GREUBEL FORSEY – CONVEXE Balancier 3 Titanium 41.5 mm Edition

GREUBEL FORSEY – CONVEXE Balancier 3 Titanium  41.5 mm Limited Edition 2023

Greubel Forsey opens a new gateway into its world, the Balancier 3.

This timepiece joins the Convexe collection, offering a more refined look. Featuring a majestic arch bridge and crafted over multiple levels, the openworked titanium piece is available in either black or blue finish. Both more rebust and more affordable while reinforcing the high chronometric standards and finishes that are synonymous with the Atelier.

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Almost 20 years were required for Greubel Forsey to embark on this challenge to produce an entirely new, more accessible timepiece with its own unique identity. To achieve this, the Atelier needed to start from scratch. How do you create a timepiece with a comfortable diameter into which the Atelier Manufacture movement can fit? How can you make the piece more affordable when it still has to be 100% hand finished? The Balancier 3 answers all of these questions.

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First comes the style. From the outset, the piece is characterised by its three prominent bridges: the first of which houses the barrel, the second for the large balance wheel, and the third, and most striking of all, is attached to the seconds counter and supports the hour and minute hands.

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All these bridges feature Greubel Forsey’s signature hand finishes: a curved polished surface, polished bevels and hand-polished screws. Each bridge includes its share of sharp internal angles and a curved profile that make the hand finishes particularly complex—details that will certainly be appreciated by collectors.

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This design joins the Convexe collection. The Balancier 3 features the iconic case, even slimmer than before. Its lugs no longer have screws—a first for Greubel Forsey. The Convexe case is profiled on both the back and display sides, making it truly unique in fine watchmaking. Offering total comfort, the piece naturally follows the curvature of the wrist. On the dial side, the double curvature dips towards each end of the strap, creating the highly aesthetic volumes that the movement uses to deploy itself.

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Then, there's the movement. It imbues the timepiece with a dynamic, modern style and offers impeccable chronometry while still becoming Greubel Forsey's most affordable creation. To achieve this, Greubel Forsey once again called on the considerable expertise of its teams. 

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The idea was to create a simple, streamlined and contemporary design that allows you to admire the finish of each of the movement's components. With this in mind, the Atelier focuses on the technical nature of its timepieces: from the source energy to the escapement that drives it, the barrels and the large balance wheel. The essence of the mastery of time.

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The two series-coupled fast-rotating barrels (one turn in 3.2 hours) clearly visible and decorated with the unique rotating graphics design that is becoming a staple of the Convexe collection. Together, they provide a chronometric power reserve of 3 full days. 

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The timepiece will continue to beat for many more hours but perhaps not with the same precise accuracy that Greubel Forsey specifications. The power reserve is shown on the case back for the first time in the Convexe collection.

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On the opposite side, the large balance wheel – “Balancier”, which gives the timepiece its name, can be found between 4 and 6 o’clock. Conveniently integrated into the design, this Greubel Forsey variable-inertia balance is balanced thanks to its 6 gold mean-time screws. 

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It boasts the Atelier's signature large diameter of 12.6 mm, one of the most majestic in contemporary fine watchmaking. Its oscillations echo the small second display at 8 o’clock with its fixed indicator, where it's actually the disc underneath, satin-finished by hand, that rotates and marks the passing seconds.

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And finally, the finishing. The wide bridge supporting the hour and minute hands is the best illustration of this. With its curved, three-dimensional, openworked design, multiple levels, numerous sharp internal angles, and refined arm connecting with the small seconds, it is a true tour de force. Its extremely complex geometry is a perfect match for its hand finishing. 

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This process is reproduced, both sides on the barrel bridge and the balance wheel bridge, which are exquisitely hand-polished and convex like the case that houses them.

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The Balancier 3 is available in a 41,5 mm diameter in two black and blue versions limited to 88 pieces each, with a rubber strap or a Greubel Forsey titanium bracelet upon request.

