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| Greubel Forsey Grande Sonnerie |
There will only be five Greubel Forsey Grande Sonnerie watches made this year. Two will be shipped in the U.S. One was sold in advance. This leaves Bellusso Jewelers as the only store in the U.S. that will carry this watch, with its estimated price tag of approximately $1.2 million.
Rick Moore, the manager of the luxury watch and jewelry boutique at The Palazzo Las Vegas resort, credits the strong relationship he has with the watch brand for beating out other high-end watch stores for the timepiece.
“It’s really all about relationships,” he said. “Stephen Forsey (co-founder of the watch brand with Robert Greubel) has made many visits to Bellusso Jewelers and has also attended client dinners.”
Moore says he expects to receive the watch within the next two months. He’s contacted his VIP clients to let them know it’s available. If it isn’t sold prior to arrival he plans to show it in a dedicated display area for Greubel Forsey watches.
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| Bellusso Jewelers |
Greubel Forsey says it is the most complex watch it has ever made—a big statement from a watch brand that specializes in highly complicated watches with multiple tourbillons and inclined balance wheels. Its creations have won some of the most prestigious awards in the watch world.
Many of the company's ideas are tested in the company’s laboratory based on a proprietary development methodology called “Experimental Watch Technology” (EWT), including the Grande Sonnerie, which is the result of 11 years of research and development. The filing of two patents and the development of an acoustic resonance cage for a pure sound went into the creation of this timepiece with 11 security functions and at least 935 parts.
It is equipped with a silent striking regulator and a 24-second tourbillon, all housed and well-balanced within a 43.5mm titanium case. It uses a manually wound movement but the striking mechanism has a self-winding system that provides about 20 hours of power reserve in Grande Sonnerie mode. It operates on three modes: Grande Sonnerie (which strikes at the hours and the quarters), Petite Sonnerie (which strikes at the full hours) and a silent mode. The sound is enhanced by an acoustic resonance cage made of titanium.
The watch was unveiled in January at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). At the time the company said it would produce five to eight pieces per year. A company spokesperson told me more recently that only five will be made this year because of time it takes to produce each piece.
“One watchmaker is responsible for assembling the piece and one watchmaker is responsible for polishing all of the parts,” the spokesperson said. “One piece takes about a year to produce.”
So you can buy it now or wait till next year.
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