DIALED IN Horological News
G-SHOCK KICKS OFF 35TH YEAR CELEBRATION
G-Shock in November kicked off its yearlong 35th anniversary
celebration with live performances by DJ Virgil Abloh and A$AP
Mob at Madison Square Garden in NYC. G-Shock Founding Father
Kikuo Ibe unveiled the first-ever sapphire crystal G-Shock, while
G-Shock exec Shigenori Itoh and former General Manger of the
New York Rangers Mark Messier recreated the first G-Shock com-
mercial by shooting watches into a hockey net.
WAWRINKA VISITS AUDEMARS PIGUET
Tennis star Stan Wawrinka stopped by Audemars
Piguet’s headquarters in Le Brassus in November to
visit the workshops and talk with the watchmakers.
During his time off the court while recovering from
a knee injury, the Lausanne-born tennis star paid a
friendly visit to his long-term partner and neighbor in
the Vaud canton. After a warm welcome by friend and
Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias,
Wawrinka spent some time rediscovering the brand’s
history and origins while visiting its museum as well as
its restoration and tourbillon workshops.
GREUBEL-FORSEY APPLIES MECHANICAL NANO TO JUMPING SECONDS
Ten years ago Greubel-Forsey’s Mechanical Nano began research with the aim of creating new watch mechanisms. Their goals include reducing the energy
consumed in a movement and to increase the number of complications in the same space. Most recently the project applied its Mechanical Nano to a practi-
cal case study: the watchmaking mechanism of jumping foudroyant seconds. This watchmaking complication consists of a hand that makes one rotation every
second to indicate the fractions of a second.
Thanks to this totally new concept and following the recent application of patent No. EP 3220207 A1, Greubel Forsey is unveiling the first Nano Foudroyante
EWT. Compared to a traditional foudroyant jumping seconds mechanism, the Greubel Forsey Nano Foudroyante EWT consumes 1,800 times less energy and
occupies 96% less space. This new design of the functions does not in any way compromise the timekeeping. “This first practical application confirms the con-
cept and demonstrates that the potential for development is enormous,” according to the firm’s research. We’ll have much more about this technical advance-
ment following SIHH 2018.
20 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | WINTER 2018
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