Year
2026
Series
Technique
Blue ink and gold leaf on paper
Artwork size
56 × 76 cm
Support
Arches Satiné HP
Edition
Unique original
Presentation study
Passe-partout · gold frame
Type
Original work
Studio documentation
Johann Sauty · 1 June 2026
Story
Created in 2026 within Letter to Time, this unique original studies the Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain in blue ink and gold leaf.
This presentation preserves the work, its material language and its documented studio process. Johann Sauty’s photographs record the making before framing.
Read the material notes
Blue ink holds an off-centre dial beside a curved scale, with open mechanical forms below. Around the watch, the handwriting continues in closely spaced lines. The repeated weave of the strap and the fine movement of the written field give the composition two different rhythms.
Gold leaf is present as matter rather than printed colour. Its visibility changes with light and viewpoint: at one angle it can recede into the paper; at another, it interrupts the blue with a reflective flash. The surface therefore asks the viewer to move, revealing something a single fixed photograph cannot fully retain.
That tension—between disciplined line, handwritten time and unstable reflected light—forms the material grammar of this Letter to Time.
Studio sequence
From line to leaf.
Nine views of the work in progress. Swipe or scroll to move through them; use Tab to reach each image’s Enlarge button.
Work details
Inside the Atelier
The work
Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain is a 2026 work in the Letter to Time series. A unique original created as a private commission. The artwork measures 56 × 76 cm; for this presentation, an owner-approved presentation study pairs the sheet with a passe-partout and gold frame.
Materials & technique
According to Mauro Carraro, the work combines blue ink and gold leaf on 300 g/m² Arches paper. In the photographed surface, the blue line constructs the watch and its surrounding handwritten narrative, while gold leaf is placed selectively over the drawn mechanism.
Studio process
Johann Sauty documented the work at Mauro Carraro’s atelier desk on 1 June 2026, before framing. The nine photographs show the work and its making in the atelier.
Exhibition context
Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain is presented as an independent Letter to Time study.
In a private collection
Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain has been acquired.
This unique original has been acquired and is now in a private collection.
Original work · sold
Bespoke commission
Create your own Letter to Time
Use the Letter to Time bespoke commission brief to begin a private conversation about your watch and its story.