Greubel Forsey

Greubel Forsey is an independent Swiss haute horlogerie brand founded in 2004 by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey and based in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The company concentrates on a deliberately narrow field: technically ambitious, low-volume mechanical watches whose architecture, regulating systems and hand finishing are central to their identity. Its best-known work uses inclined or multiple tourbillons, but the brand has also developed GMT displays, perpetual calendars, striking mechanisms, constant-force systems and simpler watches intended to express its construction and finishing philosophy. The founders established their partnership through work on complicated movements. Greubel, who grew up in Alsace, France, began in his family’s watchmaking business before moving to Switzerland and contributing to complicated-watch development at IWC. He later became a prototypist, partner and managing director at Renaud & Papi, the specialist movement-development firm now associated with Audemars Piguet. Forsey, from St Albans in England, trained through clock restoration and watchmaking studies and also joined Renaud & Papi. The two began working independently in 1999 and founded Complitime SA in 2001 to develop complicated mechanisms for high-end watch companies. Greubel Forsey was introduced publicly at BaselWorld in 2004 with the Double Tourbillon 30° (DT30°). Its defining concept places a 30-degree inclined tourbillon cage inside a second cage, with the two rotating at different speeds. The arrangement was intended to reduce the effect of gravity on the regulating organ in different positions. Subsequent inventions expanded this approach into the Tourbillon 24 Secondes, Quadruple Tourbillon and related Invention Pieces. The company’s Experimental Watch Technology, introduced in 2005, provided an internal platform for testing mechanisms and developing ideas such as a spherical differential, constant-force transmission and specialized balance-and-spring systems. Although tourbillon watches remain a major part of the portfolio, Greubel Forsey has not treated the tourbillon as its only product formula. The GMT, introduced in 2011, combined a second time zone and a three-dimensional rotating globe with a tourbillon regulator. At the 2012 SIHH exhibition, the Double Balancier 35° became the company’s first model without a tourbillon. Other important projects include the QP à Équation perpetual calendar, the Grande and Petite Sonnerie striking watch, the Signature series and Hand Made 1, in which almost the entire watch is produced through hand-operated methods. Production is intentionally limited, with the reference material describing output at approximately 100 watches per year. The watches are positioned at the extreme high end of independent Swiss watchmaking and are recognized for complex movement design, unusual three-dimensional layouts, extensive hand decoration and scarcity. The company has also used selected collaborations and artistic projects to extend its identity beyond conventional time display, including a 2006 Opus collaboration with Harry Winston and Art Piece watches made with British micro-sculptor Willard Wigan. Greubel Forsey has received major industry recognition, including the Gaïa Prize for entrepreneurship, the Aiguille d’Or at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the Double Tourbillon 30° and Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision, and awards for chronometry and hand craftsmanship. In addition to commercial watchmaking, the founders support the Time Æon Foundation, which seeks to preserve endangered horological crafts, encourage training and help transmit specialist watchmaking skills to future generations.

Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey developed their professional relationship at Renaud & Papi, where both worked on complicated mechanical movements. Greubel had earlier worked at IWC on grand-complication development after beginning his career in his family’s Alsace watchmaking business. Forsey combined clock restoration experience with formal watchmaking study in Neuchâtel before joining Renaud & Papi. Their shared work formed the technical foundation for the later Greubel Forsey approach. In 1999, the two began working independently, and in 2001 they established Complitime SA, a specialist company developing complicated mechanisms for high-end watch brands. This period allowed them to investigate mechanisms outside the constraints of a conventional product line. Their first major proprietary concept was the Double Tourbillon 30°, which used two nested tourbillon cages and an inclined inner cage. The system was designed to address positional timing variation caused by gravity while also creating a distinctive three-dimensional movement architecture. Greubel Forsey was formally launched in 2004 at BaselWorld with the Double Tourbillon 30°. In 2005, the founders created Experimental Watch Technology, an internal research and development platform for testing and validating new mechanisms. The company subsequently developed a family of tourbillon-based inventions, including the Tourbillon 24 Secondes and Quadruple Tourbillon, as well as the Invention Pieces that place the mechanism itself at the visual center of the watch. The brand broadened its technical vocabulary through the 2006 Harry Winston Opus 6 collaboration and through models such as the GMT, which combined a second time zone with a rotating globe. In 2012, the Double Balancier 35° demonstrated that the company could apply its design and finishing language to a non-tourbillon regulator. Other projects introduced perpetual-calendar indications, equation-of-time information, striking functions and single-watchmaker production concepts. Greubel Forsey’s production remains intentionally small. The company’s reputation rests on a combination of scarcity, complex engineering and hand finishing rather than on broad retail distribution or high-volume product families. Hand Made 1 exemplifies this strategy: the reference material states that about 95 percent of the watch, including its hairspring, is made with hand-operated tools and that each example requires approximately 6,000 hours of work. The founders have also supported the preservation of horological skills through the Time Æon Foundation. Its activities address endangered crafts, training and the transmission of independent watchmaking knowledge. Industry recognition has included the 2009 Gaïa Prize for entrepreneurship, the 2010 Aiguille d’Or for the Double Tourbillon 30° Édition Historique, the 2011 International Chronometry Competition and the 2015 Aiguille d’Or for the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision. Hand Made 1 later received the 2020 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève award for best men’s complication watch.

• 2020

  Hand Made 1 receives GPHG award

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  Hand Made 1 won the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève award for best men’s complication watch.

• 2015

  Aiguille d’Or for Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  The Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision in white gold received the Aiguille d’Or.

• 2012

  Double Balancier 35° presented

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  The company introduced its first non-tourbillon model at SIHH.

• 2011

  GMT and chronometry recognition

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  The GMT was presented, and the Double Tourbillon 30° Technique won the International Chronometry Competition.

