Greubel Forsey bids farewell to what was once its smallest watch, the Balancier Contemporain, with a final edition in stainless steel with a blue dial. The brand aims to finish the run of 33 watches later this year, after which the Balancier Contemporain will be no more, marking the end of its just-under-40 mm case.

Notably, this is not a move away from mid-sized watches; in fact, the brand intends to double down on them with future launches.

Initial Thoughts

When launched in 2019, the Balancier Contemporain was the Greubel Forsey’s smallest watch – relatively speaking. The brand’s quality may be irreproachable, but wearability is another matter – several of its watches are well over 44 mm – and as consumers’ tastes gravitate back to mid-sized watches, Greubel Forsey was arguably in a tricky position with its near pocket-watch-sized calibres.

But the brand was prepared for that. Just last year, Greubel Forsey set a new direction with the Nano Foudroyante EWT, a flyback chronograph (and flying tourbillon with lightning seconds) that was just under 38 mm in diameter and 10.5 mm thick. And even before that, the Convexe sports model cases already helped wearability massively – I’d even say the nominally larger Balancier Convexe and Double Balancier Convexe wear better than the Balancier Contemporain. So while the Balancier Contemporain is still a great watch, I’m not sad to see it go. As Greubel Forsey transitions to small-diameter watches, I expect to see it replaced by something even better.

Nostalgic Styling

The stainless steel case uses Greubel Forsey’s traditional design language established by the Double Tourbillon 30° over 20 years ago, which the brand has strayed from with its recent sports models. At 39.6 mm in diameter, and 12.25 mm thick, it isn’t remarkably compact, but should appeal to a wide swathe of collectors.

Steel is an unusual material for the brand, but this the second Balancier Contemporain in steel; the first was a run of 11 watches for the North American market. Greubel Forsey also offered the comparably simple Signature 1 and Balancier models in steel.

While related to the Signature 1 in terms of construction, the Balancier Contemporain is a distinct movement and gains an up/down indicator, and a hack-lever to stop the watch during time-setting. The blue-treated German silver movement has remarkable depth, and a terraced layout of its bridges. On the lowest level are the escapement and specular polished balance bridge. The seconds sub-dial sits on the second, and the time on the third level.

The Balancier Contemporain uses the oversized balance introduced on the Signature 1, which is 12.6 mm diameter (40% wider than ETA 2824’s balance) and also made in-house – a rarity for independents. It’s appointed with six white gold screws for rate adjustment, and an over coil hairspring.

A black-polished white gold plate underneath the balance acts as a mirror, showing the underside of the balance and bridge. Another, monolithic, white gold plate on the back is black-polished and decorated with laser engraved text, revealing a trio of jewels set into gold chatons, and a gold plate engraved with the limited edition number.

Key facts and price

Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain

Diameter: 39.6 mm
Height: 12.25 mm
Material: Steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Balancier Contemporain
Features: Hours, minutes, seconds, and power reserve indicator
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Manual wind
Power reserve: 70 hours

Strap: Textured blue rubber

Limited edition: 33 pieces
Availability: At Greubel Forsey retailers or direct from the brand
Price: CHF220,000 before taxes

For more information, visit greubelforsey.com.

Translating as “Stopovers Around the World”, Escale Autour du Monde is Louis Vuitton’s collection of unique and lavish minute repeating pocket watches. The collection now counts two watches: Escale en Amazonie that depicts the heart of the rainforest, while the just-launched Escale Au Pont-Neuf is set just outside Louis Vuttion’s headquarters in Paris.

Each timepiece is unique and powered by a new, purpose-built repeating movement with automata, also known as jacquemart, tourbillon, and an eight-day power reserve. Aside from watchmaking complications, the pocket watches also boast elaborate decoration, namely enamel and hand engraving, encapsulating the many crafts and skills possessed by La Fabrique du Temps (LFT), the Louis Vuitton manufacture in Geneva.

The LFT AU14.03

Notably, the Escale Autour du Monde is actually Louis Vuitton’s second haute horlogerie pocket watch offering. The collection follows last year’s Asnières-themed pocket watch that was actually powered by a wristwatch repeater movement. The pocket watches of Escale Autour du Monde retain the same 50 mm diameter as the Asnières but with the LFT AU14.03 calibre within was developed from the ground up as a pocket watch movement.

