Get to Know the Double Tourbillon Technique 30° Bi-color from Greubel Forsey

The Double Tourbillon Technique 30° Bi-color is a reinterpretation of Greubel Forsey’s first invention, the Double Tourbillon 30°, which was initially built into timepieces of more conventional styling and classic architecture. Now the company offer a new way of appreciating the subtleties of the invention with stunning contrasts between the rose gold of the case and the deep black chrome finish of the movement. It is made in a unique edition of just 22 timepieces.

The Heart of the Mechanism

The Double Tourbillon Technique 30° Bi-color, an original and innovative interpretation of Greubel Forsey’s first fundamental invention, the Double Tourbillon 30°, reconfigures its architecture in a diametrically opposed style, while providing a demonstration of mechanical skill.

The unique architecture draws you right into the mechanism. The synthetic sapphire-crystal is a kind of window looking onto an animated miniature world, a veritable jigsaw of pieces that takes your eye from one set of gears to the next. The details of each component reveal themselves as your gaze explores the timepiece.

The caseback reveals the beautiful movement architecture.

Transparency and Harmony

This special timepiece is a perfect expression of Greubel Forsey’s ideals and spirit: transparency above all. Each element of the mechanism is magnified without overwhelming its neighbor, though the centerpiece of this watch remains the Double Tourbillon 30°.

As a tribute to the ancestral craft of the watchmaker, and yet plant it firmly in the 21st century, new mechanisms have been incorporated into this watch, notably quadruple barrels, connected to the power reserve differential, that deliver 120 hours of running time.

When you wind the movement, you can see the barrels rotating over and again. The transparent sapphire-crystal ring, on which the hour markers are inscribed, only takes up the inside rim of the bezel, allowing light to reach into every level of the mechanism. An equal concern for refinement is applied to the hands, which are opened for transparency. The sectorial power-reserve indicator can be found at 3 oíclock, and the circular subdial of the small seconds at 9 oíclock, their bright red hands, symbolizing air and life, illustrate our thirst for technical modernity.

The Spirit

With the open architecture of this timepiece the brand has once again sought to demystify its art by displaying it openly. In its inventions Greubel Forsey strives not only for supreme workmanship, quality and reliability, but also for visibility. This Double Tourbillon Technique 30°Bi-color is made to be shared. That is what the company commits to in the message engraved in relief on the black ADLC plate on the left side of the case. The text expresses the brand’s total devotion to its art with the firm intention of taking it forward, as well as reflecting on the complex structure of the movement. But it is fundamentally a matter of needing to share its boundless enthusiasm for precision timekeeping. On the crown side, a group of key words sum up these fundamental values.

Despite its size (47.5mm), the watch is surprisingly comfortable.

This philosophical framework gives maximum expression to the decoration of the movement. The sharp internal corners are all beveled and hand-finished. In keeping with tradition, the mainplate and bridges are in frosted nickel-silver with a black chrome finish. The Tourbillon bridge remains in steel, beveled and flat black polished by hand. It contrasts with the gold hands matching the new case in rose gold. This case measures 47.5mm by 16.84mm, and it is enhanced by side plates in titanium with black Amorphous Diamond Like Carbon (ADLC) coating recounting the story of the inventors. The Greubel Forsey spherical differential can be found at 1:30, here applied to the power-reserve indicator at 3 o’clock, with its swan’s neck bridge and beak hand. The star of the show can be found at 6 o’clock: the Double Tourbillon 30° beating at 21,600v/h. Its first carriage rotates horizontally in four minutes; its second, inclined at 30°, goes around in one minute. Small seconds display at 9 o’clock. Finally at 11 o’clock, fast-rotating, superimposed quadruple barrels with protection against excess tension counterbalance the double tourbillon. They provide 120 hours of precision timekeeping in a total running time of 160 hours. Noticeable in the center is a special tripod structure that firmly supports the hands. A final glimpse, a similar structure supports the spherical differential for the winding system on the movement side.