SIHH 2011: Greubel Forsel Double Tourbillon 30 Technique

Greubel Forsey is one of the independent watchmakers to watch…they are very innovative, and creates timepieces which are wonderful to the eye…like landscapes…and fully deserve what I call watchscapes…landscapes of watches.

Started by two veterans from Renaud et Papi – the firm bears the name of the founders…Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey. Robert is French, and Stephen is English…one of the three Englishman independent watchmakers of note (the other two being Roger Smith and Peter Speake-Marin. I am not counting George Daniels, as he hardly has any offerings in the making, and my dear friend Derek Pratt has recently passed away).

This year, they showed the Double Tourbillon 30deg Technique…quite a long name, but it just begins to describe the complexity of this watch.

A double tourbillon, two tourbillons in one…with an outer tourbillon rotating at one revolution per 4-minutes, and an inner tourbillon running at the rate of 1 minute, this watch looks like its skeletonized, and indeed to reveal again the multi-level movement watchscape.

From the rear, equally beautiful and captivating

A special technique developed for the Invention Piece for inscribing the small wordings to make up text is also used in the Double Tourbillon, and is applied to the sides of the case. This raised and pilished engraving on a hand punched background is quite an interesting texture:

And the crown side

Detail of the double tourbillon, showing polished tourbillon bridge:

Detail of the mainspring barrels. The mainsprings are a series of 4 coaxial series-couple fast-rotating barrels. Note the bridge is jewelled, bevelled and finished to a high polish.

A closer look at the canon pinon of the watch, bearing the time indicating hands:

Even the buckle is quite specially engineered…