When developing the Double Tourbillon 30°, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey came up with the idea of using Meccano to make the prototype.
Greubel Forsey. Greubel Forsey. Greubel Forsey. Greubel Forsey. Greubel Forsey. Greubel Forsey
Double Tourbillon 30°. Double Tourbillon 30°. Double Tourbillon 30°. Double Tourbillon 30°. Double Tourbillon 30°
Launch Year
2004
Functions
hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve
Movement
mechanical manual-winding, double tourbillon 30°
Distinctive features
white gold case, 43.5mm diameter, silver-toned solid gold dial, sapphire caseback, alligator leather strap
Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey see themselves above all as inventors. They joined forces with the aim of taking up fundamental technical challenges that would significantly improve mechanical performance and devote a great deal of time to experimenting with their concepts – thanks to an R&D platform that is unique in the industry – before launching the watches that embody these principles. The two partners began researching their first invention, the Double Tourbillon 30°, while still working mainly for others. It was only after due validation that they simultaneously launched the watch and the Greubel Forsey brand, in 2004.
Double Tourbillon 30°, detail ©Greubel Forsey
When developing the Double Tourbillon 30° — a reinvented tourbillon aimed at cancelling out the rate variations in wristwatches due to gravity –, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey did not yet have the financial and technical means they would later acquire. But they did have, tucked away, a Meccano set which they used to make the prototype: a fitting symbol of new ideas built from the ground up. The options finally chosen for the first tourbillon proved singularly effective: an exterior carriage rotating in four minutes and an interior cage, inclined at a 30-degree angle relative to the first, which rotates in sixty seconds.
The invention was launched in the Double Tourbillon 30° Vision, which afforded it exceptional visibility. A wide fan-shaped opening provided admirable views of its fascinating motion and its structure. The dial bearing Greubel Forsey-designed hands pointing to hours, minutes, small seconds and power-reserve indications was made of solid gold. This relatively heavy structure was firmly affixed to the movement by four visible screws. On the tourbillon, a four-arm hand provides a second reading of the seconds, following the four-minute rotation of the exterior carriage by means of a small arrow at the tip of one of the arms. The case is personalised by a raised undulating motif that runs along the caseband and represents the “Spiral of Infinity”.
Greubel Forsey has devised various settings for its first invention. In addition to the Double Tourbillon 30° Vision, the collection includes Secret, Asymétrique, Technique and Edition Historique versions. It also heralded the Invention Piece series that provides a magnificent backdrop for each invention. Greubel Forsey watches are now presented as “Collection” and “Collection Convexe”. The latter still includes Invention Piece 3 – Tourbillon 24 Secondes. Production of the Double Tourbillon 30° was discontinued in the late 2010s.
Key Characteristics
- First Greubel Forsey invention
- Double Tourbillon 30° highlighted through a broad dial opening