GreubelForsey

Greubel Forsey Watch Makers Wins 2009 Gaïa Prize

High-end Swiss watch makers Greubel Forsey win the 2009 Gaïa Prize prize in the entrepreneurship category. The annual award is divided up into three categories and focused on the luxury watch industry. It is curated by the Musee international d'Horlogerie located in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland.

Last year's winner of the Gaïa Prize was Swatch Group Chairman Nicolas Hayek. To be placed in the same category as Mr. Hayek is likely a great honor for Greubel Forsey founders Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey. The award was given to them due to their craft of fine, traditionally made and crafted Swiss watches. Greubel Forsey watches are highly limited in production and in the several hundred thousand dollars each. The image above was taken by me of two Greubel Forsey watches (Tourbillon 24 Seconds and the Double Tourbillon pieces) at the Greubel Forsey dealer shop Chatel.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: award, Gaa Prize, GaaPrize, greubel forsey, GreubelForsey, watch

Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Greubel Forsey double tourbillon technique watch

I've not always been kind to Greubel Forsey watches. I previously stated that some of their "new" "Invention" watches looked a bit too derivative. Well Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey have redeemed themselves with their latest creation, the Double Tourbillon Technique watch. An odd name, but the design feels just right for what the brand is all about.

The watch emphasizes the mechanical inventiveness and triumph of the movement and its complications. The movement has been designed to look and function well being the centerpiece of the timepiece. The watch has no dial, it is simply the movement that you see with a watch dial included and the hour markers placed on a sapphire ring around the dial inside of the face. The Greubel Forsey manually wound Calibre GF 02s also features a subsidiary seconds dial and 120 hour power reserve indicator. The heart of the movement is the double tourbillon - which is one tourbillon literally placed inside of another. The inner tourbillon rotates each minute, while the outer tourbillon rotates each four minutes.

385 parts make up the hand built, decorated, and assembled movement. Looking at the watch in operation is likely a satisfying ballet of mechanical intrigue. I would find it hard to remember to check the time when looking at the watch. The Double Tourbillon Technique watch is available in red or white gold, and in platinum. The case is 47.5mm wide, while the movement itself is about 38mm wide. Overall the watch is phenomenal (with a price to match that I have a feeling is about $500,000), and everything that I think Greubel Forsey timepieces should aspire to be - virtually total focus on the mechanics and presentation of a beautiful movement. The details of the watch are written on the side near the crown as the rear of the watch is one large sapphire crystal viewing window.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 2009, double tourbillon, DoubleTourbillon, greubel forsey, GreubelForsey, technique, watch

Greubel Forsey Invention Piece No. 3 Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

No doubt that Greubel Forsey watches are technically impressive.They are always able to shove just one more tourbillon into each new movement. At first, the look of their mechanical wonders was impressive and seemingly important - but now my fascination with the brand is beginning to dwindle. Why? Mainly because each new watch reminds me too much of the old watch. The "Invention" is lost. I've seen the inclined tourbllon bulging out of the side of the case, I've seen the familiar dials, I've seen the "Inventiveness" beaten to sheer "derivativeness."

That isn't to say the watches are not impressive, but Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey need to spruce it up a bit. How about hiring a good designer that can frame your complications really well? You guys obviously know what you are doing in the mechanical department, but your watches end up look incomplete. They look like prototypes to me.

Above you'll see their newest watch, the Invention Piece No. 3. The difference here is the use of a 24 hour dial. Meaning, instead of being a 12 hour dial, it shows all 24 hours. Nice, unless you live in America and are not in the military. You also get a small subsidiary seconds dial, and a power reserve indicator. The emphasis is on the tourbillon of course, which is inclined and spins once each 24 seconds. The movement is the manually wound GF 01n, and the 43mm wide gold watch is part of a limited edition of just 33 pieces. Nice, but just not exciting any longer for me.

Ariel Adams publishes the popular watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 3, greubel forsey, GreubelForsey, invention, no., number, piece, three, watch

Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Four tourbillons all work together with a differential to display the mean time between them all. That is the idea behind this Quadruple Tourbillon (also known as the "Experimental Watch No. 2") timepiece from watch novelty maker Greubel Forsey. Even though a watch only needs one escapement, this watch takes a few of them, and then basically rounds them all out (as they each deviate marginally from each other). Using this mean timing, Greubel Forsey indicates that this is of the most accurate tourbillon watches ever. That may be so, but this is a novelty watch if there ever was one. Consider it one of those parlor showpieces for the elite, and that is just fine. These creations are marvels to behold, and stunning examples of luxurious excess and quixotic engineering.

The four tourbillon movements are separated into two cages. Basically, each cage has a tourbillon within a tourbillon. A spherical differential takes all that power and transmits it to the movement in order to tell the time. There is a video located at Greubal Forsey's website showing what is hard to describe in words. The complex movement is manually wound and housed in a 43.5mm wide 18k rose gold case (which has side sapphire windows for more visuals into the movement. The watch dial is made of blackened gold, while the functions include the time with hours, minutes, seconds, and a power reserve indicator (nicely integrated into the subsidiary seconds dial. The larger tourbillon cage has a ring with numbers up to 240. This represents seconds, and counts 4 minutes; the time it takes the large tourbillon cage to make one revolution. Look for the official release at Baselworld soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: basel, baselworld, experimental, Greubel Forsey, GreubelForsey, quadruple tourbillon, QuadrupleTourbillon, timepiece, watch

Greubel Forsey Watches from Baselworld, Tourbillons Hidden and Revealed

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Does it take some of the fun out of owning a tourbillon watch if no one can see the tourbillon? The Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30 Degree Secret may say tourbillon on the front but it is nowhere in sight. Instead the double tourbillon is on the back, an innter tourbillon angled at 30° and an outer one that rotates every four minutes . The large subdial at the 6 o'clock position shows the four-minute rotation of the outer cage of the Double Tourbillon 30°. The dial also displays the power reserve. The watch uses the mechanical hand-wound movement, GF Calibre 02j. There are front and back sapphire crystals. The watch is done in white gold and just 11 are being made.

After the jump, a look at a very different Greubel Forsey watch where the tourbillon is on full display.

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Tags: baselworld, greubel forsey, GreubelForsey, timepiece, tourbillon, watch, wristwatch

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