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Greubel Forsey leaps forward to the past with a return to watchmakers’ manual skills

As Swiss watchmaking is increasingly handed over to machines, Greubel Forsey is heading in the opposite direction for its Hand Made 1.

Greubel Forsey has turned its back on the advantages of mass machine engineering with its Hand Made 1, which takes its workshop back to the pre-automation days of Swiss watchmaking.

Hand Made 1 is an hours, minutes, seconds timepiece with a tourbillon driven by a completely new movement created from scratch and by hand.

The movement construction, traditional machining and hand-finishing specialists reflected at length on each of the 272 movement components and 36 case parts, understanding and concentrating on what the hand-made approach allows and how to get the very best out of it.

Every stage in its creation was dictated by the watchmaking asking: “How can we design this part to be able to make it using traditional tools or machines such a jig borer or lathe? And which shape can we give it so the artisans’ intelligent hands can ensure extraordinary precision and the finest craftsmanship?” the company describes.

There will be only  two or three 18ct white gold  Hand Made 1 timepieces created per year.

 

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