A complicated chronograph celebrating 20 years.
Greubel Forsey is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024 with the launch of its first chronograph, the Nano Foudroyante EWT. The brand’s tenth “radical innovation” since its founding in 2004, the Nano Foudroyante EWT is a flyback chronograph with a flying tourbillon and an independent micro-scale lightning seconds hand, or foudroyante.
The watch marks several firsts for the brand. In addition to being Greubel Forsey’s first chronograph, it is also the brand’s first flying tourbillon – a feat notable given the brand’s long history of specializing in tourbillons. While Greubel Forsey (GF) has a long history of innovating tourbillon constructions, it has never created a tourbillon with a flying construction to date.
For fashion replica watch enthusiasts, GF is often considered the pinnacle of mechanical watchmaking and precision timekeeping. While the brand’s style can be over the top, the core characteristics of its high-end timepieces are impeccable and are marked by excellent finishing and superior engineering.
The Nano Foudroyante EWT is interesting in many ways. The combination of complications is unusual, even for GF, and it feels more like a platform to showcase the “nano”-sized lightning-seconds hand (which operates independently of the chronograph). The execution is of typically high quality for GF. It’s a perfect example of the brand’s signature approach to watchmaking, both in terms of decoration and engineering.
Still, it doesn’t feel like a traditional GF, being the smallest watch ever made by a brand that has historically been known for oversized watches. In fact, at just under 38mm, the case feels almost like a vintage-style watch, especially with its domed “box” crystal, which is unmatched by any other GF creation. The Nano Foudroyante EWT does feel like a GF watch, though, as it’s still quite heavy and dense despite its smaller size. Bugatti Chiron replica watches
The aesthetics of the dial and case are characteristic of GF, as they take elements from other models. While the workmanship of the dial and hands is top-notch as expected, the design feels a little too plain, with the dial feeling a bit like a prototype.
In a broader sense, the watch embodies the brand’s novel mechanical philosophy, a philosophy that could only come from the mind of a great watchmaker. Watches like this signal a transformation for the brand, which seems to be moving away from a focus on sports watches to high-end timepieces, suggesting that GF has finally found its way.
Another thing about the Nano Foudroyante EWT is that it’s expensive. Retailing at nearly half a million Swiss francs, it’s the most expensive watch of its kind on the market, even given the complexity and quality.
Why make something so over-engineered and expensive that doesn’t do much in itself? The answer may lie in the fact that the Nano Foudroyante EWT is not a catalogue item, but a proof of concept for a micro-gear mechanism that could potentially be extended to a transmission train or regulator to make way for an extremely energy-efficient movement with an extremely long power reserve. Replica luxury watches price
Micro-to-Nanomechanics
EWT, short for “Experimental Watch Technology,” is a research and development project within GF that aims to reinvent familiar watchmaking concepts and mechanisms.
One of its early attempts was to shrink components to near-nanometer levels in order to reduce energy consumption. The first prototype with a “nano” tourbillon hand was unveiled in 2017. Traditionally, a tourbillon hand (which spins very quickly at one revolution per second) is connected to the escape wheel, which ends up consuming a lot of the mainspring’s energy, making the power reserve impractical.
EWT shrinks the foudroyante’s components, thereby reducing its energy consumption. Still, the components are large enough to be picked up with tweezers. The “nano” refers to energy consumption, not actual nanotechnology, which is on another scale entirely, measured in billionths of a meter.
The micromechanical system, which debuted in 2017 and is made up of components manufactured via LIGA lithography, has now been applied to the Nano Foudroyante EWT. Since the balance wheel runs at 3 Hz, the escapement unlocks the escape wheel twice for every oscillation of the escapement, which means that the escape wheel moves forward six steps per second. This means that the lightning seconds hand moves forward six times per second to complete one full rotation.
