Home » The Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie » SIHH 2013 – Greubel Forsey Novelties
Greubel Forsey is only a nine-year-old watchmaking company, but in such a short time, this manufacturer achieved to create some of the most demanding high-end complicated watches. This year, at the 23rd Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds-based brand launched two quite interesting models.
Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1
This week in Geneve, ultra high-end watchmaker Greubel Forsey has revealed the Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1 created in collaboration with a talented micro-sculptor artist, Willard Wigan. Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey presented this novelty as “work in progress” and they promised that it will be available very soon.
Greubel Forsey Art Piece One Sketch
Willard Wigan is known for making tiny art under a microscope. His sculptures are typically placed in the eye of a needle or on the head of a pin. His creations take a lot of time and he is among the only people in the world who can do what he does. A single sculpture of this English micro-sculptor artist can be as small as 0.005mm.
You may wonder how come that Greubel Forsey and the sculptor from Birmingham started to work together. Although their partnership might seem a little bit strange at first, after you think more about it – it starts to make sense. Maybe it is enough to look at the image below.
Greubel Forsey Art Piece One Willard Wigan Watch
As you can see, if you look closer, there is a micro-sculpture in the left side of the watch. The crown looking device on the left is actually a magnifying glass (the magnification is 23x) which helps you see the micro-sculpture that Willard Wigan has created inside of the Art Piece 1. Only with the usage of a magnifying glass, we can appreciate the nano-nature of Wigan’s microsculpture work.
Greubel Forsey Art Piece One Willard Wigan Watch Side
Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1 will have a striking blue dial, as well as a blued leather strap.
I have another piece of information to share with you – Greubel Forsey have decided to include their first fundamental invention, the Double Tourbillon 30°, in the Art Piece 1. This exquisite timekeeper will be on the most expensive side of the fence with prices estimated to be around 5,000,000 Swiss Francs. To conclude, I look forward to seeing this masterpiece of Haute Horlogerie.
Greubel Forsey Art Piece One Willard Wigan Watch Detail
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Black
At SIHH 2013, Greubel Forsey also presented the second new piece, the Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Black. This is the very first black watch in Greubel Forsey collection, if we do not count some special, one-off timepieces. This newcomer is the first in two more things; it is the first Greubel Forsey watch housed in a titanium case and attached to a rubber strap.
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Black Watch
This sleek, black newcomer boasts a unique, open-architecture in an entirely original and innovative interpretation of the brand’s first fundamental invention from 2004, the Double Tourbillon 30°. The Double Tourbillon 30° system is located at the 6 o’clock position, with the undisturbed configuration of the open mechanism allowing full appreciation of the duo of tourbillons (one rotating inside the other).
The hour and minute hands are skeletonized to provide an unobstructed view on additional depths of the open-worked dial. Their tips are filled with a luminous material for the best visibility under low light conditions.
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Black Watch Dial
The red-tipped, four-pointed, sapphire crystal indicator positioned at the 6 o’clock rotates in four minutes above the double tourbillon, and displays 0-60 seconds along a quadrant. The power reserve indicator is located at the 3 o ’clock position, while the small seconds counter is situated on the opposite side, at the 9 o’clock position. Both small seconds and power reserve sub-dials use eye-catching triangular red hands instead of classic-looking ones.
Greubel Forsey is renowned for its exceptional finishes and decorations. Every part of the watch, whether it is visible or not, is designed to highlight its shape and hand finishes.
The high-end manufacturer notes that “This construction allows for superior chronometric performance, a minimum volume/maximum balance diameter ratio, as well as enabling the beautifully finished mechanism to be fully appreciated”.
