SIHH 2015: Greubel Forsey novelties including the GMT with 5N movement and the final execution of the QP à Equation
Greubel Forsey is kind of special in the industry, for several reasons. Their creations of time-telling pieces of art are simply exquisite, complicated, extreme, expensive. Nothing here is rational. Who cares? Just take a look at these double or quadruple tourbillons, at the finish of the movements, at the globe of the GMT. It’s far to be classical horology. Today we’re introducing the SIHH 2015 novelties, including a new edition of the GMT, with all its technical marvels against a beautiful 5N gold movement and the final execution of the QP à Equation.
GMT with 5N Movement
The first SIHH 2015 novelty presented by Greubel Forsey is a new edition of a well-known watch, the GMT. We’ve seen recently this watch in a full Black ADLC edition, also part of the 2015 collection. Now, it comes in a 950 Platinum case, contrasting with the warm and bright colour of the 5N Gold – also known as pink gold. This tone can also be found on the back of the Greubel Forsey GMT – which reveals the world-timer indication, with 24 cities. On the front, all the technical or functional elements are exposed, separately in order to keep a good legibility. It shows not less than a main hour/minute dial, a small second (at 3), a power reserve indicator at 4, the 24-second tourbillon inclined at 25 degrees, the rotating globe with universal time and another time zone at 10.
More details about this watch in our previous articles here, when first introduced, and here, when presented in platinum. The Greubel Forsey GMT 5N Movement is a limited edition of 22-pieces.
QP à Equation
This watch is not new to us. We’ve seen it last year. But it was only a prototype with unfinished movement and some approximate finishings. Here is the final and definitive execution of the Greubel Forsey QP à Equation – a perpetual calendar with equation of time, a la Greubel, meaning it’s not a simple QP. If you look closely, all the indications of the QP are located in a small area – at 4 – displayed by 3 apertures – one for the day, one for the date and one for the month. Highly legible, this display can be seen as simple, but in fact, it is Greubel Forsey’s 7th invention, the ‘Computeur Mecanique’.
This mechanical brain is a sub-assembly of 25 parts, mainly consisting of rotating coaxial coded elements in an arrangement complemented by a system of programmed movable sections. Depending on its geometry and speed of rotation, each element generates its own indication in a cyclical, preprogrammed way. In the context of the QP à Equation, the Mechanical Computer is programmed to automatically display all the indications of the perpetual calendar through to the equation of time: the seasons, the equinoxes, the solstices, the equation of time, and the date, day, month and the four-digit year.
This equation of time is displayed in an original and simple way by two sapphire crystal discs driven by the Mechanical Computer which rotates them independently to show the time difference as it changes throughout the year. The equinoxes and solstices, like the four seasons, are displayed in a poetic choreography while still providing an extremely precise indication.
The front and case of the Greubel Forsey QP remains inspired by the DNA of the brand: complex display with separated indications, inclined tourbillon, superb movement with massive bevelled angles and frosted finish. Another masterpiece that shows that the two founders, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, have some really creative minds and stupendous technical solutions.