There Is One Greubel Forsey $1.2 Million Grande Sonnerie Watch Available In The U.S., Guess Where

Unveiled in January, the Grande Sonnerie is the most complex watch created by specialists watchmakers, Greubel Forsey. Only five will be made this year. Two will be shipped to the U.S. One of those has been presold.

This leaves Bellusso Jewelers, a luxury watch and jewelry boutique at The Palazzo Las Vegas resort, as the only store in the U.S. that will carry this watch, which has an estimated price tag of approximately $1.2 million. The final price will be based on exchange rates at the time of delivery.

Rick Moore, the Bellusso store manager, credits the strong relationship he has with the watch brand. "It’s really all about relationships,” he said. “In fact, Stephen Forsey (co-founder of the watch brand with Robert Greubel) has made many visits to Bellusso Jewelers and has also attended client dinners.”

Greubel Forsey says it is the most complex watch it has ever made—a big statement from a watch brand with the goal of improving timekeeping precision. It specializes in highly complicated watches with multiple tourbillons and inclined balance wheels that have won some of the most prestigious awards in the watch world. Many of its ideas are tested in the company’s laboratory based on a proprietary development methodology called “Experimental Watch Technology” (EWT).

The EWT lab certainly came in handy for this watch as it is the result of 11 years of research and development. The filing of two patents and the development of an acoustic resonance cage for a pure sound went into the creation of this timepiece with 11 security functions and at least 935 parts.

It is equipped with a silent striking regulator and a 24-second tourbillon, all housed and well-balanced within a 43.5mm titanium case. It uses a manually wound movement but the striking mechanism has a self-winding system that provides about 20 hours of power reserve in Grande Sonnerie mode. It operates on three modes: Grande Sonnerie (which strikes at the hours and the quarters), Petite Sonnerie (which strikes at the full hours) and a silent mode. The sound is enhanced by an acoustic resonance cage made of titanium.

When unveiled in January at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), the brand said it would produce five to eight pieces per year. A company spokesperson told me more recently that only five will be made this year.

“One watchmaker is responsible for assembling the piece and one watchmaker is responsible for polishing all of the parts,” the spokesperson said. “One piece takes about a year to produce.”

Moore says he expects to receive the watch within the next two months. He’s contacted his VIP clients to let them know it’s available.