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Greubel Forsey unveils its 10th fundamental invention

NOVEMBER 01 2024    |    Novelties

To celebrate the 20th anniversary (2004-2024), Greubel Forsey presents its 10th Fundamental Invention: the Nano Foudroyante EWT. The mechanism’s energy is managed at the nanojoule scale, significantly reducing the number of components and the overall dimensions. The result is a 37.9mm timepiece that combines the world’s first perpetual Nano Foudroyante with Greubel Forsey’s first flying tourbillon and manual wind flyback. This timepiece, set in a white gold and tantalum case, will be limited to just 11 pieces.

 

Legacy of innovation
The first Fundamental Invention by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey was launched in 2004, marking the Atelier’s commitment to research and invention. For over 20 years, this focus has been at the heart of all Greubel Forsey’s Fundamental Inventions and timepieces. Today, Greubel Forsey’s research is even more fundamental, aiming to completely rethink the approach to the conception of a timepiece. This endeavor demonstrates a major technological leap, comparable to the transition from tower clocks to wristwatches.

Originally, horological instruments were large and public. Over time, they became transportable (table clocks, marine chronometers), then portable with pocket watches, and finally wearable with wristwatches. This evolution reaches its peak today with nanomechanics—a revolution Greubel Forsey is pioneering. Thus, Greubel Forsey intro-duces its 10th invention: the Nano Foudroyante. This new Fundamental Invention is the most technologically disruptive—not only for Greubel Forsey but also for the universe of mechanical watchmaking.

 

Nanomechanics: a new horizon
What is nanomechanics? It is a realm beyond the miniaturization of components to the nanometric scale. When we talk about nanomechanics, we’re talking about controlling energy on a nanojoule scale within a mechanical movement. This revolution in energy management within a caliber allows for a drastic reduction in both energy consumption and the number of components.

 

A revolutionized mechanism
To demonstrate the feasibility of nanomechanics, Greubel Forsey has reinvented the foudroyante second. Its hand completes one revolution per second, dividing it into segments according to the movement’s frequency. In this Nano Foudroyante, each oscillation of the 3Hz balance wheel produces two beats, totaling six beats per second, allowing the hand to divide the second into six distinct segments. This is an energy-intensive complication by nature. However, by managing energy on a nanojoule scale, Greubel Forsey has radically rethought its design and construction. Compared to a traditional foudroyante that consumes 30μJ (microjoules) per jump, the Nano Foudroyante operates with only 16nJ (nanojoules) per jump, reducing energy consumption by a factor of 1,800. The mechanism’s volume is therefore reduced by 90%. Here, the focus is not just on measuring fractions of a second but as a proof of concept for a completely new approach to watchmaking, which is why this Nano Foudroyante was chosen to be a perpetual display.

It eliminates the entire gear train required in a traditional foudroyante to divide the second, as the information is sourced directly, distributing and managing the energy from the movement through a minimal number of low-inertia wheels. Fewer components mean less volume: this Nano Foudroyante EWT is very compact, with 428 components, and the movement measures no more than 31mm in diameter within a 37.9mm case (the smallest ever built by Greubel Forsey).

 

Horology at its peak
There’s more: true to Greubel Forsey’s passion for the tourbillon, this Nano Foudroyante is integrated within a flying tourbillon—the first ever made by Greubel Forsey. Finally, an additional innovation: although this flying tourbillon rotates constantly, the Nano Foudroyante’s dial remains permanently aligned towards twelve o’clock for optimal readability. Together with the flyback, these three features complete Greubel Forsey's 10th Fundamental Invention: a Nano Foudroyante, set within a flying tourbillon, with an oriented reading axis.

This is just the foundation and not the end result: this 10th Invention is powered by a manual-winding flyback movement. This complication presented by Greubel Forsey, includes column-wheel control within the strong architectural design and exceptional finishing, a signature of Greubel Forsey.

 

A limited edition masterpiece
The timepiece will be made in a limited edition of just 11 pieces in this inaugural, refined version, emphasizing its disruptive technical character and highlighting the personality of a timepiece brilliantly conceived in the EWT (Experimental Watch Technology) laboratory.

The white gold case offers an additional surprise, with a bezel and back crafted from tantalum—a first for Greubel Forsey, who have never used this material before. Known for its gray-blue sheen and complexity in machining and finishing (with a melting point above 3000°C), tantalum requires rare expertise. The Atelier also preserves its essential aesthetic signatures, including polished relief engravings of “Nano Foudroyante” and “Greubel Forsey” on a hand-hammered background, hand-satin-finished white gold, and a highly architectural movement. This masterpiece displays the movement around its column wheel with rare 3D monobloc geometry, visible through the back.

The timepiece is engraved with “2004 – 2024” and “20th Anniversary” to mark this milestone.