Escale en Amazonie (left), and Escale Au Pont-Neuf

Initial thoughts

Usually, modern pocket watches either rely on wristwatch movements (like the Escale à Asnières from last year) or near-century-old ebauches completed in the modern day. Louis Vuitton didn’t take the easy way out for its first pocket watch collection and instead developed the LFT AU14.03, a new calibre that nicely fills the 50 mm case.

My favorite detail is the full-sized solid gold wheel train. It’s rare to see gold alloys used for mechanical parts, such as wheels and escapements today, though the practice was more common during the pocket watch era. Gold chatons are also used for the bridge-side jewels, most are purely aesthetic, but also allow a jewel for the governor to be set into a clear sapphire disk, which I also quite like.

In addition, the decision to invert the time display was a smart one, especially since pocket watches don’t privilege one dial over the other, unlike most wristwatches, where only one dial faces up all the time.

Pocket watches display better than wristwatches, especially when paired with a matching stand, which the Escale lacks. This is a missed opportunity, especially since stands are standard for Patek Philippe’s Rare Handcrafts pocket watches.

An example of a matching display stand for a Patek Philippe Ref. 992/183g-001 “Provence”

That said, the the Escale is a complicated watch, more similar to Parmigiani pocket watches than those by Patek Philippe, so it makes sense that more emphasis is put on the watchmaking than the accessories. The Escale does, however, come with a white gold chain, with everything packaged in typical Louis Vuitton style, including a matching bag and hard-sided trunk. While the accessories don’t appeal to me personally, but I know it will be a huge draw to some.

As for the price, it’s €3 million before taxes. Whatever you think of that, both are already sold, with more unique versions already ordered.

A New Engine

The new LFT AU14.03 clearly has roots in LFT’s wristwatch-sized repeater movements. Instead of up sizing the strike train and hammers to fit a pocket watch calibre, Louis Vuitton uses the extra space for a massive barrel, giving the watch an eight-day power reserve and a large tourbillon.

This approach has precedent in eight-day repeating pocket watches made around the turn of the last century, which also used an undersized striking train, though those often used two barrels instead of one.

The aesthetics of the movement are similarly old school. The calibre is a crowd pleaser that’s finished with integrity and comparable to the most popular independents.

The gracefully shaped bridges feature the currently popular mirrored, domed anglage. There is a large black polished cap securing the sapphire disk above the strike governor, plenty of interior angles, and a delicate steel tourbillon cage.

Theatre in miniature 

The repeater powers a jacquemart; once charged by the slide on the case band, the automaton goes into action: the Amazon animals come alive while the dugout canoe laden with Luis Vuitton trunks passes by. During the sequence, Louis Vuitton’s “Monogram” flowers also pop out of the trunks, before hiding away again.

On the Pont-Neuf a barge replaces the canoe, which is flanked by two sparrows while an orange Louis Vuttion flag waves in the background above the company’s head office. A spinning compass rose at 12 o’clock watches over both scenes.

Artisans at La Fabrique du Temps hand carve each miniature, including the static foliage, out of solid gold, before enameling.

Both scenes use about 30 different colors of enamel, applied across 30 firings. The Amazonie also makes extensive use of gold leaf, a technique known as paillonné enamel, to make the river waters sparkle.

Case

The 50 mm white gold case is reminiscent of mid-century designs, and also draws from the brand’s iconic trunks, illustrated by details such as the stylized, riveted brackets used to affix the case middle. The hand-engraved motif along the case band matches the dial theme for each watch. It’s also surprisingly hardy for a chiming watch, with 30 m of water resistance.

A coloured gradient of 60 invisible-set baguette gemstones frames the scene, on the Amazonie, these range from blue-green tourmaline, emerald, tsavorite, and yellow sapphires.

The Pont-Neuf uses blue sapphires around the sky and water, green tsavorites by the foliage, and white diamonds, orange-brown topazes, and light pink tourmalines between. If you look closely, you’ll notice the colour gradient is asymmetric to better mirror the dial colors.

Key Facts and Price

Louis Vuitton Escale Autour du Monde
Ref. Escale en Amazonie
Ref. Escale Au Pont-Neuf

Diameter: 50 mm
Height: 19 mm
Material: 18K white gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: LFT AU14.03
Functions: Hours, minutes, minute repeater, jacquemart with seven animations, and tourbillon
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Power reserve: Eight days

Chain: 18k white gold

Limited edition: Each a unique piece, other versions depicting different scenes made to order
Availability: At Louis Vuitton boutiques
Price: €3 million before taxes

For more, visit Louis Vuitton.