Art Piece 1

 
Description of the micro-sculpture
 
Name of the artwork: Golden Sails
A hand-sculpted work representing a three-masted caravel
Made from gold, rigging of the sails made from carbon fibre
Dimensions: 0.31 X 0.95 X 1.22 millimetres

 
Description of the Timepiece
 
Hour and minute display visible on request (using the push-piece)
Time display aperture with bi-stable system
Chronometric power reserve indication (72 hours)
Double Tourbillon inclined at an angle of 30°
Exclusive miniaturised lateral optical system consisting of:
➢     23x optical magnification
➢    System for correction of optical aberrations
➢    System for optimisation of natural lighting
➢    Adjustable  focal length
Integrated micro-sculpture
Timepiece co-signed by: Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey, Willard Wigan

 
The ART PIECE Collection
 
The initial impulse that gave rise to the Art Piece Collection was generated by a desire to create points of convergence between the world of plastic arts and that of the art of watchmaking,
This is a ground-breaking new zone of expression that Greubel Forsey intends to share with artists whose aesthetic language is in resonance with its own universe.
 
ART PIECE 1   A co-creation signed by Greubel Forsey and Willard Wigan
 
The first physical interpretation of this philosophical approach, the product of our creative encounter with the British artist Willard Wigan, is quite simply spectacular.
Willard Wigan is a sculptor who presents his works in galleries all over the world. His success comes on the one hand from the intrinsic quality of his creations, but also from their extraordinarily small dimensions.
 
These are micro-sculptures on such a tiny scale that they can only be admired with the aid of a microscope. His works take us on gripping journeys through the world of miniaturisation and invite us to discover and contemplate the minute details of which they are composed.
 
This shared passion focused on the absolute quality of each detail, both artistic and mechanical, is here expressed by creating a link between art and science. This link offers the owner of the Timepiece the ideal conditions in which to observe the dialogue created between the work of Willard Wigan and that of Greubel Forsey.
 
A revolutionary miniaturised optical system
 
Installing a nano-sculpture within the confines of a timepiece yet enabling the wearer to admire its every detail without a microscope and despite the work being practically invisible to the naked eye.
 
Our R&D teams concentrated their attention on the only instrument identified (or at least the only one identified to date) that allows for ready examination of these micro-masterpieces: the microscope.
 
It was necessary to obtain a result that was visually perfect, offering all the qualities required (luminosity, magnification factor and focal length for clear vision) while ensuring the reliability and aesthetic appearance of the timepiece.
 
Starting from the basis of what existed from a theoretical point of view, our artisans, engineers and physicists took nearly four years to develop an exclusive miniaturised optical system, incorporating among other aspects an aspherical lens that meets requirements in terms of technical performance and reduced size.
 
The architecture of the mechanism and the time display
 
The architecture of the mechanism was then totally refocused around the Double Tourbillon inclined at an angle of 30°, and then reworked so as to include an amphitheatre in which Willard Wigan's work could find an ideal stage on which to be displayed.
 
Its geometry and its finishes were specially designed to obtain the maximum intensity of natural light around the stage. Its splayed shape enables the actual size of the artwork to be appreciated in relation to the surrounding features. A natural, poetic link is thus created with the micro-components making up this Greubel Forsey Timepiece.
 
Greubel Forsey and the act of creation
 
Through its tenth anniversary, Greubel Forsey is consolidating its zone of expression and defines its new epigraph: "Art of Invention".
 
Since the Atelier was founded, the creative capacity of Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey has been a source of constant pleasure for lovers of exceptional timepieces throughout the world. The two inventor-watchmakers have already put their signatures to no fewer than six major inventions, leading to over 40 exclusive registered patents.
 
Another field in which they show their exceptional creative energy is the structure and architecture of their grand complications, purified among others through their Invention Piece creations.
 
A refusal to rest on their laurels, inventive boldness in both technical and aesthetic terms, and an insistence on craftsmanship born of a constant obsession with the concept of true quality: these are the essential hallmarks of all creative adventures bearing the Greubel Forsey signature.