Greubel Forsey celebrates their 20th annniversary with the presentation of their 10th Fundamental Invention: the Nano Foudroyante EWT.
Press Release information with commentary in italics.
New: Greubel Forsey Nano Foudroyante EWT
The Greubel Forsey Nano Foudroyante EWT retails at CHF 465,000 before taxes. Limited Edition 11 pieces in a white gold and tantalum case.
Commentary
What an interesting new release from Greubel Forsey. But our excitement began when we saw that the new watch is going to be 38mm! A great wearable size. Especially for a Greubel Forsey which tended to be rather larger in case diameter. Mainly to enable the showcase of the incredible 3 dimensional architecture. But here, we have one in 38mm, with a thickness of only 10.5mm. This is the smallest watch ever made by Greubel Forsey.
Next, a favourite complication of ours. The foudroyante. Yes, it just a visual complication which does not add to improved chronometry. But it is so wonderful to look at. Also known as flying seconds, “la froude” translates from French as lightning, this is a seconds hand which makes one revolution every second. Traditionally, the foudroyante seconds hand makes 6 stops along the way, by nature of the 21,600 bph beat rate of the escapement, but these days the term is used more liberally as long as the hand makes a full revolution every second.
The first foudroyante in a wrist watch only appeared in the late 1990s with the Graham Foudroyante. The same Graham sourced movement also powers the Girard-Perregaux Foudroyante which also appeared about the same time. This is a uber complicated mechanism, not only in the physical design, but also in adjustment to make it work perfectly. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre collection features the foudroyante, though they chose to do it by using a secondary power train. Though recently, we have seen the Habring² Foudroyante Felix at relatively inexpensive prices. And indeed even Greubel Forsey showed their prove of concept way back in 2017.
The watch is certainly a looker. The three piece case is handsome. The bezels, both front and rear are in polished tantalum. And the case middle is in white gold finished in straight graining which are done by hand. The lugs continue to flow from case middle, completing the beautiful aesthetics. This combination of white gold with tantalum, probably the first we have encountered. And the first time Graubel Forsey has used tantalum in their cases. Though bi-metal, the watch looks like it is constructed from a single white metal. Very discreet looking. As usual, we love the monochromatic look from the dial side, as Greubel Forsey stay restrained (and classy) with the use of only red accents on the tourbillon and foudroyante hands.
The dial remains largely uncluttered. Even though a large cutout is provided to show the flying tourbillon. Interestingly, the flying tourbillon is another first for Greubel Forsay. The sub-dial cutout shows the tourbillon cage which carries a red continuous second hand. On this cage, Greubel Forsey mounted a sub-sub-dial, which is always aligned up for excellent readability (somewhat in concept like the Rolls Royce logo on RR hubcaps, always oriented up. Though for the moving foudroyante, the GF is much more complicated to execute). This sub-sub-dial is for the foudroyante hand, also highlighted in red. The visual impact is very interesting. The fast and furious foudroyant hand zipping around, being carried by the more sedate tourbillon cage running 60 times slower and showing the passage of the minute with its red pointer. Mesmerising!
And that is not all! The watch is also a fly back chronograph! This is Greubel Forsey’s first chronograph! With a centrally mounted chronograph hand and a 60 minute counter on the sub-dial at 9 o’clock. A second running seconds display is provided on a small sub-dial between 7 and 8 o’clock. We wonder why this is essential, as the tourbillon cage carries a running seconds indicator. Perhaps it is to balance the visual of the dial, though we feel it clutters more than it balances, and would opt to not have it, and leave the space blank. But this is really just a nano-nit pick (pun intended!).
The watch sustains a power reserve of 24 hours, with the chronograph engaged. This power reserve may seem puny, but is actually a technical achievement because the foudroyant and tourbillon, both power hungry gas guzzlers, are stacked on a running chronograph, also a power hungry device. Triple bogey! Greubel Forsey manages this feat by the use of their nano technology which manages the energy consumption at the nanojoule level. 16 nJ per foudroyante jump to be precise.
The finishing is at the usual ultra-luxe level we have come to expect from Greubel Forsay, with clever selection of contrasting finishing, each executed to near perfection, on adjacent surfaces to emphasise dimensionality. For example, the bridges carry a textured hammered finish on the flat surfaces, but with polished anglage. The chronograph mechanism is almost entirely in black polished steel. And the gold chatons provide visual beauty, picking up from the gold wheel train and contrast to the grey bridges and steel components. All the sharp inward and outward points are exceptionally well executed as well.
The watch is impressive, and we look forward to seeing the first piece into Singapore soon. Or perhaps we may get lucky and get a chance to handle one in Geneva next week!
Release information
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 37.9 mm 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.The Nano Foudroyante EWT will make its public debut at Mavericks of Timehosted by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons in Abu Dhabi on November 1st.
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 introduces 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 3 Hz 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 30 μJ (microjoules) per jump, the Nano Foudroyante operates with only 16 nJ (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 31 mm in diameter within a 37.9 mm 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.
Greubel Forsey Nano Foudroyante EWT Specifications
MOVEMENT
Nano Foudroyante EWT. In white gold and tantalum. Hand-wound movement with 2 patents
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, circular-grained, polished bevelling, straight-grained flands with engraved GF logo • Platinum counterweight
EXTERIOR
CASE
• Tantalum and white gold with high domed synthetic sapphire crystal • Tantalum hand-polished bezel, transparent tantalum back • White gold case band 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 • 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
