I still clearly remember my awe back in 2013, when Stephen Forsey first handed me the Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1 to examine. I had listened raptly as he explained the concept behind the timepiece and how he and Robert Greubel had worked for years with micro sculptor Willard Wigan, creator of the smallest sculpture in history, to achieve the many magnanimous details of this incredible objet d’art.
But none of that could prepare me for the feeling of sheer awe at not only the mind-boggling nature of the object in my hands, but the sheer audacity of the watchmaking duo of Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey in creating something so exquisitely artful in a post-2008 world of high-end mechanical watches: whether a million-dollar timepiece containing a micro sculpture would be something commercially viable was very much up in the air at that point in my opinion.
It’s a good thing that the La Chaux-de-Fonds-based partners listen more to their inner drives for creating art than to the outside world of commercial reality: Art Piece 1 was not only successful, Greubel Forsey continued the concept with two more Art Pieces after that, extending the fresh idea started with the first.
Art Piece 1 (2013)
Greubel Forsey’s Art Piece 1 is perhaps one of the world’s most notable art-related timepieces. Not just because it tackles the subject of art for art’s sake – there are other high-end timepieces created in collaboration with artists, Richard Mille’s collaboration with street artist Cyril Kongo being a notable one – but because Art Piece 1 highlights the relationship horology has with art; and I don’t think that there is any denying that the modern art of watchmaking certainly has a synergy with art as a whole.
Art Piece 1 was created in conjunction with Wigan, a self-taught English sculptor specialized in handcrafted micro figures so small that they can fit into the eye of a needle. Working at micron scale, creating his art requires a powerful microscope, self-made custom tools, special physical skills. and of course, a unique talent.
One of the most important elements deriving from this collaboration was the invention of a microscopic loupe that fits neatly into the watch’s crown. It is this instrument that enables the owner and anyone he or she cares to share with to view the micro sculpture hidden inside the case.
A cool side effect of the development is that this microscopic loupe was used again at SIHH 2017 to benefit viewing of the secretive new nanotech we were fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of (see Black Box Theory: The Greubel Forsey Mechanical Nano Movement Explained With A Wild Guess).
Engineers and scientists from various universities worked for four years to develop the innovative micro magnifying glass, which not only allowed viewing of the sculpture but also helped shed light on it, so I was very glad to see this interesting element put to further use.
But this new way of presenting Wigan’s creations involved another constraint that we as consumers have probably never thought of: shock-resistance. Indeed, Greubel Forsey had also conceived a reliable system for securing the sculpture smaller than a grain of rice inside the case.
For more information on it and to decide for yourself, please visit www.greubelforsey.com/en/collection/art-piece-1.
Quick Facts Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1
Case: 44 x 16.78 mm, white gold, outfitted with optical-grade magnification loupe integrated into crown with 23-fold magnification
Movement: Greubel Forsey caliber with 30° inclined double tourbillon, dual serially operating fast-rotating spring barrels, variable inertia balance, 21,600/3 Hz frequency, 72-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes shown on disks and revealed upon demand; power reserve indication
Limitation: a small few pieces per year
Price: approx. $1.5 million
You might also enjoy www.watchestv.com/videos/2015/5/13/greubel-forsey-and-the-challenge-of-micro-sculptures-with-willard-wigan.
Art Piece 2 Edition 1 (2015)
Once Greubel Forsey began using its watches as a frame for micro sculptures, the brand developed a unique relationship with contemporary art – which it continued in Art Piece 2.
Art Piece 2 also contains a nano sculpture by Wigan as well as the 23-fold optical magnifying instrument in the crown, but its look was completely different from that of its predecessor.
The sculpture in Art Piece 2 was based in tribute to Robert Filliou, a French Fluxus artist – Fluxus being an interdisciplinary grouping of artists often described as a radical and experimental art movement of the 1960s. Filliou participated in performance events that included time-based works as a site of interaction between artist and audience.
If this sounds familiar, it should. It really fits the description of the disruptive concept behind the Art Pieces.
In 2015 an exhibition called Chapeaux! A Tribute to Robert Filliou brought 14 contemporary artists (including Yoko Ono) together for a month in Paris to interpret the theme of “hats” in 14 different ways, also representing Filliou’s idea of nomadism. It was produced by Greubel Forsey under the cover of its nomadic Time Art Gallery (see that full circle?).
