Timepiece Timeline: 10 Milestones from 10 Years of Greubel Forsey Watches


Greubel Forsey, the boutique luxury watch brand specializing in complicated watches with multiple tourbillons, marked its 10th anniversary in 2014. Though it still produces only around 100 pieces per year, the Greubel Forsey watch brand has come a long way since its memorable debut at the 2004 Baselworld watch fair, and can look back on a decade of milestones. Here are the top 10.

2004: The Double Tourbillon 30° Marks the Foundation of the Greubel Forsey brand

Frenchman Robert Greubel and Englishman Stephen Forsey team up to astound the watch world at that year’s Baselworld watch fair with a tourbillon watch of a type that no one had experienced before: it had two tourbillon cages, rotating at two speeds on two separate axes, with the inner cage set at an angle to the outer one. The groundbreaking timepiece, called the Double Tourbillon 30°, established the fledgling Greubel Forsey brand as an independent to be reckoned with.

Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey
Robert Greubel (left) and Stephen Forsey
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30 Vision
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30 Vision

 

2007: Debut of the Double Tourbillon 30° “Secret” and Tourbillon 24 Secondes

Greubel Forsey created a more subdued version of its double tourbillon watch in 2006, eschewing the openworked dial that showed off the two tourbillons in favor of hiding them behind a more traditional dial, thus keeping the groundbreaking mechanism a “secret.” The other big debut that year was the first Greubel Forsey watch with only one tourbillon, the Greubel Tourbillon 24 Secondes. But the single tourbillon cage in that watch was far from traditional: it was not only inclined as in previous Greubel Forsey tourbillons, but was also superfast, making a complete rotation every 24 seconds.

Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30 Secret
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30 Secret
Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes
Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes

 

2008: Greubel-Forsey doubles down with the first Quadruple Tourbillon à Differentiel

After five years of development, and after presenting a prototype model to the watch press in 2005, Greubel Forsey unveiled its second “fundamental invention,” the Quadruple Tourbillon à Differentiel. (The Double Tourbillon was the first and the Tourbillon 24 Secondes was the third.) The watch includes a total of four tourbillons — two double tourbillons, to be exact, with the inner two inclined as in the Double Tourbillon. Also as in the Double Tourbillon, The cages rotate once per minute (inner) and every four minutes (outer); Greubel Forsey added a differential between the two tourbillons to distribute energy between them. A “secret” version of the Quadruple Tourbillon à Differentiel would soon follow.

Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon a Differentiel
Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon à Differentiel
Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon Secret
Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon Secret

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  1. Carl Dreher

    Pure genius. What a delight it is to know that artists like this exist in this age.

    Reply
  2. OMG!!! I see Philippe Dufour in this article. This guy is a genius! A true craftsman who can build a masterpiece from ground up. This true gentleman handcrafts almost every single component himself in every watch he builds. He is an extremely inspiring horologist. If I ever had the vision to be a watchmaker, this is the guy I would want by my side.

    Reply
  3. Debashish

    Greubel Forsey timepieces are truly outstanding, yet I cannot even dream of buying these watches as all these timepieces are ultra-expensive!

    Reply
  4. Douglas

    Watch making at its best. Although its a brand I can only dream of owning its nice to be able to see these wonderful time pieces.

    Reply
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