Haute horlogerie and sports watches tend to be mutually exclusive categories—the elaborate, expensive mechanics associated with the former are not typically built to withstand the rigors of the casual, knockabout lifestyle implied by the latter. Richard Mille proved that the two can—and should—mingle, but for fans of a less avant-garde style, otherwise the field remained sparse. Until now.
With its new GMT Sport, Greubel Forsey, the boutique Swiss brand that combines the talents of master watchmakers Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, has manufactured a 45 mm titanium wristwatch that bears all the hallmarks of a sport piece: It’s lightweight, ultra-strong, water-resistant to 100 meters and has integrated lugs.
Greubel Forsey GMT Sport Courtesy of Greubel Forsey
On the flip side, the timepiece boasts an extraordinary mechanism distinguished by Greubel Forsey’s classic, open-worked architecture; its signature 24 Seconds Tourbillon; and a universal time display centered on a terrestrial, spinning globe.
While Forsey makes clear the model was built with ergonomics in mind, he resists the idea that it’s a response to today’s mania for sport pieces.
“The GMT Sport isn’t about embracing a phenomenon, but a creative adventure to define a sport-oriented Greubel Forsey respecting our unique values and codes,” Forsey says. “The first step was in 2015 when we presented the Greubel Forsey GMT Black. With its lightweight black ADLC titanium case, it was a distinctive creative step, but we wanted to push further.
“Building on the iconic and intuitive universal time indication with the terrestrial globe and cities disk on the caseback side, we reconstructed this new movement from scratch and invented a totally new lightweight and ultra-strong profiled titanium case with ovoid bezel and integrated lugs and strap,” he adds. “The GMT Sport takes comfort and ergonomics to a whole new level and is the perfect showcase for this new movement with the arched center-bridge and inclined gear train.”
Available in a limited edition of 11 pieces, the model retails for $500,000.
