Last Of Its Kind: Greubel Forsey Launches The Final Edition Of The Balancier Convexe S2

Greubel Forsey launched the Double Tourbillon 30º in 2004, and it was one of the most memorable launches of its time, on a number of counts. A large, highly complicated exercise in pushing the limits of the performance of the tourbillon, it set the stage for many of Greubel Forsey’s subsequent horological experiments. The watch was also a statement of intent, in terms of execution – there were during this period, any number of large, and sometimes very mechanically exotic watches but the Double Tourbillon 30º was also hand finished, soup to nuts, on every visible and invisible part, and for years after its debut, a Greubel Forsey watch was typically quite big, highly complex with a general orientation towards improvements in chronometry, and elaborately hand finished. It was as if someone had decided to launch a luxury car company, but one whose business model would be to not make any actual production cars, but instead, concentrate on making only concept cars, each one more elaborate in every sense of the word than the next.

In recent years, Greubel Forsey has been increasingly pursuing watches which are smaller and less elaborately experimental, although to say that the trend has been towards simpler watchmaking might be too much of a generalization – this is after all the company which gave us the 2026 Nano-Foudroyante EWT, which, while a smaller-than-usual watch for GF, could certainly never be called simple. The Nano-Foudroyante EWT is 37.9mm x 10.49mm, and was a watch that suggested that not just innovative engineering, but also the pursuit of miniaturization per se as a goal, would be part of Greubel Forsey’s future. The Balancier Convexe S2 series of watches were originally introduced in 2021, in 43.5mm cases, and in 2023, 41.5mm diameter cases were introduced – this is still by no means diminutive, but it is in contrast to the 45.5mm GMT Earth (for instance).

Greubel Forsey has just announced what is says will be the final limited edition of Balancier Convexe watches, in ceramic cases, and on the occasion of this launch, GF also says this:

“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 en2rely 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.”

These two watches are the last iterations of the Balancier Convexe S2 series but it’s hard not to see them as, in some respects, presaging some elements of the future of Greubel Forsey as well. Here’s what we’ve got.

One of the new watches is in all-white ceramic with a white strap and as is so often the case with white on white watches on rubber straps, it feels as if it has summery ambitions and more casual aspirations that you generally connect with Greubel Forsey. The other is a more urban and urbane take on the Balancier Convexe design, with a black ceramic case middle sandwiched between a red gold bezel and caseback. Both watches are the same size as the preceding smaller Balancier Convexe S2 models, which is to say, 41.5 mm x 14.8 mm at the thickest point of the case, although thanks to the convex case profile as usual, the new models wear closer to the wrist and have much better ergonomics than you’d expect from the numbers alone.

Purely from an engineering standpoint, the Balancier Convexe S2 caliber has the same basic rationale for using an inclined balance as other inclined balance Greubel Forsey watches, such as the Balancier Convexe GMT and the QP Balancier.  (The idea of using an inclined balance is quite a bit older than you might think; the American watchmaker Andrew H. Potter made one all the way back in 1857, which we took a look at in 2024 in the context of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Heliotourbillon Perpetual). The basic idea is that with the balance inclined 30º from the horizontal plane of the watch, the rate in the flat positions of the watch will more closely approximate the rate in the vertical positions (this is one of the most fundamental parameters to adjust when adjusting a watch to positions; getting the vertical and flat rates as close as possible was the goal of the tourbillon, which was designed to produce a single average rate for all the vertical positions). The inclination of the balance furthermore reduces the chances of the balance ever assuming any of the most extreme positions (perfectly flat, perfectly vertical) during daily use, and should theoretically offer many of the benefits of the tourbillon with considerably less complexity in construction.

Greubel Forsey has historically often combined an inclined balance with a tourbillon or a double or even quadruple tourbillon, but the inclined tourbillon taken by itself is an interesting solution. The new, and last, Convexe S2 calibers are therefore in continuity conceptually with Greubel Forsey’s past, albeit that chapter is now coming to a close. The finish as well as the overall architectonic feel of the watches and the Convexe S2 caliber are also in keeping with the history of Greubel Forsey, but of course, the fact that these watches mean the finale for the Convexe designs and that in fact, everything in the current catalog is apparently due to be retired over the next few years, leaves the essential question unanswered, which is how whatever’s coming up will build a connection to the past almost mad-scientist experiments that made Greubel Forsey so interesting to fans of experiments in precision horology in particular, and complications in general.

And of course, it’s not a coincidence that this announcement is being made at the same time as co-founder Stephen Forsey’s departure from the company. For now, however, CEO Michel Nydegger has firmly quashed the notion that the company might be for sale, as some media have reported, and as a very long time fan of its approach to watchmaking, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Greubel Forsey’s historical commitments to excellence and to challenging itself intellectually, will be part of its identity moving forward.

The Greubel Forsey Balancier Convexe S2 Final Editions: cases, 41.5mm x 14.8mm in white ceramic or black ceramic and red gold; water resistance 100M. Rubber straps. Movement, Balancier Convexe S2 caliber, hand wound with 72 hour power reserve from two co-axial fast rotating mainspring barrels, running at 21,600 vph; balance inclined 30º; hours, minutes, and small seconds; freesprung balance with overcoil balance spring and Geneva-type stud. 11 pieces per edition; price available on request.

The 1916 Company is proud to be an authorized retailer for Greubel Forsey timepieces. Please contact us for pricing and availability.