Basel World Continues With Meeting Fawz Gruosi of de Grisogono

By Seth Semilof | March 12, 2012

My last appointment on Saturday was with legendary Fawz Gruosi of de Grisogono. It was a pleasure to meet him personally. He is a legend in the diamond/jewelry business and in showcasing some of the most expensive pieces in the world. He has a beautiful store on Madison Avenue in New York City.

The purpose of our interview was to discuss and showcase some of his amazing watches, along with the launch of Basel World, the ladies toubillon piece called Tondo Tourbillon Gioiello in three colors: white, chocolate, and black.

All I can say, is wow! This is for the ultimate luxury aficionado, where price is not a concern, as these pieces run well over $250,000 Swiss Francs, and are all limited pieces. What is truly remarkable is Fawz Gruosi’s decision to create such a powerful piece for the ladies, with no mens tourbillon pieces available.

At the heart of the watch beats the first manual winding mechanical tourbillon movement ever to be signed by de Grisogono. What sets the Tondo Tourbillon Gioiello apart is the novel position of the tourbillon cage at 8 o’clock, toying with asymmetry while drawing the eye to the mother of pearl dial.

The next piece he showed me is one of my favorite pieces on the market. It is the priciest, well over $350,000 Swiss Francs, so price can’t be a object, but the piece is one of a kind, and definitely a statement. The watch is called De Grisogono’s Meccanico dg Watch, that has an analog Face, that Stimulates Digital. Released in 2008, it is still one of my favorite pieces and a must have for someone that has a true watch collection. The Meccanico dG’s digital display is actually the super-complex meshing of 651 mechanical components, worked by 23 cams connected to synchronized gears. The piece is also water-resistant up to 100 feet in case you feel like a dip, which makes this watch great for taking to St Tropez during the summer and St Barths during the winter. The watch is a limited edition of 177 pieces. Check out the video below.

The last pieces are fun watches that gives women the opportunity to buy a de Grisogono for $8,000 to $20,000 Swiss Francs. Called Tondo for Night, I am a huge fan of these pieces and feel that these watches will compete with the ladies Dior and Chanel Ceramic Face/Strap watches, that gives wearers the pick of colors green, orange, white, yellow, purple, and pink, with a cool Python band and diamonds on the band.

Check out the very cool video below. I look forward to seeing the response after Basel World:

He decided to launch these watches at Basel to get the younger customer, along with giving ladies the opportunity to purchase the pieces at a more affordable price point. He is very excited about this watch along with the ladies Tondo Tourbillon Gioisello as he is committed to giving choices to the ladies at any budget.

It was a great honor to spend time with such a genius and a man that is not afraid to push boundaries in luxury. To launch a tourbillon piece for ladies, priced at what he priced it at, shows me he knows the market and understands a lady is just as sophisticated as a man when it comes to purchasing luxury watches.