Greubel Forsey’s Double Tourbillon 30° Edition Historique awarded the Grand Prix « L’Aiguille d’Or » prize at the 10th Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2010
The prize is awarded to the best watch from all categories of the competition. Stephen Forsey, who received the award on behalf of Greubel Forsey, said that he was, «Very honoured to be awarded this prize, which is significant recognition for our young company ».
Launched in 2004, the Double Tourbillon 30° Contemporaine marked the beginning of the Greubel Forsey adventure. It was followed by other models featuring the complication, including the Double Tourbillon 30° Technique which was awarded the “Best Complicated Watch” prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2009.
The Double Tourbillon 30° Edition Historique
Greubel Forsey decided to celebrate the conclusion of the Double Tourbillon 30° Contemporaine at the end of 2010 – thus ensuring its exclusivity – with the “Edition Historique”, a unique edition of 11 pieces in 5N red gold and 11 pieces in platinum. The closure of the Double Tourbillon 30° Contemporaine line is an important step for Greubel Forsey because it is the timepiece that launched the Greubel Forsey brand, and it formed the foundation of legitimacy for the inventions that followed. The decision to cease the Double Tourbillon 30° Contemporaine after six successful years will enable Greubel Forsey to channel energy in creating new systems and inventions and in exploring new avenues.
The complexity of the Double Tourbillon 30° Edition Historique is highlighted in the tourbillon system as well as other aspects of the timepiece, including a new type of gold dial integrating three sapphire-crystal plates. These complex insertions are engraved and enhanced by structured text.
The bevelled relief of the bezel endows this final edition with an original style, which is a new interpretation of the aesthetics of the original models while retaining the intrinsic design features of a Greubel Forsey timepiece.
Like all Greubel Forsey timepieces, the Double Tourbillon 30° “Edition Historique” embodies the philosophy of its creators, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, and engraved hand-decorated curved plates on the sides of the case explain their guiding principles.
Creativity, technicality and craftsmanship
The tourbillon was invented in the early nineteenth century for the pocket watch (virtually unchanged since then) to average out positional errors in the escapement due to gravity. Since the beginning of their adventure together, inventor watchmakers Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey have sought to go beyond the existing known boundaries of watch making science by exploring further, with the aim of improving the timekeeping performance of the wristwatch. They invented a tourbillon cage within a second cage, so that their new complication permanently averages rate errors due to gravity in all of the usual positions of a wristwatch. The Double Tourbillon 30° is aimed for the angle between the two rotating cages and is a patented system providing decisive technological progress and marks a milestone in the history of watch-making.