 

Nano Foudroyante EWT

Technical Specifications

 

                                       

Hand-wound movement with 2 patents
Flying tourbillon with Nano Foudroyante, hours and minutes, small seconds, 60-second tourbillon rotation, 60-minute counter, Flyback function
11 pieces Limited edition
 
MOVEMENT
NUMBER OF PARTS
Movement: 428 parts
Tourbillon cage: 142 parts
 
NUMBER OF JEWELS
42
Olived-domed jewels in gold chatons
 
CHRONOMETRIC POWER RESERVE
One full day, with chronograph engaged
 
FREQUENCY
21’600 vibrations/hour
 
TOURBILLON
Flying Tourbillon with embedded Nano Foudroyante mechanism
Foudroyante dial, constant vertical indication
Titanium cage bridges, circlar-grained, polished bevelling, straight-grained flands with engraved GF logo
 
EXTERIOR
CASE
Tantalum and white gold with high domed synthetic sapphire crystal
Tantalum hand-polished bezel, transparent tantalum back
White gold caseband with hand-finished straight-graining
 
CASE DIMENSIONS
Diameter: 37,90mm
Height: 10,49mm
 
WATER RESISTANCE OF THE CASE
Water-resistant 3atm - 30m - 100ft
(standard NIHS 92-20/SN ISO 22810:2010)
 
DIAL SIDE
Multi-level in gold, rhodium-coloured, engraved and black lacquered hour-ring and minute-circle with a visual opening for the tourbillon
Small seconds and chronograph minutes counter in gold, polished bevel
Water resistance: 50m/5atm/160ft
Crown for winding and time-setting at 3 o’clock
Foudroyante, frosted, fractions of seconds engraved and black lacquered
 
STRAP AND CLASP
Non-animal material, hand-sewn
White gold pin buckle, hand-engraved GF logo

 

 

                                           


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MARCH 31 2025    |    Watches and Wonders 2025

Chronoswiss Unleashes the Q-Repeater – A Chiming Masterpiece combining Legacy and Future

Time is not just seen—it is heard.

Chronoswiss presents the Q-Repeater Scream and Q-Repeater Blue Note, two extraordinary Quarter Repeater timepieces that merge the sonic beauty of timekeeping with cutting-edge mechanical architecture. The watchmakers from Lucerne have created a bold reinvention of sound, design, and independent watchmaking deeply rooted in Chronoswiss history. Housed in a Grade 5 titanium case, these 42mm skeletonized masterpieces reveal the intricate mechanisms behind their chiming complication. Every press of the 10 o’clock pusher activates the mesmerizing quarter repeater function, where hammers strike to audibly indicate the hours and quarter-hours, making time a true sensory experience. At its core lies a legacy movement, rooted in the vision of Chronoswiss founder Gerd-Rüdiger Lang. First introduced in the 1990s and exclusively produced for Chronoswiss, this legacy caliber has been taken from our archives, meticulously restored, refined, and reborn in the Atelier Lucerne, making these two timepieces an extraordinary link between the past and the future.

What the watchmakers of Lucerne have achieved here is the ultimate evolution—the heart beats with the legacy of the past, carrying its passion and memories, while the body is Modern Mechanical, engineered for the next century and beyond.

Q-Repeater Scream – A Chiming Rebel
This is not your grandfather’s repeater. The Q-Repeater Scream is a wild, untamed spectacle—combining bold design and mechanical precision unlike anything in watchmaking. The multi-level dial is a skeletonized stage and at the same time part of the movement, where CVD-coated bridges in electric blue, orange, and purple hold the Paraiba green minute ring, the floating hour, as well as the small seconds rings. At 1 o’clock, the heart of this spectacle is fully visible: the striking hammers, set to release a mechanical rock concert at the press of a button.

As you can tell by the name already, it’s not just about what you see. It’s about what you hear. Every chime is a scream of innovation, breaking free from the traditions of classical repeater watches. Even the legacy movement itself becomes part of the gig, holding the Super-LumiNova blocks and hand-guilloché bridges—one of which moves when the mechanism is activated, adding to the dynamic energy of the dial. The watchmakers of Lucerne refer to the glowing ceramic blocks as “chicken heads”, a nod to the iconic amplifier knobs found on rock concert stages—designed to crank up the sound and electrify the crowd.

Caged in 42mm of titanium, the Q-Repeater Scream is limited to just 25 pieces. As only very few of the legacy movements exist this might be the final tour of the band. Each piece is a testament to mechanical defiance and unfiltered artistry. A Quarter Repeater like no other— built for collectors who dare to embrace the wild side of watchmaking.

Q-Repeater Blue Note – The Sound of Elegance
For those who seek a symphony rather than rock n roll, the Q-Repeater Blue Note takes a more refined yet equally innovative approach. Inspired by the expressive power of jazz and blues, the navy blue CVD-coated skeletonized dial and bridges which are part of the movement, play on contrasts with a silver hour ring and luminous white Super-LumiNova markers, creating a harmonious composition of mechanics and design.

In music, a blue note is an altered pitch—intentionally deviating from the standard, creating a sound that is richer, deeper, and full of soul. One could say – the Chronoswiss way of making watches – and music. The Q-Repeater Blue Note embodies this philosophy, blending traditional watchmaking with a contemporary edge, offering a timeless yet unconventional melody of time.

Like the Scream, the Blue Note features the multi-level regulator dial, a fully visible quarter repeater mechanism, and a restored historical movement, revised and refined by thewatchmakers in Lucerne. It is a timepiece that doesn’t just mark time—it composes it.

Time Reimagined, Sound Reinvented
The Q-Repeater Scream and Q-Repeater Blue Note stand as testaments to Chronoswiss’ relentless drive to push boundaries. With only 25 pieces per model, these Quarter Repeaters are more than just rare; they are audible declarations of mechanical mastery.

This is not just a watch. It is an experience. A fusion of sound and time, crafted for those who appreciate the extraordinary. Chronoswiss has never followed the expected path. The future of independent watchmaking starts here—with a chime.

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