October 2021
Greubel Forsey invites us to a dinner organized for the Italian Press. The brand comes to introduce us to their new strategy for the coming years. A pleasant evening in which the new CEO outlines the changes they plan to make in the following years. I arrive at that evening a bit doubtful, without an explanation for such a meeting at the end of October.
Antonio Calce is a well-known figure in watchmaking, having worked for several luxury maisons with high degrees of responsibility. He had “just” arrived at Greubel Forsey. I quoted “just” because his joining the company was announced in August 2020, in the midst of COVID-19.
The presentation talks about a lot of gauges: “We will be launching 4 models a year or so, and we will be doing that for the next few years. We’re going to change several things in the company, and we’re going to come up with 250 pieces or so by 2023…”.
Oh yes, good luck!
Greubel Forsey is one of those brands that does not go unnoticed. Those who do not know it thoroughly, who have never seen one live, who have not heard of it, are living in the normalcy: the one Antonio wants to change.
It is a brand that turns 20 in 2024, it was not born yesterday. It has made 7 inventions and revolutionized watchmaking by creating timepieces with a design and architecture of their own, literally shifting all the pillars of watchmaking. Even winning 2 Aiguille d’Or. In his history he came to produce just under 100 pieces per year.
So, after dinner was over – honestly a bit skeptical – I went home thinking about how much work Antonio had to do.
August 2023
A little less than two years later, I’m with him again, for an exclusive interview. I’ll give you a little spoiler… promises kept, and technical knock out to yours truly in just over 3 minutes.
In this interview we will try to give you an insight into how, starting from an idea and a small atelier, you plot your way to becoming a full-fledged Brand.
I would like to clarify my position. I think that everything is feasible in this world, it depends on the time one plans to take to achieve the goals. Here I would like to make you understand the difficulty … launching 4/5 models a year is normal for brands that make thousands of watches, but for a company that makes a hundred watches, it is a feat.
The interview
Edoardo Armentano: Hi Antonio, for those who don’t know you, tell us about how and why you joined Greubel Forsey?
Antonio Calce: Hi Edo! Sure, a little more than 3 years ago I met Robert (Greubel) whom I knew before. While talking, he asked me what I thought about Greubel Forsey as a company. I explained to him what I saw and something sparked between us. Like all things, it took its time, but a very strong relationship was formed from which an incredible mutual trust flowed. These are things that are not easy to explain, I think we’ve all experienced that synergy that happens between two people. From that meeting, one thing led to another, and here we are more than three years later.
Edoardo Armentano: And three years later, how is it going?
Antonio Calce: It’s going great. We are expanding the manufacture. We have bought space, we will increase the factory by 20 meters in length, 10 in width and 12 in height. In short, from 2200 to 5600, almost triple.
Edoardo Armentano: Shall we do a recap of the last 2 years?
Antoni Calce: So, in 2022 we launched the GMT Balancier Convexe-Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture, the Balancier Convexe S2 titanium (in gray and black) and the Double Balancier Convexe (in black). This year, again, Balancier Convexe S2 in titanium, reduced dimensions and the Double Balancier Convexe titanium, also with reduced dimensions.
Edoardo Armentano: Okay perfect, what about these Geneva Watch Days?
Antonio Calce: We have 2 more novelties, each one in 2 variations.
Edoardo Armentano: So 4. Tell me more about the news.
Antonio Calce: We start with the Balancier Convexe S2 in two limited editions, 22 pieces each for a total of 44 pieces. The case is the same one launched in July 2023, thus reduced. We went from 43.5mm to 41.5mm. This is a very important change, we managed to achieve compactness, modernity and portability. This is a collection we are very much focusing on, we will come back to it later. The movement has not changed as functions: hours, minutes, small seconds and power reserve.
The really arduous change was at the case and finish level. Machining the carbon case to this level and curving it so that it looks convex is really challenging, requiring an unimaginable temperature and pressure combo with very high margins for error. Temperature makes it flexible, while pressure gives it shape. For such a case we are talking about forces of 16 tons per square cm. What we were most concerned about was definitely the direction of the fibers, which had to be absolutely aligned with the curvature of the case. One version will have the small seconds in black the other in blue.
Edoardo Armentano: Okay and the other news?
Antonio Calce: The other innovation is actually an evolution. We thought carbon looked good on the Double Balancier Convexe as well, and to keep it simple, we decided to have two versions.
Also reduced from 43.5 mm to 42.5 mm in July. The Double Balancier is one of our masterpieces, a watch that has been steadily evolving since 2007 when it was patented: the two balance organs were superimposed and inclined by 20 degrees.
In 2016 we witnessed the most radical change that brought it to the present day. The rocker arms were placed next to each other, inclined by 30 degrees, connected by a spherical differential. Of this carbon case model we will have, as I said, 2 versions. One iridescent green, not far from a petrol blue, which makes up the bridges and main plate. The other version is all black.
