Manufacturer: Harry Winston and Greubel Forsey Year: Circa 2006 Movement No: N° 4/6 Case No: N°4/6 Model Name: Opus 6 Material: 18k white gold Calibre: Manual wind Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel pin buckle Dimensions: 44mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial and movement signed Accessories: Accompanied by fitted box, letter to the buyer, product literature, polishing cloth, gloves, outer packaging
Catalogue Essay
The early 21st century was truly the era of independent watchmaking, garnering a platform of independent artisans of horology to collaborate and share their ideas and concepts to create some of the most extraordinary timepieces that the community has yet to witness. This was the vision for Maximillian Büsser, at the time the CEO of the watchmaking department for Harry Winston. Spearheaded by who is now the founder of the revered independent firm MB&F, the Opus project that Büsser started gathered some of the most talented watchmakers.
The last Opus of the Büsser era was the Opus V made with Urwerk. Harry Winston wanted to take a break from the Opus series after Büsser’s departure but the appeal was to strong and the new management contacted the famed tourbillon master duo of Greubel Forsey to create the Opus 6.
Presented in 2006 in a 6 piece limited edition in white gold the Opus 6 is a timepiece of incredible purity and appeal.
The focus here is on the signature Greubel Forsey 30° double tourbillon occupying almost half of the left side of the dial. The hours and minutes are read via rotating discs on the right side of the dial (in a nod to the number of the model the 6 is in red) whereas the seconds - also indicated on a disc – are located near the 11 o’clock position.
The double tourbillon 30° consists of a tourbillon, angled at 30° and rotating once per minute placed within a second cage – placed flat – and with a four minute rotation.
To enable an unobstructed view on the architecture of the double tourbillon, the gear trains are invisible, the bridge is screwed to the mainplate of the movement with a balance wheel moving freely above the mainplate liberating the double tourbillon of any superstructure and thus providing an unobstructed and stunningly pure view of the mechanism.
The present example is number 4 of a ultra limited number of only 6 pieces