How Greubel Forsey's belief in fundamental research can pave the way for the future
|
It is rare that you will see thewords “Greubel Forsey” in printwithout “EWT” somewherenearby. EWT, for ExperimentalWatch Technology, is not simplyanother research and developmentmethodology. EWT is the platformwhich allows Greubel Forsey tomanage and qualify originalinventions and complications,andto develop the more promising among them intohand-crafted timepieces bearinga level of finish and quality manyconsider second to none.
Have you ever noticed howmany of today's great watchmakers—men like François-PaulJourne, Michael Parmigiani, VianneyHalter, Peter Speake-Marinand Philippe Dufour—come fromthe field of vintage watch andclock restoration? Have you everwondered why working on highqualityantique clocks and watchesgives a talented watchmaker abetter base than working on highqualitynew watches?
Greubel Forsey appeared tocome from nowhere at BaselWorld2004, where the firm astoundedvisitors with superbly executedand impeccably finished DoubleTourbillon 30°. Since that time,the firm has expanded on its owndesigns, worked with Harry Winston(on the recent Opus 6) andcommitted to a partnership withthe Richemont Group.
Not from nowhere
Coming from “nowhere” requiredfour years of very hard work. TheDouble Tourbillon was not a roughprototype but a watch ready forproduction—if you can call handcrafting a tiny number of watches per year “production.” Thefollowing year saw the firmpresenting their second invention:the Quadruple DifferentialTourbillon. And as if that was not sufficient for any small brand, recentlyGreubel Forsey announcedits third invention: the Inclined24-Second Tourbillon (T24Si)movement.
|
To help to understand GreubelForsey a little better, let's examineantique restoration for a moment,focusing on just one small but importantarea: escapements. It is estimated that there were literallyhundreds of different escapementconcepts in the eighteenth andnineteenth centuries. The majorityof these were from innovative watchmakers either searching forbetter technical solutions or exploringpromising design avenuesto see where they led.
Today's master watchmakerwith a thorough background inrestoration will have worked ona variety of antique movements.His experience may encompass escapements such as verge, cylinder,duplex, chronometer and lever.The variations in detached-leverescapements our vintage restorermay have worked on might includeThomas Mudge's original design,the English Lever, the Pin Palletand, of course, the nowubiquitous Swiss Lever.
The watchmaker whorepairs only modern timepiecesis unlikely to workon anything other than thelatter. Who do you thinkwill have the broader baseon which to develop newconcepts or to improve existingdesigns?
This incredible diversificationof historicsolutions was not simply limited to escapements.Watchmakers in years past werelikely to have explored and testedevery promising solution theycould find or imagine, includingbalance wheels, balance springs,gear-trains, gear-teeth and oils.
Many—if not most—watchcompanies are happy to tap into this rich horological heritage.EWT is much more than a complexdevelopment methodology:EWT allows Greubel Forsey to examineand test original ideas to seeif they are worth taking further. If aconcept looks promising, computersimulations can be run in which apart, a movement, or even a completewatch can be constructed ina virtual sense and measured withvery high precision.
|
Ideas and improvements aremade throughout the developmentprocess, and different materials canbe virtually tried and tested to optimizeeach facet of the process. Bythe time an actual-sized prototypeis physically constructed, a greatdeal of experimental work has alreadybeen done.
However, EWT does not endthere: it continues on throughthe extensive laboratory testing,meticulous quality control andall the way to crafting exquisitelyfinished watches of the very highestquality.
Greubel Forsey has no monopolyon innovation and experimentation:many very respectablecompanies have excellent R&Ddepartments experimenting withvery interesting developments.However, for a majority of watchcompanies, the R&D department'sraison d'étre is to develop watchesthe marketing department wishesto sell.
Greubel Forsey takes the oppositeapproach. Its watches are aresult of their research rather thanthe reason for it. Their watchesfollow on from their research and development rather than being the reason the research was conductedin the first place. That iswhy it is often the inventions ofGreubel Forsey that take centerstage from the watches themselves.
Not all of Greubel Forsey's inventionswill lead to productiontimepieces; however, the lessonslearned and knowledge gainedwill certainly find uses in futureavenues of research.
Exploring tourbillons
|
BaselWorld 2006 saw GreubelForsey presenting a finely finished,fully decorated and cased workingprototype of its Quadruple DifferentialTourbillon movement.
It was the first time a sphericaldifferential had been successfullyused in the extremely restrictedspace of a watch movement. GreubelForsey decided to explore the spherical differential, as they believedit to be more efficient in amultiple-tourbillon construction.
A few of the hurdles overcomein the development of theQuadruple Differential Tourbillonwere the sheer physical difficultyof placing four tourbillons in areasonable (read “tiny”) amountof space, driving these tourbillonsefficiently and without unduepower loss via a differential, introducingand optimizing a sphericaldifferential construction and usingangled gearing.
The solutions to these challengesare still being tested in thecompany's laboratory and willcontinue to be tested.
While the Quadruple DifferentialTourbillon makes its waydown the EWT pipeline, otherinventions follow close behind:the next being the Inclined 24-Second Tourbillon. With theirlatest brainchild, Greubel Forseyshows us how each of their inventionsmay take entirely original directionsin terms of the solutionsimplemented. For this third experimentalwatch, they have optedfor the rapid rotation of a singleinclined carriage with a view toenhancing the performance of asingle Tourbillon. The carriage ofthis new mechanism performs acomplete rotation in just 24 seconds.The goal—improved timekeeping—remains identical; onlythe technical solution differs.
Overcoming hurdles
|
Taking advantage of the highvelocity of the single carriage inthe T24Si necessitated the resolutionof a number of technicalhurdles, including: the highenergy consumption involved instarting the system and the mechanicalstress caused by the 2.5times stronger acceleration of thecarriage. Overcoming these issuesled to several innovations in anumber of different fields.
Overcoming the inertia ofmasses set into motion muchfaster than in a standard tourbillonrequired cutting-edge researchinto the weight of various componentsplus the definition of a dedicatedgear system. Aluminium alloysfeature properties renderingthem indispensable in fields likeaeronautics and aerospace. Theseinclude a low density: almostthree times lower than steels anda resistance to corrosion.
The very lightweight Avionalalloy chosen by the Greubel Forseylaboratory is highly resistant tomechanical stresses with propertiessimilar to carbon steel. Testing determined that the A1CuMg2(Avional) alloy would be idealfor making the four pillars of theT24Si cage. Titanium, in additionto mechanical properties similarto Avional, has even higher resistanceand is used in making theupper and lower carriage bridgesof the T24Si.
|
A harder issue to resolve wasthe geometry of the inclined gearingof its satellite pinion. The firm developeda new inclined gear profileand an ultra-light tourbillon cageand created a system able to easilywithstand the powerful stressesimposed by the high velocity. Theeighty-five parts of the Inclined24-Second Tourbillon weigh lessthan half a gram. The work and researchwas all worthwhile becausethe higher velocity significantlyimproves the performance of thissingle-axis tourbillon.
Based on this extensive work,talented watchmakers of the futurewill have a much broader baseon which to conceive their owntourbillon designs. In addition,the work itself demonstrates thatfundamental research benefits allwatchmakers and Greubel Forseyhas no plans to change its strongbelief in fundamental research.
By Ian Skellern - INTERNATIONAL WATCHAPRIL 2007
