GREUBEL FORSEY HAND MADE 2 replica watches

GREUBEL FORSEY HAND MADE 2The Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2 is a rare watch, handcrafted in La Chaux-de-Fonds using traditional techniques, a laborious process that is the antithesis of mass production. Mark MacArthur-Christie explores a world where excellence is sought and winning the lottery is all that matters.Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2 – No CNC in sight
“Hand Made” here is not just empty marketing. The term usually refers to a product that is “hand assembled after CNC machining”, rather than made by a person with a set of tools, extraordinary patience and a workbench. However, in the case of the Hand Made 2, the only parts that do not fall into this category are the sapphire crystal, the case gaskets, the spring bars, the mainspring and most of the jewels; in short, these parts account for about 4% of the Hand Made 2’s 270 parts.Handmade is a serious challenge. Humans are not perfect and will inevitably make small mistakes or some deviations. This means that while a hand-made watch may be beautiful and soulful, its irregularities are actually just prototypes. But not this watch. Greubel Forsey says that the Hand Made 2 is “…made to the same quality standards as any other Greubel Forsey watch”. If so, it would make a Rolls-Royce inspector blush.In practice, this means that lathes, milling machines and jig boring machines are operated manually in tiny increments; there are no CNC machines. To produce the parts to the required accuracy, detailed machining plans, constantly updated cutting tools and modern measuring equipment are required to ensure product quality. The team considers the effects of temperature on the machinery, even down to the tolerances of the smallest individual components.  replica Richard Mille RM 60 watches replica Bovet Dimier watches replica watches for sale  Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2 – Balance Spring
This ‘in-house’ philosophy even extends to the balance spring. Unable to find an external supplier that could meet its specifications, Greubel Forsey began experimenting with making its own balance spring in 2012 using makeshift devices and recycled steel wire. By 2014, buoyed by the results, the company had developed its own proprietary material, and in 2015 had a virgin wire that had exactly the properties it required.But the base material is only half of the hairspring. To start production, the company sourced, purchased and restored what is euphemistically called “ancient hand-made machinery”. This means that the wire is gradually stretched to the thickness of a human hair, then laminated and finally flattened (the wire is initially round, not flat) until the required tolerances are achieved.After all this, as painstaking and time-consuming as it is, you end up with a flat piece of wire that we call a “blade”. The blade then has to be rolled into the familiar spiral shape, “set” in a vacuum oven and finally stabilized in a cycle aging oven. Of course, some operations are less complex.Of course, with so much thought, time and effort put into making a hairspring, you don’t just go to Cousins ​​and buy a ready-made balance wheel. As expected, Greubel Forsey designs and manufactures its own hairsprings. This is all done in a dedicated hairspring workshop, where the watchmakers also wind, cut and hand-shape the terminal curve of each hairspring.Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2 – Front Desk
Next comes the rest of the movement. The timing wheels and barrel bridge are made of hand-brushed German silver and set with gold chatons, so they should have a beautiful patina. They contrast beautifully with the blued steel hands and the polished barrel and balance bridge. The power reserve, minute scale and small seconds dial are all enameled in Grand Feu. Indeed, it is a delight no matter how you look at it. Apart from the brushing, almost everything else is black polished, straight-grained, polished and beveled. Even the inner edges of the wheels and the slender wheel arms are beveled.Next comes the power reserve mechanism. Zoom in and you’ll see that a tapered jewel acts on a tiny round jewel wheel mounted on a lever. The lever is connected to the power reserve indicator via a jewel bearing and a micro-gear. When the mainspring runs out of power, the little jewel and its lever act like a "feeler", converting the cone's vertical motion into horizontal motion, moving the indicator needle along the scale. And look at the finishing here - the lever is grained, the bridge that supports it is black polished, the jewel is set in a gold chaton, and the indicator needle is blued. If there is a more mechanical, more aesthetic, more elegant - or better looking - power reserve mechanism, please let me know.  replica Greubel Forsey Hand Made replica Jacob & Co Astronomia Solar swiss replica watches reviews  Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2 - Case
As you would expect by now, the 41mm diameter 18K white gold case is cut, ground and shaped by hand. I can forgive Greubel Forsey for buying a sapphire caseback and crystal, but I suspect it's only a matter of time before it grows its own grains of aluminium oxide in some Bond-like lair in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Focus the macro lens again and look at the case side; much deeper than before, with brushed horizontal stripes and mirror-polished lug surfaces, everything is flawless.Perhaps one of the most remarkable achievements of the Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2 is that it is the product of months of work, love and craftsmanship, yet it remains elegantly restrained. Well, that’s not entirely true – it’s precisely because so much work and energy went into it that it doesn’t need to dominate or be over the top.You get a watch with a soul that only a human can give, but with qualities that are usually only computers can give. Stephen Forsey and Robert Greubel’s background in antique watch restoration and prototype making is evident. Their experience is reflected in the mechanics, aesthetics and finishing, resulting in what is now a masterpiece of 18th century master watchmaking.