Manufacturer: Greubel Forsey
Year: 2021
Movement No: No. 26/33
Case No: 04 500; No. 26/33
Model Name: Balancier Contemporain
Material: 18K white gold
Calibre: Manual, in house caliber, 33 jewels
Bracelet/Strap: Leather
Clasp/Buckle: 18K white gold Greubel Forsey buckle
Dimensions: 39.6mm Diameter
Signed: Case, dial, movement, and buckle signed.
Accessories: Accompanied by Greubel Forsey Certificate of Authenticity dated December 9th, 2021, leather booklet, product literature, travel watch pouch, January 2019 retail price list, 2019 technical specifications book, numbered inner fitted presentation box, loupe, and outer packaging.
Catalogue Essay
A relative newcomer to the world of haute horology, Greubel Forsey has become a tour-de-force creating high-end complicated movements that are not only precision timekeepers, but also technical masterpieces. In 2004, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey released their first wristwatch, the Double Tourbillon 30° at Baselworld, and since then have continued to amaze collectors with a collection of exemplary watches ranging from their GMT with three-dimensional rotating terrestrial globe to their first repeating timepiece, the Grand Sonnerie with inclined tourbillon. The brand has become revered for the challenges they address through innovative watchmaking and the exquisite hand-finishing found on each watch.

With the introduction of the Balancier Contemporain at SIHH 2019, the manufacture overcame the challenge of bringing the enormity of their ideas into the compact size of their smallest case yet. The 39.6mm case size is the smallest – practically miniscule by Greubel Forsey standards – since the Signature 1 at 41.3mm executed in 2017. Indeed, it’s impossible to understand the Balancier Contemporain without first considering the Signature 1 – both aesthetically and in the form of the innovations therein. It is Greubel Forsey’s take on a “time only” watch, but executed to the highest standards of creative and technical excellence.

Within the wearable white gold case, the pièce de résistance is the oversized, in-house balance wheel and balance bridge measuring 12.6mm. The dial is multi-layered, with each level featuring a different finishing technique that contrast and yet harmonize perfectly. The focus of the dial side, the exposed balance wheel and bridge, is encapsulated in a chamber of sorts that is mirror-finished, two layers of finely frosted plates, and the hour track is finely grain-finished while the seconds track is satin-finished. The edges of each part of the dial are hand-beveled, as is the axis holding the balance wheel. On the reverse, the movement is hidden through main plates rendered in frosted titanium and etched with words that speak to Greubel Forsey’s watchmaking ethos. Every element of the watch, technical or aesthetic, has been given the utmost consideration and executed lavishly and passionately, and the outcome is possibly the most desirable, wearable, and exquisite Greubel Forsey available.

Only thirty-three pieces were made in 18K white gold, and the present Balancier Contemporain numbered 26 is the first to be offered at auction. It remains complete with all of its original accessories and is presented in close to new condition for the astute and enthusiastic collector of independent watches.
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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