Greubel Forsey returns to sports life with updated, streamlined GMT sports model

When it comes to luxury sports watches, you immediately think of several well-known brands and their iconic models: Audemars Piguet and its Royal Oak, Patek Philippe and its Nautilus, Vacheron Constantin and its overseas brands, just to name a few obvious contenders. Ultra high-end The Greubel Forsey is unlikely to enter the segment, but it started 2019 with a foothold in the luxury sport segment with the simply named GMT Sport. At Watches & Wonders 2021, the brand introduced a new model with a simplified bezel on a one-piece steel bracelet for enhanced sportiness.

Taking inspiration from the original GMT Sport model (below), the new model features a more streamlined case design and updated dial colorways. The watch is Greubel Forsey’s first new model since the titanium GMT Quadruple Tourbillon launched earlier this year and the brand’s only entry at the recent Watches & Wonders event.

GMT movement
The satin-finished and polished 45mm titanium case adopts what fake Greubel Forsey previously called “original case geometry” – a new shape that resembles a traditional round shape when viewed from the top The case, but presents an arched and more ergonomically profiled shape. This is the same case shape used in the original GMT Sport, and the rationale is to push the limits of the comfort of a watch on the wrist, thereby offering the wearer a truly unique wear resistance.

Unique to the new model is its top surface with a hand-polished horizontal straight-grain finish and a hand-polished profile and bezel on the sides. This finish is a big departure from the embossed “brand value” bezel on previous models and allows for “a soft and striking new form.” There are two buttons on the left, one for selecting a second time zone and the other for synchronizing the local time with the watch face’s 3D globe. The case is secured to the wrist using an integrated titanium bracelet or a rubber strap, both with a double folding clasp.

The dial of the watch adopts an aesthetic consistent with the previous Greubel Forsey design, and is essentially the same as the previous GMT Sport, although a blue tone is now chosen instead of the previous grey tone. Throughout, you can see the open architecture of the movement, which combines suspended bridges, translucent wheels and floating subdials, all in three dimensions.

Most notably, you’ll notice the 24-second skeleton tourbillon near the 1 o’clock position, the power reserve at the 3 o’clock position, the ground world timer at the bottom right of the dial, and the display of the running seconds and the second time zone in 11:30 location. The watch’s caseback provides additional functionality, and the outer and central rings form the sapphire city dial, providing UTC universal time and summer (or daylight saving) time for 24 cities in the major time zones. The disc distinguishes between those time zones that use daylight saving time (by applying them to a light background) and those that don’t (given a dark background).

Inside the watch is installed the same movement as the 2019 GMT Sport, which is designed for use in high-value models. The hand-wound movement has a power reserve of 72 hours and beats at 21,600 vph. The complex mechanism consists of 435 individual parts, including two coaxial, tandem, rapidly rotating barrels, a variable inertia balance with a gold mean time screw, a tilting tourbillon, and no less than 63 an independent part. jewelry.