Greubel Forsey: The Balancier
22 March 2017As the latest addition to the family of Greubel Forsey timepieces, the “Balancier” perfectly embodies the watchmakers’ fundamental principles. It is a timepiece that crystallises all the unique qualities of Greubel Forsey with remarkable understatement.
Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey have been pushing the limits of ne watchmaking for many years now, tackling the challenges of complexity every day. And yet, after the Double Tourbillon 30°, the Quadruple Tourbillon, the Tourbillon 24 Secondes and many other bold complications like the Grande Sonnerie, the “Balancier” was self-evident. Greubel Forsey was bound one day to create a timepiece of great purity, featuring a unique and original balance wheel.
Their creativity is immediately evident in the asymmetry of its case, which has almost become a constant of Greubel Forsey’s universe. Every detail of the “Balancier” carries the unmistakable stamp of a true Greubel Forsey timepiece – the watchmaking Maison’s values are manifest in the re nement and purity of its lines and dial, the inventive architecture of its balance wheel, the sharp pro le of its hands, and the engraving on the reverse of the timepiece.
The watchmakers’ inventiveness is strongly in evidence in the new balance wheel. It was entirely developed and made at the Atelier, with its six gold mean-time screws, and it boasts remarkable aerodynamic qualities. The technical nature of this balance wheel generates exceptional regulating power, a mark of great chronometric stability.
Outstanding workmanship is very dear to Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, and it shines through in the wholly hand-executed barrel-polishing, bevelling and nishing of the balance wheel bridge. Such operations require prodigious expertise and know-how, particularly for the hand decoration of all the parts. The hand-countersunk and polished centres of the flame-blued steel hands offer another example of mastery in the craft, while the engraved gold plates on the back of the timepiece are also a pure masterpiece of hand-finishing skills.
The “Balancier” is available in a limited edition of 33 pieces in its white gold version.
