Greubel Forsey introduces the Nano Foudroyante EWT and its 10th Fundamental Invention

Greubel Forsey celebrates its 20th anniversary unveiling the Nano Foudroyante EWT, featuring the brand's 10th Fundamental Invention. Price CHF 465,000

Swiss Manufacture Greubel Forsey celebrates its 20th anniversary (2004-2024) unveiling the Nano Foudroyante EWT, an 11-piece limited edition timepiece conceived in its EWT (Experimental Watch Technology) laboratory and featuring the brand's 10th Fundamental Invention.

Housed in a 37.90 mm x 10.49 mm white gold case with a bezel and back crafted from tantalum, this timepiece combines the world’s first perpetual Nano Foudroyante invention with Greubel Forsey’s first flying tourbillon and manual wind flyback. 

In this model, the mechanism’s energy is managed at the nanojoule scale, significantly reducing the number of components and the overall dimensions. Greubel Forsey refers to this as 'nanomechanics', i.e. controlling energy on a nanojoule scale within a mechanical movement. 

This approach in energy management within a calibre allows for a drastic reduction in both energy consumption and the number of components.

To demonstrate the feasibility of nanomechanics, Greubel Forsey has reimagined the foudroyante second. 

In the Nano Foudroyante, the hand completes a full revolution every second, dividing it into precise segments according to the movement’s 3 Hz frequency. Each oscillation of the balance wheel produces two beats, totaling six beats per second, enabling the hand to mark six distinct segments within each second.

By managing energy on a nanojoule scale, Greubel Forsey has radically rethought its design and construction. Compared to a traditional foudroyante that consumes 30μJ (microjoules) per jump, the Nano Foudroyante operates with only 16nJ (nanojoules) per jump, reducing energy consumption by a factor of 1.8.

Fewer components mean less volume: the Nano Foudroyante EWT is very compact, with 428 components, and the movement measures no more than 31 mm in diameter, housed within Greubel Forsey’s smallest case to date (37.9 mm).

The Nano Foudroyante EWT is integrated within a flying tourbillon—the first ever made by Greubel Forsey—that brings an additional innovation: Although this flying tourbillon rotates constantly, the Nano Foudroyante’s dial remains aligned at 12 o’clock for optimal readability.

This 10th Invention is powered by a hand-wound flyback chronograph movement with a column-wheel control that can be appreciated through the transparent sapphire crystal caseback, engraved with the “Nano Foudroyante” and “Greubel Forsey” inscriptions.

Water-resistant up to a pressure of 3 ATM (30 metres / 100 feet), this model is completed by a black strap in non-animal material with a white gold pin buckle, hand-engraved with the GF logo.

The new Greubel Forsey introduces the Nano Foudroyante EWT is priced at CHF 465,000. greubelforsey.com