Quadruple Tourbillon à différentiel sphérique.
How can a brand created in 2004 by a pair of inventor-watchmakers win three exceptional awards within three months just five years later? GMT readers, who have followed the exceptional developments introduced by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey right from the early days, will not be surprised by these triple honours.
Through a unique working method they have developed over their 40 years of combined experience, Robert and Stephen have opted to put acquired historical knowledge behind them in order to develop innovative complications housed within an architectural structure dedicated to rigorous aesthetic principles and beauty.
In September 2009, the co-founders of the Greubel Forsey SA watch brand were announced as the laureates of the Prix Gaïa “Spirit of Enterprise” award presented by the Musée International de l’Horlogerie in La Chauxde- Fonds. A week later, their Quadruple Tourbillon à Différentiel Sphérique won the Best Complicated Watch Prize in the 2009 Asia Watchmaking Grand Prix. And as the supreme distinction, their Double Tourbillon Technique was awarded the Complicated Watch Prize at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix. These plaudits owe nothing to chance, instead representing due reward for the decisive innovations introduced by the two associates.
Stephen Forsey. DR
“Greubel Forsey's main focus is to bring together new invetions, modern technology and hard finishing skills. The two partners seek to explore unknown territory since they truly believe there is a lot to be discovered in the field of watchmaking. They have managed to show this already with their three Tourbillon inventions created especially for the wristwatch, being the Double Tourbillon 30°, Quadruple Tourbillon à Différentiel Sphérique and Tourbillon 24 Secondes Incliné. However, Greubel Forsey’s field of research is not only focused on the Tourbillon complication. They have presented three other inventions linked to the regulating organ. These are still in the validation phases, but as we know, true inventions takes time to develop.
Greubel Forsey watches are also instilled with a striking identity where the design really enhances the inventions. Their strong visual presence and the technical design of each timepiece also serves as a constant reminder of Robert’s and Stephen’s horological background.”
The Quadruple Tourbillon à Différentiel is a blend of art and technical innovation which encapsulates the very soul of its two creators. The technological sophistication of this movement is such that it was necessary to invent new testing instruments, and only these were able to provide the necessary information for checking and verifying its performance. Four separate tourbillons are connected at the heart of two autonomous regulating organs. Each of the two regulating organs is composed of a balance wheel oscillator placed in a cage of a first tourbillon rotating once a minute and inclined at 30 degrees. This mechanism rotates within the cage of a second tourbillon rotating every four minutes. The two oscillators, independently regulated inside the four tourbillons, are coupled by a spherical differential which transmits their combined precision to the time display. By transmitting the averaged results of two oscillators, the spherical differential doubles the chronometric performance of the two regulating organs, and also minimizes the smallest variations in the performance of the oscillators. Transparent sapphire bridges were specifically chosen to allow unimpaired visual access to the perfectly choreographed aerial ballet of the four tourbillons. Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey have engineered the four tourbillons together in a contemporary design, in which elegance and harmony are the dominant features. In the same spirit, and owing to the impressive number of parts which make up the movement, an asymmetrically-shaped case was chosen.
Double Tourbillon Technique white gold.
With the Double Tourbillon Technique, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey have created a truly stunning timepiece that is faithful to their philosophy of technical visibility. Each and every element of the mechanism is enhanced and displayed without overshadowing others. At the heart of the timepiece is the Double Tourbillon 30° mechanism; however, to perpetuate the art of horology and contribute to its 21st century development, several additional technical elements have been added, including four fast-rotating co-axial barrels guaranteeing 120 hours of autonomy. The Double Tourbillon Technique is a case study in precision mechanical watchmaking with the sapphire crystal acting as a portal through which to observe the mesmerising workings of the intricately interlocking parts. The eye is naturally drawn from one gear to the next, enabling careful observation of each separate element. Thus admirers can even enjoy the sight of the barrels rotating while winding and unwinding. Coupled to these barrels is the visible spherical differential that drives the power reserve indicator. The hours are displayed on a transparent sapphire crystal ring fitted inside the inner circumference of the bezel to ensure full visual access to the astonishingly three-dimensional depth of the mechanism. Transparency is also reflected in the luminous open-worked signature Greubel Forsey hands and both the power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock and sub-seconds dial at 9 o’clock are strikingly enhanced by their red triangular pointers.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHITECTURE
The new wordshops.
The four companies created by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey (Greubel Forsey, CompliTime, CT Design et CT Time) were united at the end of 2009 within the firm’s new 2,792m2 premises in La Chaux-de-Fonds, composed of two buildings and accommodating around one hundred staff members. Tradition is symbolised by a farmhouse built in 1668 and renovated by the specialist Gilles Tissot, who preserved several key features of what has now become a reception and exhibition area. These include structural elements such as the shingle roof, the framework and the foundations on which the ground floor rests; as well as decorative aspects such as the vaulted cellar, an historical open fireplace, a tiled stove and a sundial – Stephen Forsey’s favourite detail. A second building directly linked to the farm and designed by architect Pierre Studer houses the development and production premises as such. Its original shape reflects a geological fold as seen in the topography of the Jura mountains, further enhanced by a ‘green’ or garden roof featuring a glass “furrow” which sends light streaming into the impressive glazed covered courtyard. The double-skin controlled-air glass outer walls create a natural thermal buffer zone. In summer, the air circulates to create a cool breeze; while in winter it is enclosed to serve as additional insulation. The interior is bathed in natural light and makes maximum use of concrete so as to derive optimal benefit from the inertia of this material and to avoid excessive variations in temperature. Robert Greubel sees this construction as embodying a symbiosis between the past (the farmhouse) the present (the junction between the two buildings) and the future (the sloping roof of the production premises).
Robert Greubel.
When they organise the visual and functional space of a new mechanism, or when they choose the aesthetic decoration for the movement and the case, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey apply the principles of Architecture to the watch. A Greubel Forsey watch incorporates the three fundamental architectural dimensions: the technical realisation of the work in hand (definition, planning and construction); the guarantee that the device is endowed with qualities suited to the anticipated use (the high precision of a timepiece); and the assurance that the object will produce a pleasing aesthetic effect (the strength of a timeless style).
The importance of the correlation between this architectural achievement and the creative philosophy of the two inventorwatchmakers is emphasised by the President of the Braillard Foundation Alain Carlier, associate in the firm CLM architects and a fine watch connoisseur. When the GMT editorial team showed him the Invention Piece 3, the architect saw in it distinct similarities with the precepts of artistic formalisation prescribed by Louis I. Kahn, the architect who designed the Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, the capitol complex national assembly building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. “Louis I. Kahn always disciplined himself to use materials in accordance with their inherent natural essence. In his view, technical accomplishments must be vivified by a sense of reality and by personal taste. Moreover, he believed that while shapes, structures and rules exist through tradition, new works must respect tradition while displaying originality in order to have value. According to the basic premise put forward by Louis I. Kahn, the uniqueness of a work is achieved by underscoring certain formal principles acknowledged by a majority of people and by then reinterpreting them. These are exactly the kind of principles that are echoed in the design of the watch created by Greubel Forsey…”
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