The New Balancier from Greubel Forsey

As the latest addition to the family of Greubel Forsey timepieces, the “Balancier” perfectly embodies the watchmakers’ fundamental principles. It is a timepiece that crystallizes all the unique qualities of Greubel Forsey with remarkable understatement.

Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey have been pushing the limits of fine watchmaking for many years now, tackling the challenges of complexity every day. And yet, after the Double Tourbillon 30°, the Quadruple Tourbillon, the Tourbillon 24 Secondes and many other bold complications like the Grande Sonnerie, the “Balancier” was self-evident. Greubel Forsey was bound one day to create a timepiece of great purity, featuring a unique and original balance wheel.

Their creativity is immediately evident in the asymmetry of its case, which has almost become a constant of Greubel Forsey’s universe. Every detail of the “Balancier” carries the unmistakable stamp of a true Greubel Forsey timepiece – the watchmaking maison’s values are manifest in the refinement and purity of its lines and dial, the inventive architecture of its balance wheel, the sharp profile of its hands, and the engraving on the reverse of the timepiece.

The watchmakers’ inventiveness is strongly in evidence in the new balance wheel. It was entirely developed and made at the Atelier, with its six gold mean-time screws, and it boasts remarkable aerodynamic qualities. The technical nature of this balance wheel generates exceptional regulating power, a mark of great chronometric stability.

Outstanding workmanship is very dear to Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, and it shines through in the wholly hand-executed barrel-polishing, bevelling and finishing of the balance wheel bridge. Such operations require prodigious expertise and know-how, particularly for the hand decoration of all the parts. The hand-countersunk and polished centers of the flame-blued steel hands offer another example of mastery in the craft, while the engraved gold plates on the back of the timepiece are also a pure masterpiece of hand-finishing skills.

The “Balancier” is available in a limited edition of 33 pieces in its white gold version.

Technical Specifications

Movement

• Hand-wound manufacture movement
• Two series-coupled fast rotating barrels
• Balance wheel with stop activated by the crown
• 21,600 vibrations per hour
• 72-hour power reserve

Functions

• Hours and minutes
• Small seconds
• Power reserve

Case

• 18-karat white gold
• 43.5mm diameter
• 30m water resistance
• Asymmetrical convex sapphire crystal
• Lateral sapphire crystal window looking onto the balance
• Caseback: Flat black polished gold plate with raised engraved text
• Flat black polished gold central plate engraved with individual number

Strap

• Hand-sewn alligator
• 18-karat white gold pin buckle, hand engraved with GF logo