Started by two veterans from Renaud et Papi - the firm bears the name of the founders...Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey. Robert is French, and Stephen is English...one of the three Englishman independent watchmakers of note (the other two being Roger Smith and Peter Speake-Marin. I am not counting George Daniels, as he hardly has any offerings in the making, and my dear friend Derek Pratt has recently passed away).
This year, they showed the Double Tourbillon 30deg Technique...quite a long name, but it just begins to describe the complexity of this watch.
A double tourbillon, two tourbillons in one...with an outer tourbillon rotating at one revolution per 4-minutes, and an inner tourbillon running at the rate of 1 minute, this watch looks like its skeletonized, and indeed to reveal again the multi-level movement watchscape.
From the rear, equally beautiful and captivating
A special technique developed for the Invention Piece for inscribing the small wordings to make up text is also used in the Double Tourbillon, and is applied to the sides of the case. This raised and pilished engraving on a hand punched background is quite an interesting texture:
And the crown side
Detail of the double tourbillon, showing polished tourbillon bridge:
Detail of the mainspring barrels. The mainsprings are a series of 4 coaxial series-couple fast-rotating barrels. Note the bridge is jewelled, bevelled and finished to a high polish.
A closer look at the canon pinon of the watch, bearing the time indicating hands:
Even the buckle is quite specially engineered...
3 comments:
Absolutely stunning, great photography!
Very nice, it looks very very complicated, not only the engineering process but the concept as well.
For the curious, it is written :
-on the first side view:
Nous inventeurs horlogers, avons donné vie 'a ce garde-temps d'exception. Subtile alchimie entre créativité et technicité, notre savoir faire exclusif et bien-facture se représente dans la complexité de cette réalisation élaborée 'a votre intention. (replace 'a with a with accent)
-on the crown side:
Inventeurs/horlogers
créativité/technicité
univers original
savoir faire
œuvre unique
noblesse/esthétique
bienfacture d'exception
English translation (face side): We inventive watchmakers have given life to this exceptional timepiece. Subtle alchemy between creativity and technicality, our proprietary knowledge and craftsmanship comprise the complexity of this realization developed for you.
(crown side):
inventors watch
technical creativity
original universe
expertise unique work
aesthetic nobility
exceptional craftsmanship
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