The Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture is entering its closing chapter, with the final 11 pieces completing a planned production of 66 watches across five years.
It is one of the clearest expressions of what Greubel Forsey does best: take a familiar complication, interrogate it with obsessive mechanical logic, then display the answer as a three-dimensional object rather than a conventional wristwatch.
A 24-Second Tourbillon With a Purpose
The central idea is the tourbillon itself, inclined at 25 degrees and completing a rotation every 24 seconds.
Greubel Forsey has long argued that this combination offers stronger chronometric performance than a more conventional flat, 60-second tourbillon, particularly in a wristwatch that is constantly changing position.
The hand-wound movement runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour and uses three fast-rotating coaxial barrels to deliver a 90-hour power reserve, a notable figure given the energy demands of such a rapid tourbillon.
The Movement as a Miniature Structure
The word Architecture is not decorative here; the calibre is built vertically, with the major mechanisms separated across different levels and connected by a visible network of bridges, wheels and supports.
The barrel sits at 12 o’clock, the large spherical differential occupies the right side of the display, the tourbillon dominates the lower portion of the watch, and the small seconds is pushed out toward 8 o’clock.
Across 354 components, the finishing moves from polished bevels to brushing, graining and frosting, while black bridges on this edition increase the contrast between the individual mechanical zones.
Titanium, Sapphire and a Case Built for Light
The case is large by any normal measure at 47.05mm across and 16.80mm thick, but the dimensions are part of the concept rather than an afterthought.
A titanium framework is paired with sapphire case sides, allowing the movement to be viewed from the profile as well as through the dial side and caseback.
The result is a watch that wears less like a discreet object and more like a mechanical observatory, helped by the black rubber strap and titanium folding clasp that keep the mood technical rather than formal.
Price, Rarity and the Collector It Suits
The Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture is priced at CHF 475,000 before taxes, approximately £448,000, and includes 50 metres of water resistance via a screw-down crown.
It is not an easy watch, nor is it trying to be; the scale, complexity and visual intensity will narrow its audience immediately.
For the collector who sees haute horlogerie as experimentation as much as finishing, this final run captures Greubel Forsey at its most recognisable: technical, sculptural and almost defiantly independent.
