Credits: Article and images by Joshua Munchow @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/09/16/greubel-forsey-tourbillon-24-secondes-architecture-the-king-is-dead-long-live-the-king-reprise/
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Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture
This new release is both completely unlike anything the brand has ever released and perfectly fits with the overall brand concept. The movement architecture, case design, and overall aesthetics feel so foreign to a typical Greubel Forsey watch, yet upon closer inspection it is exactly what you would guess is from the brand synonymous with incredible mechanics and peerless hand finishing. This is an incredibly nuanced watch.
The Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture is technically a fairly typical Tourbillon 24 Secondes watch with the central hours and minutes, a very small offset dial for seconds, a power reserve, and an angled tourbillon assembly at 6 o’clock. The movement is fully open to the front with extreme depth found throughout; the bridges, supports, wheels, and plates are all shaped rather simply and finished to the highest levels in the industry.
The case is atypical in shape just like many Greubel Forsey watches, and it has relief-engraved text along the bezel with sapphire crystal windows on the side of the case band like many watches that came before. The rear of the movement is kept simple and clean and largely avoids extreme architecture like the front, opting for a very modern three-quarter plate vibe.
So why would I say this watch is surprising, prompting me to claim that Greubel Forsey is dead?
Because this watch signals that the “old” Greubel Forsey is dead, and its awesomeness gives reason to cheer on the brand and scream long live Greubel Forsey!
A shift in style . . . but not substance
Every detail about the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture is a shift from what the brand has created before but there is a clear through line to the older pieces. The support for the hour and minute hand axis is once again a tall tower extending out from the main plate, sporting three feet and an upper collar that helps to boldly center the movement.
But it isn’t exactly like the versions of this we have seen on other pieces; this one is less rigid, less square. Instead of the feet splaying out at sharp angles from the supporting legs, with a nice internal angle, these feet smoothly transition in a curve, almost as if the metal had been shaped like clay instead of machined from the hard titanium that they are.
A single instance of this would be noteworthy, but this is when you start to look around and realize that it is the foundation for almost the entire watch. All of the bridges use curved architecture, parabolic in shape, to create a softer, more fluid structure to the movement.
The mainspring barrel has not one single visible sharp edge to its body, and the decoration continues that theme. Instead of sharp, recessed sections with relief text and internal angles, this barrel features a circularly radiating pattern of circles (who would have guessed) with a section of circles replaced by the Greubel Forsey name.
The power reserve display is shaped like a flying saucer, and the bridge supporting its pivot has an extension on it that gently curves away toward the main plate, giving the entire movement the feeling that it is domed. That actually continues on the rear of the movement with the 24 second tourbillon flanked by two curving dome-shaped sections, making it appear as if it were resting in a dish.
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Credits: Article and images by Joshua Munchow @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/09/16/greubel-forsey-tourbillon-24-secondes-architecture-the-king-is-dead-long-live-the-king-reprise/