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Since its founding in 2004, Greubel Forsey has constructed a popularity as one of many world’s most uncompromising and revolutionary unbiased watchmakers. Recognized for pushing the boundaries of excessive horology, the model has constantly redefined motion structure, handbook ending, and mechanical ingenuity. Whether or not via groundbreaking inclined tourbillons, the unparalleled craftsmanship of the Hand Made sequence, or the daring, fashionable Convexe assortment, Greubel Forsey has by no means been a model to comply with developments — it units them.
In 2025, Greubel Forsey continues to evolve. Below the brand new management of CEO Michel Nydegger, the model has launched a mix of cutting-edge mechanical developments and a renewed concentrate on conventional watchmaking artistry. The latest launch of items just like the Nano Foudroyante EWT and Hand Made 2 suggests a return to the roots of the model’s signature craftsmanship. On the similar time, GF has remained dedicated to attracting new collectors with its extra up to date choices.
Now that Michel has had time to settle into his position as CEO, I took a while to sit down down with him to debate the model’s future, his affect on GF’s path, and what lovers can count on within the years forward.
A balancing act: custom meets modernity
One of the crucial intriguing developments at Greubel Forsey just lately has been the emergence of items that hark again to classical watchmaking, such because the Nano Foudroyante EWT and the Hand Made 2. At first look, this might counsel a deliberate pivot away from the futuristic Convexe line. However Michel sees it fairly in a different way.
“We don’t see it as a shift however extra as a pure stability,” he defined. “The Convexe assortment allow us to discover a extra up to date expression. It was an opportunity to stretch our artistic muscle tissues. On the similar time, creations just like the Hand Made 2 reconnect us with the roots of watchmaking, whereas the Nano Foudroyante EWT factors towards what we imagine will likely be its future. Their strategy might look completely different, however they converse the identical language.”
In different phrases, each conventional and up to date aesthetics are on the core of the Greubel Forsey DNA. It’s not an both/or proposition — it’s a dialogue between two completely different but overlapping approaches to watchmaking.
Connecting with the following era
On the finish of 2023, Greubel Forsey made headlines with the launch of the Balancier 3, a sportier, extra dynamic piece geared toward newer collectors. It marked a strategic transfer to develop the model’s attain, and in line with Michel, it paid off.
“The Balancier 3 invited in individuals who’d possibly admired from afar however hadn’t but been able to take that leap into beginning their Greubel Forsey collections,” he informed me. “It proved we may converse in a extra dynamic tone and stay true to ourselves.”
This wasn’t nearly design, then. It was additionally about accessibility, not less than throughout the rarefied world wherein Greubel Forsey operates. With a extra fashionable aesthetic, “that” built-in strap, and a barely lower cost level in comparison with its siblings, the Balancier 3 served as a gateway into the GF universe. And in doing so, it challenged some long-held assumptions about who the Greubel Forsey collector might be. Nonetheless, Michel was fast to make clear that concentrating on youthful consumers isn’t about age demographics.
“To me, it’s much less about age and extra about connection. Essentially the most rewarding expertise is after we meet individuals who genuinely really feel one thing after they see and put on a Greubel Forsey timepiece. That spark — that’s what it’s all about. Whether or not Greubel Forsey prospects are 28 or 68 years previous doesn’t matter. What issues is that they care and that they’re curious. We try to create work that earns that curiosity and delight.”
This refreshing mindset resonates past basic advertising and marketing methods. In an period when many collectors are pushed by hype and resale worth, Greubel Forsey is betting on emotional connection and the concept that true horological artwork nonetheless speaks for itself, even in a crowded panorama. Whether or not it’s via complexity, creativity, or craft, GF goals to have interaction the type of collectors who need greater than a emblem on their wrist, and I’m right here for it.
Valuing stewardship over change
Taking on the reins from Antonio Calce, Michel stepped right into a model already navigating strategic evolution via streamlining manufacturing, embracing built-in straps, and increasing sportier choices. So, the place has he left his mark?
