Even seasoned watch connoisseurs look twice when presented with a men’s watch fitted with what’s known as a “salmon” dial. If it is a fairly common model, a salmon-colored dial usually elevates the watch to a higher plane. Martin Green explains why this is so.
Greubel Forsey’s Art Pieces are among the world’s most notable art-related timepieces and not just because they tackle the subject of art for art’s sake but also because the Art Pieces highlight the relationship horology has with art. Elizabeth Doerr doesn’t think that there is any denying that the modern art of watchmaking has a synergy with art as a whole. And that is abundantly visible.
Here we take a deep-dive view of the ultra-complicated Greubel Forsey GMT Quadruple Tourbillon with brand co-founder Stephen Forsey, and no corner of this timepiece is left unturned (or unfilmed)!
The Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain contains most of the key features familiar to the ultra-high-end brand, and all in a package that is friendlier to the wallet (even if only slightly) and a touch more under the radar when placed next to a watch like an Invention Piece or the GMT Earth. In fact, some of the Quill & Pad team have fallen madly in love with the Balancier Contemporain!
Greubel Forsey introduces the Quadruple Tourbillon GMT, a watch combining the unbelievable titanium-globed multiple time zone complication from the GMT Earth and the brand’s second fundamental invention, the Quadruple Tourbillon. Combining these two stunning elements into one watch is incredibly challenging: necessitating the creation of a whole new caliber, the Quadruple Tourbillon GMT demonstrates (again) the mastery of this brand when it comes to the architectural art of precision timekeeping.
Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele had an opportunity for a retail space in Monaco and had the choice of making another Chopard boutique – which he really didn’t need – or not keeping the space (which was too good to pass on). The third idea idea was to create a multi-brand environment, but Art in Time turned into much more than that: it is an unusual space for unusually creative high-end watchmaking.
The components of a mechanical watch movement are little more than a series of springs and wheels held together by plates and/or bridges. No matter the configuration, complication or finish, the ensemble is secured by the humble movement screw. So it’s a pleasant surprise that several watchmakers have boldly ventured beyond the thread and the slot to reimagine the movement screw.
The awesome Greubel Forsey Art Piece Edition Historique is a true coalescence of a decade and a half of horological exploration into something stunningly simple and complicated all at once. Joshua Munchow explains why.
The click spring is one of the smaller components of a mechanical watch, but it is of enormous importance. Ever wondered why the crown doesn’t retaliate furiously and unwind every time you crank it? Without the click spring, a wound mainspring would immediately – and explosively – uncoil like a raging viper in a hat box.
Seems it wasn’t that long ago that GaryG wrote his first “Objects of Desire” article about the watches of Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, finishing with: given the prices of their watches, he was unlikely to be able to buy any of those he truly lusted after anytime soon. Gary’s observation at the time was “go big or go home.” As you will see, he ended up going big and is now the proud owner of a Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1.
