These Watches Used to Be a Secret of the Ultra Rich. Not Anymore

Greubel Forsey embarked on its new strategy in 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, when sales and production all but ceased. That’s also when Chief Executive Officer Antonio Calce joined the company. At that time, Greubel Forsey had about 95 workers—almost one employee per watch—and the average price per unit hovered around 500,000 francs. Richemont, the Swiss luxury conglomerate that owns Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Vacheron Constantin, still held a 20% stake in the brand it had bought in 2006.