Watch of the Week: Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision Platinum

Is there such a thing as an understated Greubel Forsey? That depends on how you look at it. Greubel Forsey is in many ways the Shangri-li of Haute Horlogerie. They offer quite an extensive collection of nothing but the best. They don’t have something that you even remotely consider to be “entry-level” in any way, shape or form, for the mere fact that they don’t make concessions to any part of their vision. The great thing is that they also don’t need to because they are Greubel Forsey.

That being said, most of their watches are rather extrovert. This is partially technology driven. The movements are decorated to an exceptionally high degree, even in regards to Haute Horlogerie standards, and come with the most amazing tourbillons. Of course, that needs a proper stage to be viewed, to which the case and dial (or lack of it) facilitate.

The Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision was originally introduced in white and red gold, in 2015.  It is a very understated watch, mainly because Greubel Forsey did something rather clever: they pulled the main attraction of the watch to the back. As the name already indicates does, this Greubel Forsey features an inclined tourbillon which makes a full rotation every 24 seconds. Although visible from the front, it doesn’t draw as much attention as from the back, where they put the largest part of the complication in a semi-spherical sapphire dome. A clever solution, because it keeps the dial rather understated, but turns the back into a private pleasure.

When you take off your Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision, they back show clearly Greubel Forsey’s famous signature. A two-part mainplate with hand chamfered edges and a frosted finish, the prominent power reserve indicator and that 24 Second tourbillon, which can be viewed from all angles. When you see this, you know that you have found the horological Shangri-li!

Nothing says understatement better than platinum. The weight, the subtle color difference compared to white gold, knowing that it is much harder to work with than 18K gold, it all adds to the understated experience. Unless you meet a true watch enthusiast or an industry insider, most people don’t suspect that it is even a precious material, probably presuming that it is steel. It is a material that suits the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision very well and makes for a worthy addition to the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision-collection.

While we fell in love with the blue dialed version of this Greubel Forsey, they offer it in three more colors: Brown, Black, and Salmon, that last one with blue filled in gold indexes. But no matter which color you prefer, you will always wear what some might consider the ultimate horological understatement.