Two years ago, Fawaz Gruosi unveiled a timepiece that he had long since dreamed of: the New Retro collection. Seven years of research and development had been lavished on shaping a rectangular case graced with softly rounded angles and elegant, well-controlled curves. A minimalist watch whose complexity stems from its construction, featuring a case composed of two cambered and perfectly matched sapphire crystals, elegantly united by a slender ribbon of gold.

The wide case houses a tourbillon bearing the de GRISOGONO signature. The New Retro Skeleton Tourbillon transcends a legendary complication in a daring and spectacular style. Symbolising the philosophy driving Fawaz Gruosi since the creation of the Maison de GRISOGONO, the New Retro Skeleton Tourbillon admirably embodies this new take on watchmaking tradition: daring to create shapes that highlight functions, to develop original complications, to play with aesthetic codes in order to magnify the art of time measurement. For 24 years, it has been consistently making an impression with a string of surprising and quirky designs. Brilliantly escaping the bonds of existing conventions, de GRISOGONO has developed an exclusive movement with an original construction. As if suspended inside the case and held by majestic bridges with an architecture evoking the grilles of vintage cars, the tourbillon flaunts its free-spirited attitude at 3 o’clock. This skeletonised movement is elegantly framed by a sapphire crystal case offering a panoramic vision of time. A movement playing with symmetrical and asymmetrical effects, epitomising its unique and daring style.

Without changing the case size or its cambered profile, the watchmakers have risen to the challenge of building a movement that is curved right the way through to its bridges. The carefully calculated proportions of this calibre, as well as the horizontal alignment of its components, have made it possible to create sufficient space inside the watch to accommodate the most elegant of horological complications: the tourbillon.

This in-line skeleton movement flaunts its non-conformist appearance and reveals its intricate inner workings in an oblong format smoothly embracing the case middle. At 3 o’clock, the heart of the movement – the balance-wheel, balance-spring and escapement – and its 83 components defy gravity. The black rhodium-plated and gold decorated upper and lower bridges of the tourbillon carriage, holding the entire movement, are graced with alternating sandblasted and horizontal satin finishing. They feature hand-polished chamfers that called for more than 60 hours of work. The sunburst barrel with its openworked scrolling motif, reveals tantalising glimpses of its spring, while the ratchet wheel plays on the contrast between the sunburst swirls and a black lacquer coating.

This original construction pays tribute to the past and to one of the noblest inventions, patented in 1801, while offering a vision firmly embedded in the present. A numbered movement issued in a 25-piece limited edition, housed in a pink or white gold case. The dG 31-88 calibre operates at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour and has a 72-hour power reserve. Water-resistant to 30 metres, the New Retro Skeleton Tourbillon is teamed with an alligator leather strap featuring large square scales and a saddle finish. A watch endowed with the aesthetic codes of the 1950s, a period that Fawaz Gruosi regards as synonymous with supreme elegance.