Edoardo Armentano: Very good … so you never stop? Are you proceeding according to the new strategy….
Antonio Calce: I always thought that Greubel Forsey was a company with important ideas, with incredible qualities, high-level finishing, however, with need to focus, create a path and follow it. Because things were not very clear. I asked myself, how can you explain Greubel Forsey?
In the company we have one hand, our point of reference, our mantra. Each finger is one of the pillars of our philosophy:
- Invention and Innovation
- Hand-crafting and Watchmaking
- Performance and Reliability
- Design and Architecture
- Exclusivity and Rarity
On some of these points there was not much to correct, in fact we became even more passionate to always raise our bar. We needed to improve on point 5, which also includes customers. Before, our average price range was 500,000 CHF. A decision had to be made.
Edoardo Armentano: What kind of decision?
Antonio Calce: Well, if you want to continue like this, okay. You send a lot of people away you keep 20 people and make ultra-rare pieces.
Edoardo Armentano: Otherwise…?
Antonio Calce: Choose the other path: become more than an idea…become a Brand. What do you attract when you make 700K hand-made timepieces? Young people don’t understand and they move away, so we were too far away from them. Before the average age of our customers was 50 and up, now we are delivering from 30 and up.
Our job with the Convexe collection is to lower the middle price range, and open up to new customers. By doing this we can also produce more watches.
Edoardo Armentano: Can you give me some numbers?
Antonio Calce: Of course! We now make 230 pieces. I wanted to make 270 in 2023 but we won’t succeed.
Edoardo Armentano: Is all this rewarding to you?
Antonio Calce: Yes, absolutely! We need to create watches that are more wearable, while keeping in mind that we make watches with work bordering on the paranoid. You have to put the watch on your wrist, you have to be comfortable when you have it on your wrist.
Edoardo Armentano: So the key words are wearability and average price.
Antonio Calce: That’s right, 60% of the allocation must be priced from 160 to 300 thousand CHF. 20% from 300 to 500. The remaining 10% will be made up of mind-boggling pieces.
Edoardo Armentano: Antonio, how do you accomplish all this?
Antonio Calce: Again for what I was saying earlier, if there is no mutual trust, you are not going anywhere. Companies perform if you get along at the top. Between Robert and me there is a relationship that then allows management to function organically and consequently everyone else.
I have employed 40 people in the last 15 months. The decoration department has grown from 9 people to 19. You have to find the right people, they have to be trained, we know it takes time but it is challenging. We have strengthened R&D, to keep the value of inventions high. With decoration and R&D you can capitalize on the strength of Greubel Forsey. The strategy is paying off. In fact, we bought back 20% of Richemont. We have become 3 shareholders-Stephen Forsey, Robert Greubel, and Antonio. We are 100% independent and this gives us a lot of freedom of action.
Edoardo Armentano: It is an exciting moment for the independents world. It looks like a lot is going on and everyone is thriving and competing.
Antonio Calce: There are a lot of new independent brands, and we are happy about that: new ideas, sap for our world, and some healthy competition. But the important thing for us is to have people who know how to work and do it well, to the limits of imagination.
We’re going to end up with 190 people because we’re hiring more, because I can’t let us lower the quality and cut the price in order to “get down” to the market. We are suffering to keep quality high and make the numbers we do, but when the customer looks at our products they know it, it gets to them. And these efforts pay off…
Edoardo Armentano: And what are you doing with Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey?
Antonio Calce: Robert asked me to secure the brand and gave me absolute trust. For me to do that, it means having a 10-year plan and sticking to it to aim for the other 10. Having a 50-year vision. First thing we did was create an organization, a hierarchy. We had to fix the three of us before we did everything else.
Edoardo Armentano: So first internal step, the three of you, then the company, then the market.
Antonio Calce: That’s right. We also acted on distribution. Very important to create exclusivity. We had 60 doors, too many … now we have 24, and we are opening the first flagship store in Ginza in Japan. The boutiques we are planning will have our design our architecture our style.
We need to have more contact with our customers to build trust. We are very clear about how many pieces we make. If you pay attention to our website on every reference in our history we indicate how many pieces we have made. We do that now, even more so, we communicate how long the gauge will last and how many pieces we will make. For a customer to buy Greubel Forsey and “invest,” we have to create trust, security.
In 2027 we will have all new calibers.
Final thoughts
Well guys, we hope we have given you a broad idea of Greubel Forsey and their vision. A 90-piece-a-year atelier that managed to become a 230-piece Brand within 2 years, with an average price around 250 thousand euros. Certainly the CEO has the idea well in mind and the results are showing, both in the numbers and in the quality of the novelties.
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