Perhaps the leading maker of avant-garde and exotic tourbillon wristwatches, Greubel Forsey has just appointed Antonio Calce as chief executive officer.

Having spent the early years of his career at Panerai in product development and then overseeing its manufacture, Mr Calce then became chief executive of Corum, and subsequently Eterna as well. Next came the top job at Girard-Perregaux, where he had a mandate to turn it around but departed before his plans gained traction.

At Greubel Forsey, Mr Calce succeeds Fabrice Deschanel, who became chief executive officer of Greubel Forsey in 2017 after several years as head of Audemars Piguet’s complications subsidiary Renaud & Papi.

The recently-launched Greubel Forsey GMT Sport

Commenting in the announcement, Robert Greubel stated, “I am convinced Antonio will carry the Greubel Forsey signature a long way, all the while respecting our values and our DNA.” Mr Greubel remains chairman of the board, while fellow cofounder Stephen Forsey continues in his role helming product and movement development.

While the role of Greubel Forsey chief executive was historically one and the same with the top job at Complitime, Greubel Forsey’s sister company that builds complications for other brands, Mr Calce’s new role is only overseeing Greubel Forsey.