1. History

Founded

1999

Established

La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

Greubel Forsey’s story

When they decided to restore the Tourbillon to its former glory, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey focused on innovation in order to define the spirit of the resolutely technical watches they had in mind. Nothing would stop them in their tireless pursuit of peerless quality, expressed through revealing choices such as the conical gearing with corrected profile, endowed with a level of efficiency far higher than the standard right-angle gearings.

The Greubel Forsey timeline

1999 Greubel Forsey : two watchmakers - one vision: after leaving Renaud & Papi, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey begin working together and soon realise that they share an identical vision of the tremendous untapped potential to invent new mechanisms and innovative movements in the field of Technical Haute Horlogerie.

2001 Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey create CompliTime SA in La Chaux-de-Fonds, an organisation entirely dedicated to the development of complicated movements for the prestige watch segment. In parallel, they prepare the launch of their own Greubel Forsey brand.

2004 Their dream comes true as they present their Greubel Forsey brand and their first invention at Baselworld: the Double Tourbillon 30°, a patented movement specifically adapted to the wristwatch. The launch is successful and Greubel Forsey begins developing a highly selective network made up of the world’s finest retailers.

2005 The Inventor Watchmakers present their second patented invention: the Quadruple Tourbillon à Différentiel in which four Tourbillons are linked to a spherical differential.

Greubel Forsey presents its EWT® - Experimental Watch Technology® research platform - a working method and a laboratory dedicated to the development of experimental watches.

2006 At Baselworld, Greubel Forsey presents its third invention - the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Incliné, with a patented movement still in its initial experimental phase and which derives maximum advantage from the fast rotation of a single inclined Tourbillon cage.

Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey join forces with independent watchmakers Philippe Dufour, Vianney Halter and Kari Voutilainen to launch Time Aeon Alliance, which aims to support, promote and develop the Watchmaking Art at its highest level.

To everyone’s surprise, Harry Winston and Greubel Forsey unveil the unexpected Opus 6 at the opening of Baselworld 2006.

Richemont International S.A. acquires a minority shareholding in Greubel Forsey S.A. This partnership confirms the quality of the relationship with several Richemont Group companies that has been consistently cultivated by the Inventor Watchmakers Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey for almost 20 years.

2007 At this year’s Baselworld, Greubel Forsey extends its collection and presents the Double Tourbillon 30° Secret, a new version of the 2004 model. This time, the dance of two tourbillon cages can be viewed exclusively from the back of the case.

The Invention Piece 1, created to honour the first Greubel Forsey invention, the Double Tourbillon 30°, symbolises more than four years of reflection that the two watchmakers have dedicated to researching and developing this new mechanism. The Invention Piece 1 will be issued in a unique edition comprising three series of 11 watches in white gold, red gold and platinum respectively.

The Tourbillon 24 Secondes Incliné emerges from the EWT® and is presented in its asymmetrical white gold case with lateral window and dial in black or silver-coloured gold.

4th year, 4th invention: as part of its EWT® endeavours, Greubel Forsey presents the balance-and-spring binomial in diamantchrone®. The central idea behind this invention lies in associating the balance and spring with isochronically stable materials.