Haute Complication: Greubel Forsey GMT Earth
If there would be a competition for the finest and most complex travel watch, the GMT Earth from Greubel Forsey will for sure be a top contender to win. Housed in a bold, 45.5mm large case made of white gold does it display world-time as well as a second timezone in the most dramatic way possible. It doesn’t often happen, especially not with a Greubel Forsey, but these complications take the stage from the inclined tourbillon, with which this watch is also fitted.
This is mainly due to the three-dimensional globe, which allows the owner to get an idea of the time anywhere in the world. It makes a full rotation every 24-hours, and cannot only be admired from the front but also from the side and even through the sapphire caseback. Next to it, on the back, is a world-time disk, which might be less dramatic but offers a more convenient and precise way of telling the time in different timezones. It even accounts for daylight savings time in the timezones where this is applicable. The dial, which is made out of smoked sapphire and placed above the movement, is flanked by a subdial indicating the hours in a different timezone. When traveling, this one can easily be adjusted with the pusher on the side of the case. The movement itself is manual wind and has a power reserve of a generous 72-hours. The case is trying hard to keep up with the movement in terms of complexity, as it features the brand’s mission statement engraved in it. This includes under the sapphire bezel, adding yet another layer of depth to this Greubel Forsey.
The complexity of the GMT Earth cannot only be found in its complications but also in the way it is finished. While this watch is rather modern in its appearance, many of the techniques used to finish it are centuries old. Greubel Forsey is known to invest an almost disproportional amount of time and resources to the finishing of every single part of their watches, but in the end, it pays off. It turns the GMT Earth into one of the most exquisite, yet also most expensive, travel watches available.
