Six years after the introduction of the incredible Art Piece 1, Greubel Forsey’s Art Piece Edition Historique came to the conclusion of the boutique brand’s Art Piece works, including miniatures by contemporary British artist Willard Wigan. The sculpture can be observed with a magnifying glass. The side of the case.
This limited edition Historique will be launched first in platinum, followed by subsequent versions in other materials. Given that Historique previously had artwork, the numbering of the new model will start at 19:00. The watch was unveiled at SIHH in Geneva last month.
Stephen Forsey and his partner Robert Greubel co-founded the company in 2004. They have long emphasized the importance of clock performance change. Each new movement has improved the brand’s performance. Professional knowledge, both technically and aesthetically, are constantly breaking through. Forsey said: “Every caliber allows us to understand something, so there is always an invisible equation behind each caliber, which helps build our expertise.”
The historical version of Art Piece Edition Historique embodies this spirit, and its roots can be traced back to the double tourbillon 30° launched by the brand in 2004. The breakthrough mechanism has brought a new dimension to the historic tourbillon, and Greubel Forsey has started to update it. 21st century.
The ingenious movement makes the two tourbillon cages rotate at different speeds on different axes, while the balance wheel of the inner cage is at a 30-degree angle to the outer cage. This design improves accuracy by averaging the position error caused by gravity at any position.
In 2006, the duo collaborated with Harry Winston to create Opus 6, which displayed a double tourbillon with a blue background on the left side of the dial, called Emotion 30°. With the help of a rare open dial, the watch adopts a multi-layer, three-dimensional structure, eccentric sub-dial and disc time display, establishing the brand’s iconic aesthetic code.
Starting from Opus 6, Greubel Forsey entered invention work 1, which puts the mechanical device in the center. Fauci said: “The collectors came back to us and said it was more art,” he pointed out that the feedback led to “Art Piece Edition 1.” “We combined the art of the watchmaker with the Double Tourbillon 30°, and performed this art installation using Willard Wigan’s miniature sculptures.”
Wigan works under high magnification and is famous for his sculptures. These works are small and can be mounted on pins, so it is not difficult to appreciate the cordial spirit between his art and advanced watchmakers.
“The idea of Art Work 1 is to allow collectors to tailor unique works piece by piece,” Fauci said. “Working with contemporary artists and collectors and trying to bring them together, put them in the middle and manage all of this is a daunting challenge.”
Overall, Greubel Forsey created five unique works, then moved to Art Piece 2, and engraved the nano-engraved Double Tourbillon 30° mechanism (or other custom patterns) on the nano-sapphire tablet.
For Art Piece 2 Edition 2, they completely abandoned the installation element and made the movement’s artistry self-evident. “We made it more modern and further expanded the boundaries,” Forsey said. “We have the concept of sand glass, time will run out, power reserve from 72 to 36 to zero.”
In another interesting flourish, when you press the pusher to open a window, you can see the time, display the time and hour on demand, and display a red arrow on the disc.
Greubel Forsey replica pushed the story of his works of art to a climax through this year’s historical version, fusing elements of his ancestors, especially works 6 and invention works 1, to create new things, and to the previous pay tribute.
This 44 mm platinum case uses a new movement, based on the royal blue 30° tourbillon tourbillon, which brings a sense of freshness. The tourbillon inside the mechanism is tilted at an angle of 30 degrees. It is a dynamic sculpture in itself, completing one rotation every minute, while the outside tourbillon rotates once every four minutes. The hand-wound movement consists of 475 parts. The 72-hour power reserve is ensured by two fast-rotating barrels connected in series, with the best accuracy.
The small second hand between 10 o’clock and 11 o’clock is located at the same height as the tourbillon, and the power reserve gauge is raised in the lower right corner, reminiscent of the hourglass concept of time. On the higher plane at 2 o’clock, the red triangle tracks the hours, and you can choose to display the minutes or hide them using the button on the crown.
This unconventional time display is surrounded by the expression of the brand’s core values, engraved with more than 1,000 hand-carved characters. The back cover offers a rear view of the 30° double tourbillon and the embossed signatures of Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey.