Greubel Forsey - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: EIGHT Hong Kong Monday, May 27, 2019 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Greubel Forsey
    Year: Circa 2013
    Movement No: 20
    Case No: 20, 02 735
    Model Name: GMT
    Material: 18K pink gold
    Calibre: Manual, cal. GF GMT, jeweled
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K pink gold Greubel Forsey double deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 43.5mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Greubel Forsey undated Warranty booklet stamped by Kuwait retailer Morad Yousuf Behbehani, instruction manual, booklets holder, loupe, travel pouch, massive wooden fitted presentation box and outer packaging

  • Catalogue Essay

    Such a vision is obvious in the present timepiece: the asymmetric case and multi-tiered dial with three-dimensional globe are as visually striking as they are technically refined. But all the complications of the piece are actually evolutions of well-established complications/regulating organs (world time, dual time, tourbillon) reinterpreted in post-modern key and executed with the highest standards of traditional watchmaking.

    The local time is obviously read in the mean subdial at 12 o’clock, with a small peripheral counter for the constant seconds. Proceeding clockwise, the eye falls on the power reserve indication and then on the tourbillon regulator. The inclined tourbillon is one of the defining feature of Greubel Forsey. Not only it presents a 25 degrees inclination, but it furthermore rotates at an astounding rate of one revolution every 24 seconds (most tourbillon rotate once per minute) allowing for a much better gravitational compensation. The technical challenges the manufacture had to overcome in order to achieve such a feat of engineering are simply daunting.

    At 7 o’ clock one can find a truly groundbreaking world time display: Greubel Forsey tackled this complication in a truly literal way, and devised a revolving three-dimensional realistic representation of the earth with a diameter of circa 13 mm surrounded by a 24 hours ring indicating the time in correspondence of the appropriate location. This complication perfectly mirrors - in scale about 1 to 980million - the actual motion of the planet. Finally, at 11 o’clock one find a more classic dual time indication, which can be easily adjusted by the correspondent pusher.

    The surprises of this timepiece do however not end here: on the movement side, one can notice an additional world time indication featuring 24 world cities on a rotating disc. While apparently slightly more conventional than the globe, the ingenuity of Greubel Forsey devised a way to appropriately correct the reading according to solar time or daylight saving (summer) time: two 24 hours rings are placed at the edges of the city disc. The outer ring shall be used in winter. The cities adopting daylight saving time are placed on white sectors, those which do not on black sectors. During summertime, one shall use the inner disc to read the time of “white sector” cities. This simple but clever escamotage effectively solves one of the greatest issues of world time timepieces: the management of summertime.

    The piece is offered by its original owner in absolutely mint, never used condition - the strap unbent - and complete of all its original accessories, from the guarantee booklet to the superb presentation case.

  • Artist Biography

    Greubel Forsey

    Swiss • 2004

    With the introduction of the Double Tourbillon 30 at Basel World in 2004, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey became major players in the world of haute horology and independent watchmaking. Their firm concentrates on high-end complicated movements with precision timekeeping and the highest quality hand finishing. They achieve this with movements featuring multiple tourbillons and inclined balance wheels — tourbillons designed for wristwatches. Forsey joined Greubel's team at Renaud & Papi SA, a high-complication specialist now part of Audemars Piguet. The team participated with Harry Winston and their Opus 6 project. In the span of 12 years, the firm has become highly sought-after by collectors for their innovative timekeeping and industrial design.

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Σ1161

A superlative and unusual pink gold worldtime and dual-time wristwatch with power reserve indication, tourbillon regulator, warranty and box

Circa 2013
43.5mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and clasp signed

Estimate
HK$1,170,000 - 1,950,000 
€132,000-220,000
$150,000-250,000

Sold for HK$1,937,500

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
thomasperazzi@phillips.com
+852 2318 2001

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: EIGHT

Hong Kong Auction 28 May 2019