Watchmaking duo Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey call themselves sculptors of time, with 3D architecture defining their eccentric timepieces.
The multi-level construction stages original mechanisms and artistic expressions, illustrated in the Greubel Forsey Art Piece Edition Historique and Balancier Contemporain, launched at SIHH 2019 in Geneva.
Multi-level construction of Art Piece Edition Historique.
Since establishing their eponymous brand in 2004, the French Greubel oversees design and creation while the British Forsey leads the technical development at its atelier in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
One of their inventions, the Double Tourbillon 30° is a mainstay in the Art Piece series, whose debut piece whimsically features a micro-sculpture by British artist Willard Wigan, visible only through a miniature microscope set into the caseband.
Likewise, an optical instrument allows viewing a nano-engraved sketch of the double tourbillion mechanism in Art Piece 2 Edition 1.
A philosophical concept materialised as Edition 2, whose oversized power-reserve indicator takes precedence over all other information to express how we contemplate remaining time.
The new Art Piece Edition Historique also conveys temporality and encourages making the most of each moment.
With large Arabic numerals and a blued steel hand, the power-reserve indicator occupies the lower-right half of the dial, on a higher plane than the opposing Double Tourbillon 30°, set against a royal-blue background.
The inner tourbillion, inclined at a 30° angle, performs one rotation per minute while the outer tourbillion completes a revolution in four minutes. The Double Tourbillon 30° enables the balance wheel to oscillate consistently in all planes, ensuring maximum precision.
The small seconds dial is positioned on the same level, above the innovative mechanism.
At 2 o'clock, the striking design has a raised titanium dome featuring a hand-punched background, meticulously engraved with the brand's key values, including "architecture savoir faire".
One can read the engraving as well as the time, the latter with hours discreetly indicated by a red hand on a rotating ring while minutes appear on an aperture when a pusher is pressed. Art Piece Edition Historique is a limited edition of 33 pieces, the first 11 presented in a 44mm platinum case.
Greubel Forsey is known for making such large timepieces, while the Balancier Contemporain is its first take on a compact model.
Besides ingenious complications, the brand founders improved basic watch function, such as the balance-wheel system for optimal timekeeping stability.
Their balance wheel with a 12.6mm diameter was first incorporated into the Balancier housed in an asymmetrical case with a 43.5mm diameter.
Balancier Contemporain is sized at 39.6mm, and fitting all parts including the large balance wheel challenged the watchmakers in achieving optimal proportions and an attractive 3D construction.
The regulating organ is positioned at 6 o'clock and is partly visible through an aperture of the offset hours/minutes dial at 2 o'clock. Opposite on a slightly lower level, a bridge houses the power-reserve display while a small seconds counter is positioned underneath.
The caseback boasts artistic engraving of the brand values ending with "architecture unique".
Greubel Forsey produces on average fewer than 100 timepieces per year. This year, it will be preoccupied in making the Art Piece Edition Historique and white-gold Balancier Contemporain, also a limited edition of 33 pieces.
