remontoire, or constant force mechanism, was fitted. Moreover, the minute hand was calibrated to jump every 30 seconds, breaking any ice which may have formed in cold weather and, in so doing, preventing the clock hands from freezing.