Some watches make immediate sense. You see the complication, the exotic material or the unusual case and understand within seconds what you are supposed to be excited about. The new Moritz Grossmann TEFNUT Silver-Plated by Friction Gold is not really one of those watches.
On paper, it is almost disarmingly simple: a 39 mm yellow gold watch, two hands, manual winding, a silver dial and a leather strap. There is no tourbillon rotating at six o’clock, no perpetual calendar to decipher and no openworked dial exposing half the movement. And yet, for someone who enjoys the increasingly obsessive details of independent watchmaking, this may be one of the more interesting Moritz Grossmann releases of 2026.
It was created as part of the manufacture’s celebrations marking 200 years since the birth of Moritz Grossmann on 27 March 1826. That anniversary could easily have produced a watch covered in commemorative references. Instead, Grossmann has kept the TEFNUT remarkably pure and concentrated the anniversary story into the way the watch has actually been made. That is a much more interesting proposition.
Let’s Start With That Dial
The phrase “silver dial” does very little justice to what is happening here. The TEFNUT’s brass dial has been finished using the traditional technique of silver-plating by friction, a method that reaches back to the 19th century and is still performed manually at Moritz Grossmann’s Glashütte manufacture.
The process is wonderfully old-fashioned. Silver powder, salt, cream of tartar and water are mixed into a paste. A craftsperson then works this mixture onto the dial using a small brush until the desired fine-grained surface begins to develop. A careful final polish produces the distinctive velvety appearance seen on the finished watch. There is something enormously satisfying about a watch released in 2026 having a dial created using silver powder and a tiny brush.
More importantly, the technique produces a surface that looks quite different from the perfectly uniform metallic finishes seen on most modern watches. There is texture without obvious texture. The dial does not rely on guilloché, brushing or a dramatic sunburst pattern to create visual interest. Instead, its extremely fine grain changes the way light behaves across the surface. Sometimes it appears soft and almost chalky, while under different lighting the silver becomes more luminous.
On a watch as clean as the TEFNUT, that becomes incredibly important. There is nowhere for mediocre finishing to hide. Remove complications, multiple registers and decorative elements from a dial and suddenly the quality of the surface, printing, hands and proportions becomes everything.
Green Shouldn’t Necessarily Work Here, But It Does
Then there is the green. Moritz Grossmann has used it for the Arabic numerals, minute track, lettering and historic “M. Grossmann” signature. That choice changes the watch considerably.
Without it, a friction-silvered dial inside a yellow gold case could have become an extremely traditional dress watch. Beautiful, certainly, but perhaps predictable. The green interrupts that expectation. It gives the TEFNUT just enough personality to remind you that this is a new watch rather than an attempt to recreate something from Grossmann’s archives.
The combination is particularly interesting because yellow gold already brings considerable warmth. Add green and there was a genuine risk of making the watch overly decorative. Instead, the muted silver surface acts as neutral territory between the two colours. There is also a lovely historical detail within the printing: the “M. Grossmann” signature is based on the logo used in 1875. It is subtle, and that restraint suits the TEFNUT perfectly.
Then You Notice the Hands
Anyone familiar with Moritz Grossmann will know that hands are a surprisingly serious subject at this manufacture. For this yellow gold edition, the TEFNUT receives extremely fine, lance-shaped hands made manually from gold and polished by hand.
At first glance, they look simple. Look at them under magnification and that simplicity starts to become the point. The shape is beautifully controlled, with gently rounded forms narrowing towards remarkably delicate tips. Against the grain-silvered surface, they appear almost impossibly fine.
This is one of those small distinctions between genuinely high-end independent watchmaking and watches that merely use expensive materials. A gold case is easy enough to understand. Gold hands sound equally straightforward. But taking the time to manually shape and finish components this small, when a mass-produced alternative could perform exactly the same functional task, tells you far more about what Moritz Grossmann is trying to achieve.
Finally, a Yellow Gold TEFNUT
There is another first hidden within this anniversary release. Moritz Grossmann has never previously offered the TEFNUT in yellow gold.
For this particular design, the material works exceptionally well. The case measures 39 mm in diameter and only 8.5 mm high, so despite being made from yellow gold it avoids becoming visually heavy. There is enough gold to give the watch warmth and presence, but the proportions remain firmly in elegant dress-watch territory.
That 39 mm diameter feels particularly well judged for a modern watch of this type. Smaller dimensions might have pushed the TEFNUT too far towards historical recreation, while 40 or 41 mm could easily have disturbed the delicacy of the dial and hands. At 39 mm, it still feels contemporary without sacrificing elegance.
The three-part case construction is executed in 750/000 yellow gold and paired with a sapphire crystal and display back. A hand-stitched alligator leather strap and matching gold prong buckle complete the traditional configuration. But the real reason the TEFNUT can maintain such an elegant silhouette lies underneath the dial.
Calibre 102.1 Is Where Things Get Serious
The front of the TEFNUT might be restrained, but the movement is where a watch enthusiast can happily lose a significant amount of time. The manufacture calibre 102.1 is manually wound, measures 26 mm in diameter and is only 3.5 mm high.
