Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain Now in Red Gold

In 2019, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey delighted fans of the brand's recognizable style by introducing its most compact watch.

The Balancier Contemporain case is 39.6 mm in diameter, while the brand's smallest model before that was 41.5 mm. Despite its compact size, the company's engineers have managed to showcase a large balance wheel. This impressive component which is 12.6 mm in size is openly displayed on the dial side, which means that the watch constantly boasts a dynamic display, although the wheel stop function that can be activated by pulling the crown.

The model has held onto Greubel Forsey's signature design — a three-dimensional dial with different elements placed on layered levels. The scale for the hour and minute hands has been placed over the balance spring beside the 72-hour power reserve indicator. Another of the watch's fantastic four elements is the separate small seconds.

Two series-coupled rotating barrels allow the energy to be accumulated that keeps the watch running. The movement which is 32.40 mm in diameter and 9.20 mm in height is comprised of 255 parts. Greubel Forsey unveiled the new version of its Balancier Contemporain model this year in its red-gold case. It's still 39.6 mm in diameter (12.21 mm thick and water resistant to 30 meters).

It's particularly pleasing to look at the level of detail that's gone into finishing the parts: from the mirror-polished bridge where the hands are mounted to the polished sides of the upper part of the dial and the rough granular surface of the main plate.

The creators of the Balancier Contemporain sought to describe the creative process with their own definition on the watch's caseback. There's a small red-gold disc in the center with the GF logo. While the first white-gold Balancier Contemporain model was limited to 33 pieces, no limits have been announced for the release of the newly designed watch.