When, in 2022, Greubel Forsey’s management bought back that 20% of its shares that had been owned Richemont since 2006, it signalled the start of a new era for the watchmaker under the sole ownership of Stephen Forsey, its co-founder with Robert Greubel, and chief executive Antonio Calce.
“This independence will allow Greubel Forsey to define the next stages of development and maturity with complete freedom,” Mr Antonio Calce said at the time.
Eighteen months on, that freedom has been used to restructure and redirect the business in a way that builds on its reputation for invention and innovation, establishes deeper relationships with collectors and increases production from fewer than 100 watches per year before the pandemic to around 260 in 2023.
Mr Calce’s root and branch reform began when he took the reins at the end of 2020. He established five pillars on which the company would be reconstructed; most of which were already established.
Invention and innovation would be at the heart of every watch GF produces; there would be a focus on hand-finishing and advanced watchmaking; watches must be robust and reliable; there would be a focus on maintaining a signature three-dimensional design; and all watches would be exclusive and rare.
To ensure rarity, GF retires every movement it creates after five years. Contact with the brand through retail would also be more exclusive for collectors. When Mr Calce took over, the brand had around 60 points of sale worldwide. That will drop to fewer than 20, with a far greater focus on watches being sold through boutiques, predominately run as franchises by partners. For example, a boutique opening in Ginza, Japan, this year is being run by Yoshida. Ahmed Seddiqui & Sons will open a GF store in Dubai Mall and Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry will house a showroom in a new watch and jewellery emporium being built in Silicon Valley.
The UK is somewhat unusual with Greubel Forsey watches being sold by multibrands Swiss Gallery in London and Pragnell in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Marcus Margules, a long-standing partner for GF, still handles some private sales.
“Our partners have to understand our brand. We are at the top of the pyramid, very niche,” insists Mr Calce. A new standard for retail is likely to be set in 2024 when Greubel Forsey opens a boutique on Rue Robert-Céard, which connects the famous Rue du Rhône luxury shopping street to the more mid-market Rue de la Croix-d’Or. That flagship will be run directly by the brand.
The balance of retail will shift towards boutiques. Mr Calce tells WatchPro that by next year there will be six flagships worldwide, and only 10 additional points of sale. In 2025, the network of flagships will expand to 10, and only seven multibrand partners will remain.
Expansion is taking place at the headquarters level, with the team already up from around 100 to 140 people.
Construction is underway for a major expansion of its La Chaux-de-Fonds atelier, which will almost treble its footprint from 2,000 to almost 5,500 square feet when completed in 2025. That will create capacity for around 350 watches per year, Mr Calce reveals.
Although Greubel Forsey intends to retain the exclusivity of its watches, it also aims to reduce their average selling price from around CHF 480,000 today to around CHF 280,000 in the coming years.
Fitting that plan is the latest Balancier 3, which is retailing for CHF 160,000.
Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan
Its newest model, the Tourbillon Cardan, comes with a price of CHF 470,000. It will be seen for the first time at Dubai Watch Week in November.
Greubel Forsey calls the Tourbillon Cadan its 8th Fundamental Invention since it was founded in 2004 and is built around an architecture of a tourbillon that rotates four times per minute rather than the usual once; a revolving 30° inclined plane and two constantly tilting rings.
The tourbillon has a large balance wheel designed, developed and made in-house that is said to be less sensitive to shocks. Set at a 30° angle — a trick used to make pocket watches more reliable — the tourbillon is guided by two mobile rings, linked by two 90° axes. Over the course of 48 seconds, they tilt backwards and forwards to minimize the affect of G forces on the regulator.
The Tourbillon Cardan’s hand wound movement has four barrels that deliver power smoothly for up to 80 hours.
Mr Calce is staking the reputation of Greubel Forsey on the quality of its finishing, and the Cadel Tourbillon demonstrates this with a modern mix of materials and finishing techniques.
Greubel Forsey has also developed a high domed sapphire crystal for the watch that creates room for the tourbillon and cardan system.
The whole package comes in a lightweight 45.5mm titanium case.
Greubel Forsey plans to build just 55 pieces of the calibre over the next 5 years before retiring the movement forever. They will be priced at CHF 160,000 plus taxes.
