“Greubel Forsey targets those who like things to be different”
Open Gallery
The Tourbillon 24 Secondes Contemporain Serti, the first gem-set piece to come out of the Greubel Forsey workshops
It is now ten years since Greubel Forsey made its first public appearance at Baselworld. To mark this special year, the firm is revisiting the perpetual calendar function, complemented with an equation of time display. It’s a way of demonstrating that the Manufacture at La Chaux-de-Fonds never does anything quite the same as the others. We talked to Emmanuel Vuille, the company’s CEO since 2009.
With the launch of a perpetual calendar watch at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) 2014, Greubel Forsey’s intention was to offer a timepiece that is “both playful and magnificent, while remaining true to the Maison’s trademark individuality”. Constructing a watch with a perpetual calendar and an equation of time, all of whose functions are controlled through a single crown, was no mean feat. To achieve it, correction of all the displays had to be simplified and incorporated in the bi-directional crown. For the inventors at Greubel Forsey, it was little more than child’s play.
As simple as a date-only watch
Despite its manifold integrated functions, Emmanuel Vuille promises that the new Greubel Forsey perpetual calendar with equation of time is “as easy to set as a date-only watch”. All you have to do is pull out the crown, checking on the indicator at 2:30 that you have selected the position you wanted. You then turn the crown in one direction or the other, while the different displays and indications automatically succeed each other without any further intervention or special procedure. Greubel Forsey has registered three patent applications for this new mechanism. And the Brand likes to stress that the wearer can enjoy using the timepiece “without tools or incomprehensible user instructions”. The equation of time can be seen on the back of the watch. Among the most poetic astronomical complications in the horological world, it represents the difference between solar time and the time displayed on the watch, which differ from each other by an interval ranging from a few seconds to more than sixteen minutes at different periods in the year. This equation of time is shown by two superimposed transparent discs revealing two curves, a red one (for when the sun is ahead of the time shown by the watch) and a blue one (for when it is lagging behind). A single glance at the back of the watch shows the wearer whether the sun is “fast” or “slow” with respect to the Watch.
In another major innovation this year, Greubel Forsey is launching a gem-set version of its Tourbillon 24 Secondes Contemporain, a first for the Manufacture. The dial, case and horns of the model are adorned with 272 diamonds, with a total weight of 9.71 carats. When Greubel Forsey sets a watch with gems, there are no half-measures: baguette-cut diamonds of the highest quality are used (purity IF/color D-E).
Creations spanning ten years
Greubel Forsey’s creations, highly technical as they are, appeal to a diversity of tastes. Emmanuel Vuille elucidates: “Our typical customer, if I may use the term, is a man younger in years, aged under forty in Asia and over forty in Europe. To generalize, we target people who can appreciate individuality. Our customers are loyal to our brand, but they also want to have their attention seized; they demand that we innovate.” Quite a stimulating request for a brand that is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. Founded by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, the company made its first entrance onto the scene at Baselworld in 2004, starting off with just under ten employees; today, it has 75. As the idea of jubilee celebrations is slightly comical for Emmanuel Vuille, the company, which is located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, will not be celebrating the anniversary with parties, sequins and fanfare. “We’re mountain folk, and we intend to stay that way! Instead, we shall be focusing on what we’ve achieved in these ten years and what we hope still to achieve. We’re always questioning what we do. In that respect, we’re like an haute couture house.” As its annual output is about a hundred watches, the comparison makes sense.
Regarding supply, Greubel Forsey has thirty sales outlets around the world. Some markets, such as Germany and Japan, remain to be developed. Also worth a mention is the Time Art Gallery Greubel Forsey, located at Bund 18 in Shanghai, where Greubel Forsey watches share the limelight with works of art. It is a project organized in partnership with the artist Willard Wigan, sculptor of micro-figurines, who has already put his name to the Art Piece 1 watch, unveiled in 2012. Inside its case is a micro-sculpture visible through an optical device developed at Greubel Forsey that magnifies 23 times and is miniaturized to take up a very small space.
Article published in WtheJournal.com
