It’s hard to effectively review a Greubel Forsey. Most reviews invite comparison with similar models in terms of complications, design, and value or brands working in the same philosophical realms of horology. But by whatever metric you care to name, there’s no watchmaker like Greubel Forsey.
That’s not hyperbole. Since it was founded by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey in 2004, the La Chaux-de-Fonds-based watchmaker has created over 30 new movements with 10 novel mechanical inventions. Largely, that’s involved flexing mastery over the tourbillon, but there’s also a visual component. You know a Greubel Forsey watch by looking at it instinctively. In no collection is that visual component more self-evident than in the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture.
The Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture is not a new collection. In fact, it’s now four years old. But when it was first presented in 2022, the aim was to create just 66 watches across five years, with variations from one batch of timepieces to the next. So far 55 watches have been built and sold, meaning that this watch represents the last 11 pieces in this spectacular collection. So let’s get into it.
First, let’s talk about that tourbillon. The big problem with most tourbillons is that they’re just not that effective. They were designed for pocket watches, which spent most of their time in a single position, normally sat upright in a pocket. Wristwatches are nowhere near so static, so the tourbillon becomes less effective. Then there’s the fact that most tourbillons are repurposed as a 60-second counter. This makes sense when saving space on the dial and is an elegant way of telling time, but that level of spin, once every 60 seconds, isn’t necessarily the best.
Greubel Forsey spent more time than most sane haute horologists – if such a thing exists – testing out various configurations of tourbillon. They came to the conclusion that an incline of 25 degrees from the base of the case and a turn speed of 24 seconds yielded the best results, chronometrically speaking. Despite that speed and energy, the use of three fast-rotating coaxial barrels gives the entire watch a 90-hour power reserve.
If all of this feels a little academic, that’s the point. At this level of watchmaking, things like constant force, concepts that just don’t matter in everyday watches, become problems that need to be solved. But like other independent watchmakers, it’s not just a physical horological thesis – which is where the ‘Architecture’ comes in.
‘Architectural’ is a buzzword that gets thrown about too often that most of the time falls ironically flat. Any watch with a bit more depth than usual or with more light falling into the movement uses it. The Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture shows why. The movement has been separated onto different levels, with each component perfectly arranged and given room to breathe.
The result is a city skyline of mechanisms, each a distinct part of the whole: the large, spherical differential at three o’clock, the barrel at 12, the titular tourbillon at six o’clock and the small seconds out on a limb at eight o’clock.
These key parts are interconnected with bridges and wheels finished with bevelling, polishing, brushing, graining, and frosting in a host of contrasting textures across the movement’s 354 parts. Indeed, in this edition of the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture, the contrast has been upped with the addition of black bridges, further visually separating the key mechanisms.
To ensure a view from every angle, the imposing 47.05mm x 45.50mm case has been made from a framework of titanium with sapphire sides. This not only allows you to look at the movement from profile but also lets light flood into the movement from all sides. Yes, it’s almost aggressively large and feels it on the wrist – not for weight as much as for sheer spectacle – but this is a watch all about space and light, and you don’t get those in a small watch.
Around the curved bezel is the engraving, “Architecture, Harmonie, Innovation, Technique, Bienfacture, Passion, Science, Exclusivité.” It might illicit an eyeroll to have such an obvious mantra front and centre, but Greubel Forsey are one of the few that can get away with it.
Finished on a black rubber strap with a precision-machined deployant clasp, this is not a watch for everyone. It’s dimensions alone are too intense for many a wrist to try, let alone get used to. The intensely technical nature of the watchmaking is a lot for even some serious collectors to wrap their head around and the idea of designing a movement in this way is an academic exercise few asked for. But all of that is the point.
Greubel Forsey isn’t a traditional watch brand. They’re a celebration of watchmaking as a craft and as a science. Which is why, when it comes down to it, there just aren’t any other watchmakers that compare. As for what this incomparable timepiece will set you back… CHF 475 000 (approx. £448,000). Before taxes.
Price and Specs:
More details at Greubel Forsey.
