Stephen Forsey

Stephen Forsey (Ben Dauchez for Greubel Forsey)

In 1999, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey of Greubel Forsey began working together with the premise that all had not yet been invented in mechanical watchmaking, particularly with reference to the tourbillon’s use in wristwatches. They devoted years of research and development to devise new tourbillon systems for the 21st century, which have captured chronometry awards as well as the hearts and imaginations of mechanical watchmaking devotees worldwide.

Please explain the concept behind the tourbillon for those who may not be familiar with it.

The first single-axis tourbillon was invented for pocket watches in order to overcome accuracy problems associated with gravity, lubrication, and materials issues. The tourbillon averages for gravity-induced errors on the balance wheel oscillator by continually rotating the regulating system. This was particularly effective with the pocket watch because its balance was usually in a vertical position.

Time Machines: Radical Watch Designs for the 21st Century

MB&F HM4 Thunderbolt

As I recently held MB&F’s latest twin-engine HM4, aptly dubbed Thunderbolt, I recalled the first time I saw the prototype for MB&F’s HM1 (Horological Machine Number 1) in a Geneva café before the nascent brand’s debut piece launched in 2006. Max Büsser took a huge risk by investing in a boutique brand that embodied his radical vision of watchmaking, and it has paid off with a devoted fan base enamored with the concept of wearing futuristic machines rather than watches. Though the Thunderbolt’s functions are straightforward—hours and minutes with power reserve—the design is anything but simple. Inspired by the model airplanes he assembled as a kid, Büsser’s titanium and sapphire crystal instrument was three years in the making, given the complexity of its specially designed 300-plus components.