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 TECHNICAL DETAILS 

Balancier 3 Titanium Limited edition

Hand-wound movement • Hours and minutes • small
seconds • power-reserve • Greubel Forsey balance wheel system

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Movement
Movement dimensions
• Overall diameter: 35.80 mm
• Thickness: 9.03 mm
Number of parts
• Movement: 282 parts
Number of jewels • 43
• Olived-domed jewels in gold chatons 
Chronometric power reserve • 72 hours
Barrels
• Two series-coupled fast-rotating barrels (1 turn in
3.2 hours), one of which is equipped with a slipping spring to avoid excess tension
• Relief-engraved text, circular-grained, black treatment
Balance wheel
• In-house variable-inertia with 6 gold mean-time screws (12.60 mm diameter)
Frequency • 21'600 vibrations/hour
Balance spring
• Phillips terminal curve
• Geneva-style stud
Bridges and main plate
• Titanium
• Frosted, polished bevelling and countersinks, black or blue treatment according to the version
• Multi-level, polished openworked arch bridge, polished bevelling and countersinks
Movement side
• Frosted bridges, polished edges and countersinks
• Gold plate with engraved limitation number, circular- grained, polished bevelling and countersinks, straight- grained flanks
Gearing
• Involute circle profile
Displays
• Hours and minutes, on suspended arch bridge
• Small seconds on disc
• Power reserve on a sector (movement side)

Exterior
Case
• Titanium with curved synthetic sapphire crystal
• Three-dimensional, variable geometry-shaped bezel, hand-polished with hand-finished straight graining
• Profiled lugs
• Transparent back with synthetic sapphire crystal
• Titanium security screws
• Raised engraving "Balancier 3" and "Greubel Forsey"
Case dimensions
• Caseband diameter: 41.50 mm
• Bezel diameter: 43.60 mm
• Case height: 13.35 mm
• Height on synthetic sapphire crystals: 13.55 mm
Water resistance of the case
• Water-resistant 5 atm - 50 m - 164 ft (standard NIHS 92-20/SN ISO 22810:2010)
Crown
• Titanium, polished and straight-grained, with GF logo
Dial side
• Three-dimensional, variable geometry hour-ring with engraved and lacquered minute-circle
• Three-dimensional, variable geometry hour indexes polished, with Super-Luminova
• Light alloy small seconds indicator, circular-grained
Hands
• Hours and minutes, curved profile, polished steel with Super-Luminova
• Small seconds, fixed red triangle
• Power-reserve, in polished steel, flat black polished head
Strap and clasp
• Non-animal material, rubber with texture in relief. titanium folding clasp, engraved GF logo
• On demand: 3-row metal bracelet in titanium, folding clasp with integrated fine adjustment, engraved GF logo

🔰 Limitation 
Limited Edition of 88 pieces.

🔴 Price : RRP   CHF 160’000💰 

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Press Release - 2023
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GREUBEL FORSEY SA
For further information: 
Communication Department 
press@greubelforsey.com – +41 79 194 2884
Eplatures-Grise -16 P.O. Box 670 
2301 La Chaux-de-Fonds - Switzerland
+41 32 925-4545
+41 32 925-4502
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Bell & Ross – BR 01 CYBER SKULL Sapphire Ice Blue Edition

Bell & Ross – CONCEPT BR 01 CYBER SKULL Sapphire Ice Blue Edition 2023

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The Bell & Ross BR 01 CYBER SKULL SAPPHIRE ICE BLUE stands out as a refreshing contemporary high-end watchmaking timepiece. Hidden behind its mocking smile, the blue skull reveals, in complete transparency, a masterpiece of craftmanship in the service of watchmaking.

BR 01 CYBER SKULL range, a modern talisman

The new BR 01 CYBER SKULL SAPPHIRE ICE BLUE is the latest member in the Bell & Ross BR 01 Cyber Skull collection of rare watches. Through this atypical collection, with versions in ceramic, sapphire and bronze, Bell & Ross is able to fully pursue the exploration of its favourite themes: the design of exceptional timepieces and the singularity of its design. 

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The Cyber Skull collection’s state-of-the-art and multi-faceted watch case is strikingly reminiscent of the aesthetics of certain stealth planes. The link is not trivial when we know the involvement of the House in the world of aeronautics. This timepiece is symbolic in more than one way. In art and watchmaking, the skull motif is well known as an expression of the philosophical theme of vanity, associated with the passing of time, life and death.

