Greubel Forsey: A Unique Heritage for the Future

Since its founding in 2004, Greubel Forsey has embraced the motto "Art of Invention." The company's ambitious products have shaken up tourbillon and high-end watchmaking. While the company has consistently remained niche, CEO Antonio Calce, who took over in 2020, is looking to expand its horizons a bit. He's relaunching the brand with new designs and new partners.

Greubel Forsey Relaunches

　If you ask people in the watch industry which manufacturer is the best of the best, one of the choices would undoubtedly be Greubel Forsey. Approximately 100 staff members produce approximately 100 meticulously crafted tourbillons per year, with an average price of approximately 5000 million yen. Even in today's watch industry, where the term "super luxury" has become commonplace, this brand's approach remains unique.

　The company was founded by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, both of whom were formerly with Renaud & Papi (now Audemars Piguet Le Locle). After learning watchmaking at Papi, they went independent in 1999 and founded Complitime, a company that designs and manufactures complicated watches, in 2001, and Greubel Forsey in 04. Forsey said, "When we went independent, we wanted to create complications. The reason we focused on the tourbillon in particular was because it hadn't changed much in 200 years."

　Since 2004, with a few exceptions, the company has focused on designing and manufacturing tourbillons. Of course, there were other manufacturers that did the same, but Greubel Forsey's tourbillons were designed to achieve high accuracy when made into wristwatches. The symbol of this is the tilted tourbillon (or balance wheel) that has become Greubel Forsey's icon. The accuracy of a mechanical watch varies greatly between the vertical and horizontal directions. This is especially true for tourbillons that rotate a heavy carriage, but tilting the carriage by 45 degrees theoretically equalizes the accuracy in both the vertical and horizontal directions. However, since mounting it as is would increase the thickness of the case, Greubel Forsey has developed a tourbillon with the carriage tilted at just 30 degrees.

　Indeed, its performance was overwhelming. At a 2011 chronometry competition, the commercially available "Double Tourbillon 30°" won with a high score of 915 points out of 1000. What's more, the positional error across six positions was within 0.3 to 0.8 seconds. Greubel Forsey brilliantly overturned the conventional wisdom that tourbillons with heavy carriages have large positional error. In addition, the two men further refined the finishing techniques they learned at Papi and generously applied them to their own watches.

　It was only natural that the company's tourbillons, which excelled in finish and precision, attracted the attention of some watch enthusiasts. However, because Greubel Forsey watches were produced in extremely small quantities and were extremely expensive, only a select few could afford them. And there's no denying that the two founders were happy with that.

　The nature of this niche maison changed in 2020. Antonio Cartier, the new CEO, wanted to expand the business without changing its stance of exclusivity. However, as far as I know, sales at Greubel Forsey, which caters to the ultra-wealthy, are completely unaffected by the economic climate. Moreover, in recent years, with the watch boom, the brand has been booming. I asked Cartier why they were so determined to expand.

"Looking to the future, Greubel Forsey should acquire new customers, particularly younger customers. To that end, we are considering mass-producing watches with new designs to a certain extent. Of course, this will be on the condition that the quality remains the same." Cartier has set a target of 300 units per year in the next few years. While still a niche product, it is a significant increase from the previous 100 units.

　Increasing production numbers while maintaining quality is difficult at any price point, and it seems impossible given the quality of Greubel Forsey. However, the company appears to be responding by buying back shares from Richemont, ending external collaborations, and reducing production of ultra-complications like the Grande Sonnerie, which only produces three per year. The same method used by FP Journe to reduce production of existing complications to make way for new models seems feasible.

　In the past, Greubel Forsey watches had bold designs and were large in size. While this was a clear characteristic of the company, it is undeniable that preferences were divided.

　In contrast, Cartier has introduced modern designs, practical sizes, and a light feel with its new "Convex" and "Architecture" watches. The sporty designs are clearly aimed at a younger demographic rather than collectors who own multiple watches, and the attention to comfort is also evidence that Greubel Forsey, which was thoroughly technology- and product-oriented, is undergoing a major transformation.

　I asked Cartier if he had hired a new designer. He replied, "No, the design is still done by the in-house team, but I'm overseeing it." Incidentally, I'd heard that he, who comes from a technical background, was a skilled product manager during his time at Panerai. It must have been easy for him to transform a technical object into a usable watch.

　While targeting a wider audience, Greubel Forsey is also striving to become even more exclusive. Cartier explains that they will reduce their already small number of sales outlets to 10-12 worldwide, some of which will be turned into boutiques. These outlets are Yoshida Tokyo Main Store and Yoshida Nagoya. While the company is one of the largest retailers in Japan, it is unlikely that they have ever acted as an agent. The reason they decided to work with Greubel Forsey was because they were fascinated by the brand.

　Another part of the exclusivity is that all models are produced for a limited time. For example, the Tourbillon 24 Second Architecture will only be produced in 65 pieces from 2022 to 25. Once that is over, the watch will be discontinued. "Ceasing production after a few years is a big burden for the manufacturer, but maintaining value is even more important," says Cartier.

　Though the design has become more modern, production numbers have increased, and the watch has become slightly more approachable, the essence of Greubel Forsey has remained unchanged, in a good way. The same goes for its outstanding finish. There are many excellent watches in the world, but how many tourbillons exist in which the carriage starts turning on its own with just a gentle shake of the watch, even when the mainspring is fully unwound? It's said that any tourbillon can achieve this movement if the parts are polished to the utmost extent to reduce resistance. However, as far as I know, only a few watches, including Greubel Forsey, have achieved this.

　For many years, Greubel Forsey has been supported only by a select few watch enthusiasts. However, this unparalleled watch maison is once again trying to spread its wings to the world with a new concept and new retailers. The creations of the new Greubel Forsey will undoubtedly become the new "holy grail" for many watch enthusiasts.