• 2010

  Aiguille d’Or for Double Tourbillon 30°

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  The Double Tourbillon 30° Édition Historique received the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève’s Aiguille d’Or.

• 2009

  Gaïa Prize for entrepreneurship

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  The company received the Gaïa Prize in the entrepreneurship category.

• 2006

  Harry Winston Opus 6 collaboration

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  Greubel Forsey collaborated with Harry Winston on the Opus 6 model.

• 2005

  Experimental Watch Technology is introduced

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  The company created an internal research and development platform for experimenting with and validating watch mechanisms.

• 2004

  Greubel Forsey launches

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  The brand debuted at BaselWorld with the Double Tourbillon 30°.

• 2001

  Complitime is founded

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  The founders established Complitime SA to develop complicated mechanisms for high-end watch companies.

• 1999

  Founders begin independent work

  [1]Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey began working independently after their period developing complicated movements at Renaud & Papi.

Ultra-high-end independent Swiss haute horlogerie focused on experimental mechanical engineering, low production volumes and extensive hand finishing.

• Multi-tourbillon mechanical watch · 2004

  Double Tourbillon 30°

  The foundational Greubel Forsey invention, introduced in 2004. It places a 30-degree inclined tourbillon cage inside a second cage rotating at a different speed. The architecture is intended to average positional errors caused by gravity and is presented through a highly three-dimensional, extensively finished movement.

• Tourbillon watch

  Tourbillon 24 Secondes

  A tourbillon model using a rapidly rotating cage completing a revolution in 24 seconds. The design became one of the brand’s principal technical platforms and was used in versions including the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision, which won the 2015 Aiguille d’Or.

• Quadruple-tourbillon watch

  Quadruple Tourbillon

  This system combines two double-tourbillon assemblies, giving the movement four tourbillon cages. A spherical differential links the systems and distributes torque between components rotating at different speeds, while the mechanism is prominently displayed as the watch’s principal visual and technical feature.

• GMT and tourbillon watch · 2011

  GMT

  Presented in 2011, the GMT adds a second time zone and a rotating three-dimensional globe to a movement incorporating the inclined Tourbillon 24 Secondes. Additional indications include local time, small seconds and power reserve. The model has been produced in materials including rose gold, white gold and platinum.

• Perpetual-calendar complication

  QP à Équation

  A highly complicated calendar watch combining perpetual-calendar indications with equation of time, season, solstice, equinox, day/night, power reserve and other displays. Its movement is regulated by a 24-second tourbillon and includes a function selector.

• Striking watch

  Grande Sonnerie

  Greubel Forsey’s striking-watch project combines grande and petite sonnerie functions with a minute repeater, time displays and separate movement and striking power reserves. The movement contains 935 components and required 11 years of research and development according to the reference material.

• Hand-made mechanical watch

  Hand Made 1

  A production-intensive watch designed to demonstrate traditional hand craftsmanship. Approximately 95 percent of the watch, including the hairspring, is made with hand-operated tools. Each watch reportedly requires around 6,000 hours of work, making it a direct expression of the brand’s artisanal and low-volume positioning.

• Three-hand mechanical watch

  Signature 1

  The first Signature model was made by watchmaker Didier J. G. Cretin within the Greubel Forsey quality framework. It presents hours, minutes and small seconds and uses a proprietary Greubel Forsey regulator, emphasizing individual watchmaker authorship rather than a large complication.

• Experimental complication watches · 2007

  Invention Pieces

  The Invention Pieces make a particular mechanism the principal subject of the watch. IP1 centers on the Double Tourbillon 30°, IP2 on the Quadruple Tourbillon, and IP3 on the Tourbillon 24 Secondes. Their layouts prioritize technical display and movement architecture over conventional dial readability.

• Art and watchmaking collaboration

  Art Piece

  Art Piece watches emphasize the meeting of horology and contemporary miniature art. Art Piece 1, created with British micro-sculptor Willard Wigan, incorporates optical magnification in the case so that the sculpture can be viewed alongside the watch’s mechanical construction.

• 2012

  Introduction of the Double Balancier 35°Generation change

  Background

  The brand had become strongly associated with tourbillon regulators but sought to demonstrate that its technical and design language could also support other regulating systems.

  Action taken

  Greubel Forsey presented the Double Balancier 35° as its first non-tourbillon model at SIHH.

  Aftermath

  The model expanded the brand’s technical identity beyond multi-tourbillon watches.

  Source

• 2011

  Launch of the GMT platformProduct launch

  Background

  After establishing its reputation through tourbillon innovations, the company expanded into a watch with a travel-time complication and a more informative display architecture.

  Action taken

  Greubel Forsey presented the GMT with a second time zone, rotating three-dimensional globe, power reserve and an inclined Tourbillon 24 Secondes.

  Aftermath

  The model broadened the brand’s complication offering while retaining its signature three-dimensional movement design.

  Source

• 2006

  Minority investment by RichemontM&A

  Background

  Greubel Forsey remained an independent specialist brand while seeking a relationship with a major luxury group.

  Action taken

  Richemont acquired a minority stake in the company’s share capital.

  Aftermath

  The investment provided a corporate connection to Richemont without the reference material describing a full acquisition or change of brand identity.

  Source

• 2005

  Establishment of Experimental Watch TechnologyStrategy

  Background

  The founders wanted an internal environment for investigating, testing and validating unconventional mechanical systems rather than relying solely on conventional product development.

  Action taken

  Greubel Forsey introduced EWT as an in-house research and development platform. Its work included balance-and-spring concepts, constant-force transmission and micro-scale mechanical display systems.

  Aftermath

  EWT became a continuing source of the brand’s proprietary inventions and supported later tourbillon, differential and display projects.

  Source

1. 1Greubel Forseyen.wikipedia.org