Swiss watch with scientific precision – at Dh2.8m

Greubel Forsey, a Swiss brand, has managed to combine three complications in one watch – a perpetual calendar, tourbillon and the equation of time. Buyers must spend Dh2.8m to secure one of five of these limited-edition timepieces.

The Greubel Forsey Double Balancier 35°. Courtesy Greubel Forsey

It sometimes feels as though there aren’t enough hours in the day. Which is appropriate, as there are sometimes more than 24 hours in a day and sometimes less, as the amount changes throughout the year.

“Mean solar time” is the neat, non-fluctuating man-made construct by which we organise and live our lives. But “true solar time”, that of nature, is measured by the length of time it takes for the Earth to make one full revolution on its axis, between one true noon (when the sun is at its highest) and the next – which is not always 24 hours.

An “equation of time” complication on a watch displays the difference between solar and mean time. It is one of the oldest and most revered complications in horology and is generally coupled with a perpetual calendar complication, as both take into account variations over the course of the year.

While the perpetual calendar tracks the varying length of months, the equation of time marks the changes in the length of the solar day and also shows the seasons, solstices and equinoxes via two superimposed transparent discs.

Now Greubel Forsey, a Swiss brand based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, has combined three complications in one watch – a perpetual calendar, tourbillon and the equation of time. The Greubel Forsey QP à Équation was launched at this year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva and will retail for Dh2.8 million.

While it is unimportant to know how many more, or less, natural minutes as opposed to constructed minutes there are in a day, Greubel Forsey has placed the equation of time on the underside of its superlative watch, allowing for the hallowed appeal of the complication to connoisseurs and horologists.

The front of the watch combines the perpetual calendar and a 24-second tourbillon inclined at 25 degrees. Greubel Forsey has impressed watch fanatics with the simplicity of this perpetual calendar. The complication normally requires adjustment and operation via a special stylus tool, but Greubel Forsey has made the perpetual calendar easier to set by using a bidirectional winding crown. Now, rather than needing an instruction manual or tools, you can use the crown as simply as on a date display watch.

Simple to use and elegantly legible, this ultra-complicated timepiece comes in a 43.5mm white gold case, measures 16mm in height, and is powered by a mechanical hand-wound Calibre GF07 with a 72-hour power reserve. The watch comprises 570 components, including 65 jewels, and has four patents to safeguard its innovative mastery.

q&a being exact as time goes by

Emmanuel Vuilles, the chief executive of Greubel Forsey, on his brand’s attention to detail.

How many of the QP à Équation will be made?

Our QP à Équation is limited on the basis of a Millesime [vintage] collection. Every year we will have a special Millesime edition available and limited to a certain number of timepieces. This year’s edition is five timepieces.

Can anybody buy one?

Greubel Forsey has a network of about 30 of the best points of sales worldwide. It is only through this network that a Greubel Forsey timepiece can be purchased.

How long does it take to deliver the watch?

For our QP à Équation, the earliest delivery timing will be end of 2014/beginning of 2015.

What kind of after-sales service do you offer?

The preservation of the quality of our timepieces is essential and is our highest aim towards our collectors. We sometimes even travel around the world just to make a statement.

Tell me more about the difference between solar and mean time.

Essentially, the Earth travels at variable rates, and this causes disparities within our fixed 24 hours. On February 11, for example, there are 24 hours, 14 minutes and 22 seconds in the day, while on November 4 there are 16 minutes and 23 seconds less. True solar time and mean time coincide just four times a year: April 15, June 14, September 1 and December 24 – the rest of the time there is this 30-minute differentiation.

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