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This skull is also a tribute to the special forces units for which Bell & Ross designs and develops instrument timepieces. Tracing back its roots to the times of the Vikings or pirates right through to modern-day situations, elite troops and paratroopers have made the skull motif their emblem to ward off bad luck. With its resolutely bold and modern design, Bell & Ross has made it one of its talismans.

ICE blue

If boldness had to have a colour, it would be blue for sure. The meaning of the colour blue has changed several times over the centuries. In modern times, it has become a symbol of nature and purity. 

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So many inspirations that could not fail to nourish the creative imagination of Bruno Belamich, Creative Director and co-founder of Bell & Ross, “the icy aspect of sky blue combines perfectly with the transparency of the sapphire of the case, like a faceted iceberg”. 

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For a new exceptional execution, it is this fresh ice blue tone, a bold and unusual colour in fine watchmaking, which was chosen to adorn the central part of the dial. Meticulously made in galvanised brass and blue PVD, it is the true face of the BR 01 CYBER SKULL SAPPHIRE ICE BLUE.

The magic of transparency: a remarkable piece of expertise

To express all the fascinating power of the skull, Bell & Ross has chosen to place it in a 45 mm case, which is water-resistant to 30 metres and completely transparent, including the back. This case is made of sapphire, a high-tech composite material that is almost as hard and scratch-resistant as diamond. The design of this particular type of corundum gem is very complex. Its flawless transparency assumes that there is no impurity. 

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Its production, which requires heating an alumina powder melted by a hydrogen flame to a temperature exceeding 2,000°C, is extremely delicate. Transparency is also a way of exposing the contemporary know-how of fine watchmaking. To make the overall look perfectly consistent on the wrist, Bell & Ross has equipped the watch with a transparent soft silicone strap, which is closed by a polished and satin-finished steel pin buckle. A limited edition of only 25 pieces, the new BR 01 CYBER SKULL SAPPHIRE ICE BLUE is an ultra-exclusive timepiece by nature.

An unequalled technical feat

In its entirely translucent case, the BR 01 CYBER SKULL SAPPHIRE ICE BLUE reveals a fine watchmaking automaton animation which triggers the lower part of the jaw. The skull of this modern vanity becomes particularly smiling and seems to burst into life thanks to a high-end watch movement: the hand-wound mechanical calibre BR-CAL.209, with a 48-hour power reserve and a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The latter, mixed with the energy demand of the automaton animation, guarantees precision and reliability. 

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The overall transparency of this exceptional timepiece allows you to admire the carefully crafted finishes of this manufacture calibre with the naked eye. Watchmaking enthusiasts will appreciate the rhodium-plated bridges and plates which, together with the numerous openwork or skeletonised components, will not only delight collectors, but will also allow aesthetes to delve into the heart of the subject. 

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Undeniably, this blue skull represents an addition to the Bell & Ross’ collection confirming the brand’s credibility when it comes to fine watchmaking.

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Technical Specifications

Collection: CONCEPT

Model: BR 01 CYBER SKULL Sapphire Ice Blue

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Ref. BR01-CSKBLU-SAPHIR

MOVEMENT
Calibre BR-CAL.209.
Manufacture. Hand-wound mechanical .
Skeletonised, rhodium-plated main plate and bridges.
21 jewels. 28,800 vph.
Incabloc shock protection system. 48-hour power reserve.
CRYSTAL sapphire with anti-reflective coating
FUNCTIONS
Hours and minutes.
Moving skull when wound by hand  
CASE
LENGTH 45 MM, WIDTH 43.5 MM.
Sapphire.
Faceted polished steel crown.
Sapphire case back.
Water-resistance . 30 metres
DIAL
Skeletonised faceted sapphire.
Blue anodized steel skull.
Balance at 12 o'clock.
STRAP
Transparent silicone.
Buckle . pin. Satin-polished steel.

Edition
🔰Limited Edition ✅ Only 25 timepieces
🔴 Price : RRP  € 120’000 / 115.000 USD 💰

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Press Release - 2023
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