The exhibition is best seen to be understood, so please enjoy this on-the-spot Watches TV video from the 2015 event.
Aside from the enormous double tourbillon, the front of Art Piece 2 is dominated by pigment that looks like a stamp on cardboard (which is actually patinated bronze) professing Filliou’s principle of equivalence (not to be confused with the equivalence principle in physics), a criticism of the value and judgment of Western culture in which “badly made” is a space reserved for research and experimentation.
Naturally in an item originating in the perfectionist workshops of Greubel Forsey, this stands in direct contrast to the brand’s characteristic type of craftsmanship while still leaving room for said research and experimentation.
The micro sculpture by Wigan found inside this piece references a work of Filliou’s called Couvre-Chef(s)-D’oeuvre(s); it depicts a bowler hat containing the works of the 14 artists, which spill over to become a creative burst. The back of the watch is decorated with engravings of all the people’s profiles involved in this artistic venture.
For more information on this watch, please see www.greubelforsey.com/en/collection/art-piece-2-edition-1.
Quick Facts Greubel Forsey Art Piece 2 Edition 1
Case: 44 x 16.78 mm, white gold, outfitted with optical-grade magnification loupe integrated into a second crown with 23-fold magnification
Movement: Greubel Forsey caliber with 30° inclined double tourbillon, dual serially operating fast-rotating spring barrels, variable inertia balance, 21,600/3 Hz frequency, 72-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes shown on disks and revealed upon demand; power reserve indication
Limitation: a handful of pieces per year
Price: approx. $600,000 / 590,000 Swiss francs
Art Piece 2 Edition 2 (2017)
The biggest difference between this Art Piece and its predecessors is the fact that there is no Willard Wigan sculpture nestled inside the case.
Which means there is no optical microscope in the second crown – or a second crown for that matter.
Here, the double tourbillon inclined to 30 degrees takes its rightful place as the most important element on the dial: a kinetic sculpture open for viewing and fully visually accessible between two panes of sapphire crystal.
And while the time is available on Art Piece 2 Edition 2, it still remains secondary: a button on the case must be pushed in order to activate a mechanism that allows a view of the current hours and minutes in the subdial containing the brand-typical micro engraving at about 5:30.
As on the other Art Piece models, the power reserve indication takes place of pride over any other temporal information as if to say it’s not the now we should worry about, but rather the time remaining.
A different philosophy from the other Art Pieces, and perhaps the most important one of all.
For more information please see www.greubelforsey.com/en/collection/art-piece-2-edition-2.
Quick Facts Greubel Forsey Art Piece 2 Edition 2
Case: 44 x 16.18 mm, white gold, outfitted with optical-grade magnification loupe integrated into crown with 23-fold magnification
Movement: Greubel Forsey caliber with 30° inclined double tourbillon, dual serially operating fast-rotating spring barrels, variable inertia balance, 21,600/3 Hz frequency, 72-hour power reserve
Functions: hours and minutes shown on disks and revealed upon demand; power reserve indication
Limitation: a handful of pieces per year
Price: approx. €590,000
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!
In my opinion Greubel Forsey represents the absolute pinnacle of the watch as art (with MB&F right there in the running), and these pieces prove it. If I were financially able, all three of these pieces would be in my collection!
I’m sure many people feel that way, Eric! Thanks for reading!
I completely agree, watchmaking at it’s finest…
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for revisiting this oft-overlooked GF piece; it is one which has remained something of a mystery to the average WIS over the years. One thing you confirmed for me which had been never quite been answered since the days of the Art Piece 1, is that the first two editions did not in fact, tell time.
I was always under the impression that the button at 4 o’clock retracted the window covering to reveal the time indication; however not the case!
best, Colton
Thanks for reading, Colton! In fact, I had made a mistake with that, corrected now. All three Art Piece models display the time the same way, by revealing the hours and minutes on a disk when the button at 4 o’clock is pressed. I was always so taken with the Wigan sculpture that I somehow glossed over that in my mind, funny how people have selective memories when it comes to things like that sometimes.
I have a feeling that this company is making a lot of fun of rich people. The price cannot be justified.
I seriously dislike watches that make it difficult to read the time, the main purpose of a watch, and these are the epitome of not being able to easily tell time and in fact one doesn’t tell time at all. I have the most respect for GF and their timepieces and their talent but these are not at all for me, I do not even like the aesthetics of these pieces.