Independents

SIHH 2015: Greubel Forsey preview

 

Below are the press files for Greubel Forsey's SIHH 2015 offerings while we wait for our team on the ground in Geneva to post their live reports.

 

Cheers,
Anthony

 

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GREUBEL FORSEY SIHH 2015 PREVIEW

 

The Computeur Mécanique

 

The 7th Greubel Forsey invention

 

This unique and exclusive mechanism, for which several patent applications have been filed, is a subassembly of 25 parts. The technical development department of Greubel Forsey was partly inspired by the systems used in large astronomical clocks since the end of the 15th century. These systems managed the information that determined certain key dates in the ecclesiastical calendar (such as Easter) in relation to astronomical data.

 

 

The Computer is a real mechanical brain, mainly consisting of rotating coaxial coded elements in an arrangement complemented by a system of programmed movable sections. Depending on its geometry and speed of rotation, each element generates its own indication in a cyclical, preprogrammed way. An innovative approach was used to develop this 7th invention. It started with adapting a proven theoretical concept – that of the Mechanical Computer. Dedicated to controlling the functions and calculations of the multiple indications – and then its complete integration within the volume of the movement.

 

 

The first application of Greubel Forsey’s 7th invention:

The QP à Équation

 

 

The miniaturisation and complete integration of the system make it possible to present the numerous different displays generated by each of the coaxial coded elements. In this first application, the Mechanical Computer is programmed to automatically display all the indications of the perpetual calender through to the equation of time: the seasons, the equinoxes, the solstices, the equation of time, and the date, day, month and the four-digit year. For example, the differences during a leap year are taken into account and managed by the specific programming of one of the coded elements.

 

 

Ease of use, reliability and safety

This new invention is certainly a very complex mechanism but, surprisingly it is very simple to use. All eight indications of this 7th invention can be controlled by a single selector set into the movement’s winding crown. Turning this in either direction adjusts all indications with no risk of damaging the mechanism.

 

Focusing on a rare and mysterious complication, the Equation of Time

While a number of astronomical indications could be driven by the Mechanical Computer of the QP à Équation, Greubel Forsey has chosen to focus here on one of the rarest and most mysterious astronomical complications, one that is directly linked to the perpetual calendar: the Equation of Time.

 

This measures the difference throughout the year between solar time (also called sundial or true solar time) and mean time that is conventionally fixed at 24 hours per day, throughout the year. The length of a day in solar time varies according to the position of the earth on its elliptical orbit around the sun. A solar day is about 16 minutes longer than a civil day in November, but about 14 minutes shorter in February.

 

 

This equation of time is displayed in an original and simple way by two sapphire crystal discs driven by the Mechanical Computer which rotates them independently to show the time difference as it changes throughout the year. The equinoxes and solstices, like the four seasons, are displayed in a poetic choreography while still providing an extremely precise indication.

 

 

New creations for SIHH 2015

 

For its sixth year at SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie), which takes place in Geneva from 19th to 23rd January 2015, Greubel Forsey will launch three new creations that will fit perfectly into their signature’s positioning between Art and Science. Two of them are:

 

GMT Mouvement 5N

This new creation presents a striking contrast between the rich rosé tone of the 5N finish of its main plate and bridges against its case in 950 platinum, which has a slightly lighter shade than the white gold version.

 

 

This play of colours is repeated through the display back and highlights the universal time display represented by 24 major cities, each one located in a different time zone. The ultimate refinement, practical and aesthetic: the lighter sections identify those cities that apply both summer and winter time regimes.

 

To ensure the exclusivity of this Timepiece, it is strictly limited to 22 pieces.

 

 

GMT Black

For more than a decade Greubel Forsey has been introducing highly creative ideas, each with a distinctive character. Here, for the second time, the company explores the contemporary timepiece with a titanium case. Treated with vacuum deposited ADLC (amorphous diamond-like carbon), in addition to its striking appearance, this deep black coating gives the watch a surface hardness significantly greater than natural titanium.

 

 

With the movement’s main plate and bridges also in black finish, the palette of colours is more restrained. This helps to bring out the contrast between the different textures and surface finishes of each component’s decoration.

 

However, relatively stronger colours are used to subtly highlight all indications of time and technical information. The various dials and indication zones appear to be floating in the space around the terrestrial globe, evoking the night sky with the stars twinkling in their eternal orbits.

 

This unique edition will be composed of just 22 Timepieces worldwide.

 

 

Greubel Forsey Historic

 

Ten years of technical creativity!

Greubel Forsey’s first invention, the Double Tourbillon 30°, spectacularly embodied the company’s fundamental values: innovation, expertise and craftsmanship. In thinking about the Tourbillon as a system, the two Inventor Watchmakers combined tradition with avant-garde horology to open a new chapter for this ingenious system that Abraham-Louis Breguet developed at the start of the 19th century.

 

 

Completed in 2004, this first departure from the welltrodden path was so successful that it was followed by many patents and inventions, which have enhanced the new models created in the Greubel Forsey Atelier: the Quadruple Tourbillon, Tourbillon 24 Secondes, Balancier Spiral Binôme, Différentiel d’Égalité, Double Balancier, and now the 7th invention that spectacularly celebrated the company’s tenth anniversary, the Mechanical Computer of the QP à Équation.

 

The Greubel Forsey Atelier is housed in a building of striking contemporary design in La Chaux-de-Fonds where just over 100 people collaborate on the production of approximately 100 outstanding Timepieces every year. The exceptional care and craftsmanship devoted to each element of the mechanisms that make up the creations of this young company have set new standards in the world of fine watchmaking. But when Greubel Forsey creations are being discussed, collectors tend to focus on another point: the extraordinary inventiveness that results from its systematic refusal to recognise commonly accepted technical limits to the creative process.

 

 

Each invention opens up new areas of expression and allows significant advances to be made in the art of watchmaking. Today, nobody doubts that with the fertile minds of Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey at work, the future will hold many more surprises for us!