But the EWT’s miniaturization means that energy consumption is reduced by a factor of 1,800. The Nano Foudroyante system consumes just 1.6 nanojoules per tick. Although it’s not true nanotechnology, the foudroyante is very small, taking up 90% less volume than a conventional lightning seconds device. replica Grand Seiko Sport Watches
Although the tourbillon in the Nano Foudroyante EWT is constantly running, it consumes a miniscule amount of energy, which means it has no effect on timekeeping. With the chronograph running and the tourbillon hand moving rapidly across the dial, the watch has a “timekeeping” power reserve of just 24 hours, which means it remains stable and meets chronometer specifications. Given the experimental nature of the Nano Foudroyante EWT, a single-day power reserve is acceptable, but it may be extended as the concept is further developed.
A host of complications
The Nano Foudroyante EWT can be misleading: there is much more to this watch than a tiny lightning-fast seconds hand. Measuring 37.9 mm (almost tiny by GF standards), the watch’s case houses an integrated chronograph movement with a flying tourbillon regulator and a foudroyante mounted on the cage.
The exterior design is indeed restrained. The case is simple in shape but well made. The case middle is white gold, while the bezel and caseback are tantalum.
In addition to the compact case, the dial is dark silver with simple markings. The typical GF font and hands, as well as the brand’s characteristic asymmetrical layout.
Due to the small diameter of the dial, the flying tourbillon dominates, with its large opening located between five and six o’clock. This tourbillon differs from a traditional tourbillon in that neither the free-sprung balance nor the cage protrudes.
Instead, taking center stage are the foudroyante’s subdials, which are actually mounted on the tourbillon cage above the balance. The lightning-seconds hand rotates once per second, while the lightning-seconds subdial rotates once per minute in conjunction with the tourbillon cage. While this biaxial rotation occurs, the seconds subdial remains vertically oriented relative to the rest of the dial, creating the optical effect of a floating dial. www.chronowrist.ru
The vertical orientation of the subdial is achieved by a differential gear that keeps it in the same relative position. The level of mechanical sophistication required to achieve this on a flying tourbillon cage cannot be underestimated. Not surprisingly, the tourbillon assembly consists of a staggering 142 parts, the equivalent of a simple chronograph movement.
While the tourbillon is the newest element in this movement, it also integrates a flyback chronograph. In its 20-year history, GF has introduced double and quadruple tourbillons, perpetual calendars, and even a grande sonnerie, but never a chronograph. Given GF’s product line, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the brand’s first chronograph is different.
Examining the movement from the back can lead to a moment of confusion.
The large skeletonized bridge is brushed and resembles a horizontal clutch arm at first glance. Some levers and a column wheel are visible, but the construction does not differ significantly from classic chronograph construction. The column wheel appears to exist in isolation, while the visible steel levers appear to have familiar shapes and undefined functions.
Many of the traditional chronograph components, including the reset hammer and clutch, are not obvious. Many of the chronograph’s workings seem to be hidden, adding to the mystery.
According to GF, the movement uses a special type of vertical clutch combined with a patented device to eliminate gear backlash. Again, not much information is revealed, so the exact nature of the vertical clutch remains unknown at this time.
Even the arrangement of the buttons is unique. The button at two o’clock is used to start and stop the chronograph, while the button coaxial with the crown is used for reset and flyback – the opposite of a traditional chronograph configuration.
Construction aside, the movement is classic GF in terms of finishing.
All of the brand’s favorite finishing techniques are used, including black polishing of the steel levers and bridges, and grained brushing of the skeletonized bridges with wide circular bevels. Each jewel on the skeletonized bridge is set in its own gold base.
The micro-relief on the chronograph seconds wheel is a subtle reference to GF’s past creations, one of the few instances where GF has placed it on a moving part rather than on the case or bridges. www.proreviewwatch.co
Despite its atypical and ambiguous construction, the movement is richly layered. Combined with the glossy finish, it presents an attractive and complex mechanical spectacle.
Greubel Forsey Nano Foudroyante EWT
Diameter: 37.9 mm
Thickness: 10.49 mm
Material: White gold and tantalum
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m
Movement: Manufacture flyback chronograph movement with one-minute flying tourbillon
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, flyback chronograph, tourbillon and flying tourbillon
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 24 hours with chronograph running
Strap: Textile strap with white gold GF buckle