Within that space Moritz Grossmann has assembled 188 components, 22 jewels and a movement architecture filled with the sort of details that make Glashütte watchmaking so enjoyable. There is a traditional main plate and 3/5 plate construction, raised gold chatons secured by screws and the distinctive stepped balance cock fitted with Grossmann’s micrometer adjustment system.
This is not simply a modern movement decorated to look traditional. The historical Glashütte influence extends into its construction. The balance is a shock-resistant Grossmann design measuring 10 mm in diameter, with four inertia screws and two poising screws. It runs at 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour, or 3 Hz, paired with a flat Nivarox 1 balance spring. Grossmann also integrates the impulse pin into the rim of the balance and uses a balance staff with an integrated safety roller.
Then there is the escapement. Rather than purchasing a standard off-the-shelf system, Moritz Grossmann uses its proprietary escapement with an 18-tooth escape wheel. For a simple two-hand watch, there is an enormous amount going on back here.
This Is the Fun Part of Independent Watchmaking
The deeper you go into calibre 102.1, the more little engineering decisions appear. The train wheels are manufactured from ARCAP. The mainspring barrel is supported by bilateral jewel bearings intended to improve power management as torque decreases. There is Grossmann’s remodified Glashütte stopwork with backlash, along with a separately removable clutch winding mechanism.
None of these features will be immediately obvious when someone sees the watch on a wrist. That is precisely why they are interesting. They exist because Moritz Grossmann has decided that these mechanical details matter.
The calibre offers approximately 48 hours of power reserve, which is perfectly respectable rather than headline-grabbing. But focusing only on the number would miss the point of this movement completely. Calibre 102.1 is about architecture, construction and execution.
This is where independent watchmaking becomes particularly compelling. A larger manufacturer might reasonably ask whether a customer will ever notice a particular wheel material, bearing arrangement or removable winding mechanism. A manufacture like Moritz Grossmann builds it anyway.
And Yes, You Will Want to Look Through the Caseback
A movement like this needs a sapphire caseback. The 3/5 plate naturally dominates the view, but the stepped balance cock, gold chatons, screws and exposed balance provide enough visual interruption to prevent it from feeling overly architectural.
It also rewards magnification. This is an important distinction with watches at this level. The closer you look, the better they should become. Edges, surfaces, screws, chatons and small components need to withstand scrutiny because owners of watches like this are exactly the sort of people who will scrutinise them.
There is also a small detail on the balance cock that identifies this as something more than a regular TEFNUT: “1826”, Moritz Grossmann’s birth year. That is the anniversary marking. It is difficult not to appreciate the restraint.
There Is Something Refreshingly Unfashionable About It
Modern luxury watches are frequently designed around the idea of instant recognition. Large cases, integrated bracelets, bright colours, unusual materials and highly recognisable silhouettes have dominated much of the collector conversation over recent years.
The TEFNUT Silver-Plated by Friction Gold seems almost indifferent to all of that. It is a manually wound, two-hand yellow gold watch on an alligator leather strap. That description could belong to a watch made decades ago.
But the TEFNUT does not feel outdated because the interesting part is not the format. It is the quality and character contained within it. The green printing prevents the design from becoming too conservative. The unusual silvering technique gives the dial a character that conventional finishing would struggle to reproduce. And calibre 102.1 provides enough mechanical interest to keep even a fairly obsessive movement enthusiast occupied.
Why This Anniversary Edition Works
The best anniversary watches tend to make sense even when the anniversary is forgotten. That may ultimately be the greatest strength of this TEFNUT.
Imagine looking at it in 2046 without knowing it was produced to commemorate Moritz Grossmann’s bicentenary. Would the dial still be interesting? Absolutely. Would yellow gold, green printing and those incredibly fine gold hands still make a compelling combination? Very likely. Would calibre 102.1 still be worth turning the watch over to inspect? Without question.
The 200th anniversary gives the watch context, but it does not have to carry the watch. That is an important difference.
The Moritz Grossmann TEFNUT Silver-Plated by Friction Gold is the sort of watch that becomes increasingly difficult to assess using conventional specifications. Yes, it is 39 mm. Yes, it has 48 hours of power reserve. Yes, it is made from 750/000 yellow gold. But none of those numbers explains why the watch is interesting.
The interesting part is that someone still knows how to take silver powder, salt, cream of tartar and water and turn them into a beautifully textured watch dial. It is that Moritz Grossmann still makes those wonderfully delicate hands manually. It is the tiny gold chatons screwed into a movement that most people will never examine closely enough to appreciate. It is a 3.5 mm-high calibre containing 188 components when the watch only needs to tell the hours and minutes.
It is even the decision to put “1826” on the balance cock rather than across the dial.
This is watchmaking for people who enjoy the details, and perhaps that is the most fitting tribute Moritz Grossmann could have produced for its founder’s 200th birthday. The TEFNUT Silver-Plated by Friction Gold does not try particularly hard to impress you. It assumes you will look closely enough to work it out for yourself.
