Boutique
GREUBEL FORSEY
Double Tourbillon 30 degrees
Technique ceramic
Originally debuted in 2004, this special U.S.
edition transforms the watch with clear sapphire
components encased in highly detailed blue
ceramic. And while Greubel Forsey has
previously displayed its expertise creating clear
sapphire cases for several of its most
complicated timepieces, this new release marks
the watchmaker’s first-ever ceramic case.
Now framed in lustrous deep-blue, the
resulting remade Double Tourbillon 30 degrees
Technique mechanism takes on a new and
somewhat startling clarity, especially as it
reveals Greubel Forsey’s spectacular dual
suspended tourbillon cages. One cage rotates
in four minutes while inside of it a smaller cage
inclined at an angle of 30 degrees (relative to
the first cage) completes a revolution in sixty
seconds.
To create its new blue ceramic case (which
measures 48.40mm in diameter and 17.77 mm in
height) Greubel Forsey sintered the ceramic at
a very high temperature, and then had to apply
its legendary finishing techniques to the new
material. The finishers first polished the ceramic
and then laboriously began to circular satin-
finish it while following the case’s new curves
and contours. The resulting case retains its deep
blue hue while appearing to shimmer in the light,
though with a more contemporary caste than
that delivered by the watch’s previous precious
metal cases.
IW RATING
Design: 8 (out of 10)
A mélange of industrial savoir-faire
Innovation: 9
Worthy techniques to safely integrate sapphire
elements.
Finissage: 10
Among the very best in watchmaking.
Legibility: 7
Hands are bold enough to stand out from a busy
background.
Rarity: 9
Only eleven will be made.
Value: 9
One of the most expensive brands but few
enough made to hold prices.
Overall iW rating: 52 (out of 60)
38 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | FALL 2019