Naissance D’Une Montre: It Ticks (And Its “Fathers” Are Happy)

Manufacturing a watch from scratch is certainly like climbing the Everest. But when you have to additionally learn all the techniques and little tricks that go along with it, it becomes one of the most serious challenge ever attempted, even for a professional watchmakers. The project “Naissance d’une Montre” (“Birth of a watch”), which was initiated about four years ago by Greubel Forsey and respected master watchmaker Philippe Dufour, sees them guiding horological instructor Michel Boulanger in his long road to conceiving and creating a tourbillon watch from scratch by himself. The result thus far was presented at the 2015 SIHH with a ticking prototype that now needs to be slightly improved and, most importantly, decorated. 

This project was initiated by Stephen Forsey, Robert Greubel, and Philippe Dufour to transmit genuine watchmaking knowledge. This means, in particular, that Boulanger had to learn the theory and all the techniques needed to manufacture a watch from scratch. Indeed, new technologies, new production tools, and insufficient expectations from the public in terms of finishing have made traditional techniques and knowledge a thing of the past. With this cultural project, Greubel Forsey makes a statement and participates in maintaining a rare and precious technical art. In the end, 11 timepieces will be available for sale. In fact they will be much more than watches: they will embody the intangible gift of knowledge from one older generation of watchmakers to the next, younger one.