Greubel Forsey Launches A New Balancier 3, With A Brush-Finished Titanium Bridge

Greubel Forsey is going through some changes. Co-founder Stephen Forsey is no longer with the company, and CEO Michel Nydegger recently stated that in the months and years to come, Greubel Forsey will be retiring its entire current catalog of watches; the company said, on the occasion of its release of the final series of the Balancier Convexe S2:

“With their release, the calibre enters its final phase: production will cease permanently in 2026, closing this chapter of Greubel Forsey’s mechanical development … The year 2026 also marks the beginning of a gradual transition toward an almost entirely new collection. As Greubel Forsey closes the chapter on calibres [sic] that have shaped the past years of technical and creative development, each will be retired deliberately – not silently – with a final expression that celebrates its contribution to the Atelier’s continuous evolution.”

The latest release from Greubel Forsey is however, a sign that at least so far the evolution of the company’s watchmaking is just that – an approach which is at least in terms of overall design language, an outgrowth of Greubel Forsey’s past, rather than a break with it. The latest watch is a new version of the Convexe 3, which is a model originally launched in 2023 as a time only watch in the company’s Convexe, wrist-hugging case. The Convexe 3 is instantly recognizable as a Greubel Forsey watch (unlike the Nano-Foudroyante, which is a highly experimental technical piece, incorporating a foudroyante seconds on the tourbillon cage, and which while cutting-edge from a watchmaking standpoint, is the most conventional Greubel Forsey watch ever produced in terms of appearance and size).

This is a large watch, at 41.50mm x 43.60mm x 13.35mm but as is usually the case with Greubel Forsey, good use is made of the size of the canvas in terms of the overall visual layout. As is also usually the case with Greubel Forsey, the movement in many respects is the watch, with many of the active components visible on the dial side. The two fast-rotating mainspring barrels occupy the upper have of the watch; the barrels turn once every 3.2 hours, with one barrel sitting under a bifurcated cock, and the other, under a cock that’s part of a cutout in the dial (which is essentially the movement plate). The large balance (12.60mm) is under its own cock at the lower right, and is freesprung, with gold mean time screws for adjust rate set into the rim of the balance.

The balance spring has a Phillips overcoil outer terminal curve (basically, a Breguet overcoil, but one based on mathematical modeling rather than empirical practice alone; the basic work was done by the French physicist Edouard Phillips, in the 1860s).

Finally, at the lower left, there is a small seconds disk, which rotates once per minute; the seconds are read off against a small red arrow.

The Balancier 3 is not the sort of overtly experimental watch which originally made Greubel Forsey famous – no tourbillon, of course, and the balance is on the same plane as the movement plate, rather than being inclined, as was the case in the Balancier Convexe S2 – although the large balance, gearing for the rapid rotation of the mainspring barrels, overcoil balance spring, and the use of mean time screws, are all elements of a precision timekeeper. However, the newest feature of the watch – and it’s a subtle one – is the finishing on the central bridge for the hour and minute hands, and running seconds disk.

All of the bridges are in titanium (as is the case; despite the size this will be a fairly lightweight watch for its dimensions) and the central bridge has a type of finish Greubel Forsey’s never used before. The bridge has an interesting shape – it tapers down its length and past the axes of the hour and minute hands, only the lower half of the bridge extends to the seconds disk, although if you drew an imaginary line from the upper edge of the bridge at the axes of the hands, it would intersect the seconds disk at exactly the same point as the actual lower segment.

The upper surface of the bridge has been given an almost hammered texture, and then finished with a fine steel brush, and this frosted effect is designed to contrast with the more traditional, highly polished anglage and flanks. Although Greubel Forsey has historically been very forward looking technically, and vey idiosyncratic in terms of overall design, its approach to finishing has generally been a very traditional combination of classic English and Swiss-French techniques, so this is something of a departure for GF.

The back of Greubel Forsey watches have generally been visually simpler and more static than the front (with some notable exceptions) and this is the case with the Balancier 3, although the quality of the finishing is excellent back or front. The back of GF movements is where the company has historically leaned the most heavily into the English high grade pocket watch tradition, and although the crisp geometry is very modern, the basic combination of frosted upper surfaces, a direct transition to polished bridge flanks without anglage, and large jewel settings, are all elements typical of English watchmaking in its heyday. The back also carries a discreet power reserve indicator.

The Balancier 3 is all in all, exactly what you would expect in a simple watch from Greubel Forsey: immediately recognizable design language, impeccable finishing, and a combination of features characteristic of precision timekeeping. It does not have the sheer wow factor of, say, the original Double Tourbillon 30º or some of Greubel Forsey’s other boundary pushing tourbillons and precision timekeepers, but it is nonetheless an expression of much of the basic approach which has characterized Greubel Forsey’s historical production. For me, these simpler watches have however, been most enjoyable as entr’actes between the real horological big guns. This is not a criticism; a ten course meal consisting of nothing but main courses would be an exercise in gluttony, not refinement. But I’m attached enough to the combination of irreproachable high quality and ingenious experimentation of GF’s earlier years, to hope to see some future manifestations of that variation on the overall theme as well.

The Greubel Forsey Balancier 3 Limited Edition In Titanium: case, titanium with curved sapphire crystal and hidden lugs; sapphire crystal on the back; 41.50mm x 43.60mm x 13.35mm; water resistance 50M. Dial side, variable geometry rehaut with engraved and lacquered minute circle; variable geometry hour markers; light alloy small seconds disk, circular grained. Hands, curved profiles, polished steel with Super-LumiNova.

Movement, Balancier caliber, 35.80mm x 9.03mm x 9.03mm, running at 21,600 vph in 43 jewels; dial side, titanium bridges and cocks with frosted openworked arch bridge; back, frosted bridges with straight grained flanks and polished edges. Balance, 12.60mm, freesprung with gold timing screws; Phillips overcoil balance; power reserve indicator. Power reserve, 72 hours.

Limited edition of 22 pieces worldwide; price at launch, $205,000. The 1916 Company is proud to be an authorized retailer for Greubel Forsey timepieces. The Balancier 3 is currently available; please contact us for further information.