Going beyond the usual expectations is a common thing to many luxury brands, but it isn’t easy to sustain nor reach that goal every single time. It’s understandable—you win some, you lose some, right? But among all the brands that hit or miss every time they try, there’s a luxury label that always seem to not just hits, but hits over and above the expectations set on them and their pieces. That brand is Greubel Forsey.
It has been a matter of questioning the current realities and setting a goal beyond the usual limits for the tandem of Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey. The duo never really wanted to tread the same path as other brands, they believe that they have to carve their own path for brand they made—their own quest towards achieving an unbelievable level of expertise that will leave the world always in awe—and they succeeded. Again, and again, and again.
The converging of two journeys
Both Greubel and Forsey have found their love for mechanics, its precision and intricacies, when they were very young. In fact, they were both influenced by their respective father: Greubel’s father was a watchmaker and Forsey’s father had a great fascination with the craft, as well. France-born Greubel found himself joining the IWC as part of the Grand Complication project, and then later on as the partner and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Renaud & Papi. Forsey, born in England, on the other hand pursued a career in restoration of antique watches, which led him to becoming Asprey of London’s head of restoration department. He later on joined the Renaud & Papi team led by Greubel, where they officially met.
Both of them left Renaud & Papi in 1991 and started CompliTime together as partners. The company aimed to supply top brands with complication mechanisms, yet five years later, it led them to start their own watch brand in 2004 named from their own surnames, Greubel Forsey.
What the brand stands for
It was the common idea and aim to save the dying techniques and skills in watchmaking that pushed Greubel & Forsey to establish their brand differently from the rest. It was a challenge and a bigger purpose for the duo, yet they have excellently achieved it by believing that there is still a room for art and creativity even in the creation of complications. This eventually manifested as the bold, unapologetic, and highly complicated timepieces of the brand, all showcasing the creativity of the brand in coming up with innovative ideas and their well-honed skills in translating these ideas into watches or as some other see them, works of art.
Greubel Forsey isn’t a brand that mass produces its pieces; the intricacies of their watchmaking artisanship and the level of attention each watch needs can accommodate only less than a hundred timepiece creations every year. The brand has been a regular at the yearly Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), with their new releases often highly anticipated by the world.
Most remarkable timepieces yet
With the creativity, high-precision engineering, and intricate detailing that comes with every timepiece from the brand, there’s really no way you can miss a Greubel Forsey watch when you see one. The brand had created numerous breakthrough watches over the years, and currently continues to amaze the world with more innovative pieces. Some memorable watches the brand released in the past have created tremendous impact on haute horlogerie and created noise from all parts of the world.
Just recently, the brand released the Grande Sonnerie watch during SIHH 2017 which is considered as one of the finest from the brand. It is the very first automatic chiming watch of the brand, fully equipped with an advanced complication developed by the brand’s manufacture itself. Another memorable watch from Greubel Forsey is the Double Tourbillon Technique Sapphire watch, of which only eight pieces were made and released. This ultra-exclusive watch contains an impressive calibre inside a sapphire casing that exposes the beautiful technologies on the timepiece’s interior.
The Quadruple Tourbillon, which, from its name, contains four tourbillons that are all hidden underneath a handsome traditional-looking dial is another well-loved watch released by the label. The Signature 1 Platinum, on the other hand, showcased the brand’s expertise even when dealing with a relatively “low-end” piece, even without complications, the brand’s known forte.
Another SIHH 2017 debutant is the Art Piece 2 Edition 2 watch, highly innovative piece that has a gorgeous exterior and a small window to see the internal beauty that is the angled tourbillon. Like the brand’s other pieces, this watch wasn’t only all for show, as it contains a 412-part movement and features 72 hours of power reserve.
Greubel Forsey remains to be on top of all luxury brands in terms of innovation, creativity, and wow factor. It’s been more than 15 years since the duo had envisioned a brand that would develop highly precise, technical and artistic pieces that would make a mark in the watchmaking industry. The two founders remain interested in the wonders of complication, and they will continue to explore different ways to always bring something new to the watchmaking industry.
