Greubel Forsey GMT: A Round-the-World Journey on the Wrist

Greubel Forsey is adding a new complication to its bow with the launch of the Greubel Forsey GMT. A complication coveted by every watchmaking house, but Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey—true to their reputation—have decided to make things interesting.

A so-called GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) watch is a timepiece capable of indicating a second time zone. This second time is usually read in an aperture or on additional hands, but Greubel Forsey invites us to break with convention with a globe integrated into the watch.

The globe completes full 24-hour rotations counter-clockwise, mirroring the Earth’s natural direction of rotation.

This titanium globe places us in zero gravity, above the Earth, to observe time at different points on the blue planet—somewhere between sensation and precision. “I can see the sun rising over Tokyo—what time is it in New York?” The experience is fascinating, spellbinding, and makes Google Earth seem like a prosaic tool.

The side window in the case offers an equatorial view of the Earth. Only Antarctica is not visible, due to the mechanism located at the South Pole. This visual indication is reinforced by a 12-hour dial above the globe (at 11 o’clock) and the peripheral display of terrestrial universal time. The day/night indication therefore leaves no room for ambiguity.

At 5 o’clock, Greubel Forsey pays tribute to its speciality with the Tourbillon 24 Seconds inclined at 25°.

At 2 and 3 o’clock, a “zone” elegantly brings together a small seconds display and the power reserve (72 hours).

Turning the watch over reveals universal time across the 24 time zones, with a world-hours disc displaying 24 cities and winter and summer time differentiated by colour. A sun completes the quality of the hand-finished decoration.

436 components were required to create the movement of this prodigious watch (87 for the tourbillon cage alone). The plates and bridges are meticulously hand-decorated, and the movement is housed in a 43.50 mm case in white gold (16.14 mm thick).

The sapphire crystal over the dial, the caseback, and the side window (which allows the globe to be observed) is domed. The black alligator strap is hand-stitched and fitted with a white-gold folding clasp.

Yet another marvel born from the minds of the “Watchmaking Inventors”.