In a fortuitous turn of events, Mark Zuckerberg was spotted with the Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1 just a week ago – just in time for the debut of the Hand Made 2. Unlike its predecessor that was equipped with a tourbillon, the Hand Made 2 is “merely” a three-hander with a power reserve indicator, presented in a more compact case that’s just under 41 mm.

But like the first model, the Hand Made 2 is mostly made with traditional, hand-operated tools – specifically, 96% of the watch is made this way, an endeavour that requires 5,000 hours of work according to Greubel Forsey.

(NB: The watch pictured is a prototype and is not perfectly clean.)

Initial thoughts

The Hand Made 2 is essentially the Hand Made 1 scaled down in every respect – dimensions, complexity, and price – except for the manual production methods and fine finishing, which remain impressive and outstanding. Even at arm’s length the quality of the Hand Made 2 is obvious. Up close, it is evident all of the details have been properly taken care of.

As it was with the Hand Made 1, the second edition is also impressive for what cannot be seen – tolerances and precision that are equivalent to Greubel Forsey’s serial-production watches made with automated equipment. Achieving that with manual equipment is impressive and no doubt explains a good deal of the price.

Surprisingly, the Hand Made 2 looks more complicated than its predecessor, despite doing away with the tourbillon. That’s because the architecture exposes more of the moving parts, including the barrel, giving it a busier appearance.

But the Hand Made 2 is a relatively simple watch in mechanical terms, so the open construction reveals most of the moving parts on the front and back, allowing for an easy understanding of the flow of motion within the movement.

I prefer the look and feel of the Hand Made 1, which is larger and more complicated but paradoxically feels cleaner in terms of look and feel. But my personal preference aside, I understand the appeal of the Hand Made 2. In fact, the Hand Made 2 is not just more accessible in terms of price, but it is easier to like with its more wearable size and simpler functionality.

The Hand Made 2 is intrinsically impressive, and perhaps even more appealing than the Hand Made 1 as it is smaller and less expensive.

But the second instalment makes the first version feel a little less special because now there are two in the series. On the other hand, the original was unique in the Greubel Forsey catalogue in being “hand made” at the time of its launch. That said, the “hand made” watches are still exceedingly rare – perhaps six Hand Made 1s have left the factory in total – and boast extremely high levels of tangible quality.

The Hand Made 2 costs about a third less than the Hand Made 1, and has a retail of about CHF600,000. It’s priced as expected given the watch itself as well as the brand behind it. If something comparable was produced by a one-man independent, it would probably cost less but take far longer to deliver; and if it was produced by an industrial haute horlogerie brand, it would probably cost more.

96% of 270 parts

The similarities and differences between the Hand Made 1 and 2 are clear from the numbers.

The Hand Made 1 is made up of 308 parts, “95%” of which are made with manual tools in a process that takes 6,000 hours.

The Hand Made 2 is made up of 270 parts, “96%” produced manually in a 5,000 hour process.

A notable piece of wisdom from the above: a tourbillon is not that much more demanding than a three-hander.

According to Greubel Forsey, the parts of the Hand Made 2 that are not produced with manual equipment are the sapphire crystal, gaskets, spring bars, mainspring, and majority of the jewels. One ruby component is “handcrafted”, namely shaped by hand, and that’s the cone-shaped jewel for the finger of the power reserve indicator.

Despite the manual production techniques, the tolerances of the components are equivalent to those made by CNC mills and other automated machines. This calls for laborious hand finishing to achieve the right precision, and also results in higher-than-average rejection rates.

In the hand, the Hand Made 2 feels smaller than its predecessor, but dense and finely made. The quality is easily apparent, even without magnification.

The movement decoration is done by hand, again to the same standards as found on Greubel Forsey’s standard movements.

The open dial shows off much of the finishing detail, including the polished and rounded steel cocks, gears with chamfered spokes, and the hand-shaped conical jewel. Most of the elements on the dial are comparable in form and finish to that of the Hand Made 1.

The open, three-dimensional architecture on the front brings to mind other Greubel Forsey watches, so much so the Hand Made 2 could be mistaken for another Greubel Forsey model at a distance.

On the back, the view is similar to that of Greubel Forsey’s conventional watches, and entirely different from the Hand Made 1. While the Hand Made 1 employed a gratté finish on the main plate, the Hand Made 2 is finished with the familiar frosting that’s a recurring motif at Greubel Forsey.

Made of untreated German silver, the main plate is entirely finished with granular frosting, while all of its edges are finished with wide, polished bevels that catch the light.

Equally reflective are the gold chatons that hold the jewels for the going train, as well as the polished screw heads. The polished elements create a pleasing contrast against the matte frosting.

Concluding thoughts

The Hand Made 2 illustrates Greubel Forsey’s doubling down on traditional watchmaking while moving away from a focus on sports watches, a pivot that began when current chief executive Michel Nydegger took the job.

It also shows off Greubel Forsey’s ability to make watches in an artisanal manner, despite being a big brand (at least by the standards of independent watchmaking). But Greubel Forsey’s status as an institutional independent, with all of the capital expenditure and margins that entails, is reflected in the price, which is substantial.

All of that aside, the Hand Made 2 is a beautiful object in itself. The watch is almost perfectly executed.

Key facts and price

Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2

Case diameter: 40.9 mm
Height: 12.8 mm
Material: 18k white gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Hand Made 2
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and power reserve
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Hand-wound
Power reserve: 72 hours

Strap: Calfskin with white gold pin buckle

Limited edition: Two to three produced annually
Availability: At Greubel Forsey retailers
Price: CHF620,000 excluding taxes

For more, visit Greubelforsey.com.