Greubel Forsey continues their legacy of innovation with a timepiece that is groundbreaking in both mechanics and design. Explore their ‘city on the wrist’: the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture. A movement unlike any other that is suspended in an unexpected three-dimensional plane where 354 parts are arranged in an exclusive fusion of technicity and aesthetics.
Combined with a fast rotation speed and an inclined escapement at 25 degrees, it defies gravity in form, while compensating for it in function. Three coaxial series-coupled barrels —their cover engraved, lacquered, and circular-grained— provide 90 hours of power reserve indicated at 3 o’clock. The polished titanium bridges wind through the movement, holding everything in place with strength and beauty.
The new Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture features its components suspended inside the case revealing a harmonious composition of surfaces, shapes, and movements. The case showcases the spectacle firstly through the large opening on the dial side, encompassed by relief-engraved Greubel Forsey values that inspired this creation: Architecture, Harmonie, Innovation, Technique, Bienfacture, Passion, Science, Exclusivité, Créativité.
While the case looks perfectly round when observed from the dial side, it reveals its convex shape from other angles, along with a large synthetic sapphire crystal ring that envelopes the entire periphery of the caseband. Greubel Forsey has been integrating lateral sapphire crystal apertures since as early as 2007 but has never before rendered a movement visible from above, below, and from every angle around the caseband.
This new case construction enables an exhaustive look at even the smallest detail of the movement but also allows light to penetrate almost unhindered. It is light that sculpts matter and reveals architecture in its intimacy, through a play of shadows and reflections. It bathes the movement to reveal it fully and in all of its complexity and is thus itself a vital contribution to the aesthetic of this exclusive timepiece.
A completely new case construction that is not only convex but also resembles a conical frustum built to showcase the movement and ensure optimal ergonomics and wrist comfort. For the first time, Greubel Forsey offers visibility of the movement from above, below, and around the caseband with a synthetic sapphire crystal ring wrapping the convex-shaped case. The 50-meter water-resistant titanium case flows into a rubber strap with a titanium folding clasp. The case back with a diameter of 47.05 mm is wider than the bezel width at 45.5 mm, giving the impression the watch is smaller than it is without compromising the movement display. Then hand-carved steel hands indicate hours and minutes, with a small second at 8 o’clock. While the case represents a significant technical feat in its own right, the Greubel Forsey movement remains the star of the show. The polished titanium bridges immediately stand out from the frosted finish of the main plate, and spectacularly emerging seemingly out of nowhere, they wind their way through the movement to finally impose themselves flush with the sapphire crystal.
At 6 o'clock, the Tourbillon 24 Secondes is moored from a large spherical and open-worked bridge, whose base remains hidden by design. In its form, the inclined escapement defies gravity, while in its function, it compensates for it. To solve the problem of critical positions of the oscillator in relation to gravity, the Tourbillon 24 Secondes uses a fast rotation speed in addition to a 25-degree inclination. These two elements combined contribute to excellent chronometric performance, especially in stable positions.
The barrel bridge at 10 o’clock is sculpted similarly, with polished spherical surfaces, along with polished beveling and countersinks. The barrel cover is engraved, lacquered, and circular-grained and contains three coaxial series-coupled fast-rotating barrels, one of which is equipped with a slipping spring to avoid excess tension. The caliber's energy source provides 90 hours of chronometric power reserve, which is indicated by a moving red triangle over a conical disk at 3 o’clock. It too is held in place by another large polished titanium bridge.
In the center, we find two large curved, open-worked, and polished steel hands, indicating the hours and minutes, mounted on a signature Greubel Forsey tripod bridge. The time indication is completed at 8 o'clock by a small second on a cylinder with polished flanks —mirroring and echoing every other component in its vicinity.
By integrating art and technical invention, Greubel Forsey pushes the boundaries of watchmaking with purposeful construction, kinetic interplay, and imaginative design. The Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture is limited to 11 pieces this year, and then 18 pieces per year from 2023 to 2025 for a total of 65 overall.
Sticker Price $500,000 USD. For more info on Greubel Forsey click here.