“Our essential focus has been to make sure we keep true to the unique imaginative and prescient set by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey. That imaginative and prescient — radical innovation, whole integrity in craft, and nil compromise — nonetheless guides all the pieces we do.”
Somewhat than overhauling, his strategy has been extra about refinement — enhancing inner processes, enhancing communication, and guaranteeing alignment throughout the crew. As for the roadmap?
“I wouldn’t presume to rewrite the roadmap; it was constructed with care and imaginative and prescient lengthy earlier than I arrived,” Michel added. “My position, along with the crew, has been extra about ensuring we don’t lose sight of it. Daily, it’s about staying on target, retaining issues coherent, and serving to the crew transfer ahead with readability.”
Innovation behind the scenes
Innovation has lengthy been synonymous with Greubel Forsey, and that’s not altering any time quickly. In actual fact, the model’s most up-to-date unveiling, the Nano Foudroyante, is the results of greater than a decade of analysis and growth. It’s additionally a part of the model’s Experimental Watch Know-how (EWT) platform, an R&D lab that’s been quietly working since 2006.
“It’s our area to check boundaries with no manufacturing deadline respiratory down our necks. Some concepts will make it into future timepieces, whereas others would possibly keep within the lab endlessly, and that’s high quality. It retains us studying, exploring, and infrequently touchdown on one thing extremely thrilling.”
The EWT platform is a crucible of concepts wherein technical audacity meets full artistic freedom. From new escapement ideas to ultra-miniaturized issues, what begins in EWT typically redefines the higher limits of what’s doable in mechanical watchmaking. With no stress to commercialize each thought, the crew is free to comply with inspiration to its furthest edge. And typically, doing so produces outcomes just like the Nano Foudroyante — ideas that take over a decade to mature however arrive as one thing the watch world has by no means seen.
A residing craft
For all of the technical wizardry, Greubel Forsey is probably most revered for its ending. In an trade chasing effectivity, it’s tempting to ask whether or not ending might be reimagined via fashionable instruments or strategies.
“Ending is sacred, nevertheless it’s not caught in time. It has to stay human — that’s non-negotiable. However inside that, there’s nonetheless lots of room to play. We’re not making an attempt to interchange the previous; we simply need to add new dimensions to it. I suppose it’s a bit like jazz — rooted in custom however all the time open to improvisation.”
Certainly, what units Greubel Forsey aside isn’t just the extent of ending however the philosophy behind it. Methods like black sprucing, sharp inner angles, and mirror-like frosting aren’t merely aesthetic decisions; fairly, they’re additionally statements of intent. They are saying that no shortcut is appropriate. However what’s equally compelling is the model’s openness to increasing the definition of handbook ending. As new supplies, coatings, and methods emerge, GF is exploring how the hand can evolve alongside them with out shedding its soul. It’s not about supplanting the previous. It’s about layering innovation over heritage, one floor at a time.
Waiting for what’s subsequent for Greubel Forsey
So, what can collectors count on from Greubel Forsey in 2025? Whereas Michel is cautious to not reveal an excessive amount of too quickly, it’s clear that extra is coming, each from the Experimental Watch Know-how platform and the model’s broader imaginative and prescient of pushing horological boundaries. The crew has spent years growing concepts which have but to be revealed, and the groundwork laid with the Nano Foudroyante is only one glimpse into that.
“We’re not pushed by being the primary or the loudest,” Michel says. “It’s about creating one thing that really surprises individuals — one thing that feels unimaginable till it’s actual. Let’s simply say 2025 goes to be value watching intently.”
If the previous is any indication, he’s not bluffing. In different phrases, 2025 might not simply carry extra watches — it could additionally carry extra questions, extra curiosity, and extra moments when the watch neighborhood pauses to but once more ask, “How did they try this?”
