Comments:
Thoughts on the new s2 from Greubel!
Always loved the s2 but the newer model seems a lot more wearable. Any thoughts on these? Or newer GF in general?
I'm torn about the S2, I so want one but it feels compromised for a GF and the price is strong compared to anything short of RM
Love the new lumed bezel and how they ditched the rubber parts on the crown and case with the new S2. The bracelet really is amazingly good, though it better be for the absurd price, and while I'm sad the text around the bezel is gone the simpler finishing probably makes for a more hard wearing/easier to refinish piece. As always with the previous S, the GF in house balance wheel is imho the best finished balance wheel anywhere so seeing it on display is a great thing. The gears are all beautifully cut and polished and in particular I like that the new smaller S2 has cut away some of the dial so you get a peak at a next level of perfectly finished gears underneath which were covered in the larger S2. A minor thing that I think is an overlooked but bid differentiator is the water resistance without a screw down crown. A manual wind with a screw down crown is annoying and I'm not sure how long the seals will actually last when you have to screw and unscrew the crown every couple of days. Most of the competition in this space of manual wind sport watches like the De Bethune DB28 grand blue or the MB&F Evo watches have screw down crowns.
What most causes me to pause is some of the choices around finishing, architecture, and materials and that's seen most clearly when comparing the S2 to the Convexe GMT or the Double Balance. The titanium dial and movement plates probably help save weight but then the fine hand frosting had to go in favor of blasting because of the hardness of ti. Look at the frosting on the GMT and it makes me wonder what could have been. The Double balance also has a titanium dial but a wide polished edge has been applied where the dial drops off to show the movement below. Also, both the GMT and DB have full polished balance bridges vs the single arm of the S2, the GMT bridge in particular being really beautifully done with multiple facets and sharp breaks, the DB bridges also nice but not executed to the same degree as the GMT or even as nice as the bridges in the classic cased renditions of the DB movement. I do see what looks like added shock protection for the balance wheels in the DB Convexe so that's something. Maybe the full bridge doesn't really add anything more to the accuracy or durability of the watch in "sporting" scenarios but at the same time it is interesting to note that the more expensive variants did go a different way. Finally, it's a thick watch. I know they need the height for the angled balance but I'd rather the watch was thinner and they go back to a "flat" balance.
Of course it isn't really fair to compare the S2 to the vastly more expensive other GMT and DB, and of course if you spend more you get more. But I think this is where the sports line breaks from the classic GF watches. With the Signature One, Balancier, and Balancier Contemporain which all came in similar to (or less than) the price of the S2, GF was still delivering all the fine finishing and beautiful architecture GF was known for, but you were getting less components, less complexity, no tourbillons or rotating globes etc, and in uniquely different (smaller) sized cases so clients really could choose their right watch and not feel short changed. With the S/S2 for the first time there's a compromise, maybe a needed one, between the amount of hand decoration and the everyday utility of the new titanium case, movement, and real world water resistance.
Yes! Super post.
Interesting to hear the thoughts.
What do you guys think of the brand growing 2-3x?
Finishing and handcrafts are next to impossible to scale and the lack of qualified hands only forces more differentation in their series in regards to finish etc.?
What do you guys think of the brand growing 2-3x?
Finishing and handcrafts are next to impossible to scale and the lack of qualified hands only forces more differentation in their series in regards to finish etc.?
Thanks, hope to hear what OP decides! My thoughts are outside looking in, I'm sure S/S2 owners love their watches more unequivocally
As for the brand growing? Well, Porsche might not be here today if they didn't sell oodles of SUVs so if Calce needs to move a crap ton of Convexe watches to keep GF afloat best of luck to him. I do think buyers have to have their eyes open though of the growing production and I worry the constant release of limited editions could omegify GF. At launch stated S2 production was limited to 88 black dials & 66 grey dials across the next 3-4 years. However, only one year later and now we see another "limited" release of 88 smaller S2s in black and blue dials. I'm sure we'll see xx more blue dials, xx green dials, xx sincere watch edition, and xx carbon case versions before they launch xx sapphire and / or titanium dlc versions before the s3 comes along. The Double balance convex owners got it worse, initial launch was "limited" to 66 pieces black dial, supposedly 22 / year but just a few months later they released 6 more purple dial sincere watches edition DBs and now a year later production more than doubles with another "limited run" of 88 of the smaller convexe double balance. Calce already teased a green dial carbon cased version of the double balance to the NYT, anyone want to wager how many of those they'll make? My money is on 33. I think it's one thing to make 50k speedys and then release a limited run of 300, it's another to say you're going to make 66 of a thing then tweak it and one year later say you're going to make 88.
In the end, none of this is a lot of watches, RM still sells out with 10x GF production and similar pricing. If lightning strikes the brand we might be suddenly wishing GF would hurry up and expand production further, but I just think that with the desired expansion "limited" might not mean what we think it means.
In the end, none of this is a lot of watches, RM still sells out with 10x GF production and similar pricing. If lightning strikes the brand we might be suddenly wishing GF would hurry up and expand production further, but I just think that with the desired expansion "limited" might not mean what we think it means.
I think I’m going to wait
…gf loses a fair bit second hand anyways, so no harm in being patient. Also considering the signature 1, of which plenty of 2nd hand ones are already floating around….
All of your points are very valid btw. Thanks again.
All of your points are very valid btw. Thanks again.
I daily wear a Signature 1 😉
If they stuck that movement in a thin water resistant titanium case I would never take it off.
Love it! My favorite daily ritual is the sights and sounds of winding the watch over coffee.
And there's the news, the carbon cased convexe watches were released and I was wrong!
They released sooner than I expected, didn't think they would launch just weeks after the previous, and more than I expected - 44 more convexe double balances, 22 green, 22 black, and 44 more S2s.
I recently had the chance to handle a GF balancier convexe S2
as well as other GF’s for the first time. I was generally underwhelmed, found the dial side finishing on the balancier convexe S2 not impressive, the backside was nice but most elements of the movement hidden. For the price it goes new and given the perception
I had of the watch and if I had that many funds to spend I would never go with it and find me anorher timepiece that would be more to my taste. A Romain Gauthier logical one for instance is cheaper and to my eyes by far more impressive in its finishing and much more wearable. Imho.
Interesting
Thanks for the color. I have tried the Logical 1 out in-person and loved it, just found it to be a little "empty" if that makes sense. Ended up going for an in Inverse from Kari for that reason.
Bumping this
Have any of you seen these hit used dealers yet?
I REALLY love the design, but i know the value/$ isn't quite there...hoping 2nd hand can bridge the gap in my brain 
I don't own one but
I wouldn't wish for the used price of a watch to crash so that I can buy it cheap. If it is about resources, would it not make sense to buy a more affordable watch? That said, the finishing on the new Balancier 3 is light years ahead of the other balanciers but it is still too big (41.5) for my wrist.