Watch Paparazzi

Boxer Badr Hari spotted wearing Greubel Forsey

Somewhere above the clouds on a private jet, Badr Hari — Morocco's most celebrated combat sports export — flashed a thumbs-up for the camera with a piece on his wrist that most serious collectors will never see in the metal. The watch is a Greubel Forsey GMT Black Edition, one of only 22 examples released, and it represents one of the rarest and most complex wristwatches produced in the modern era of independent watchmaking.

Greubel Forsey launched the GMT in 2011 as a demonstration that extreme horological complication and practical legibility need not be mutually exclusive. The movement — calibre GF03 — runs at 21,600 vph and incorporates the manufacture's signature 24-second tourbillon inclined at 25 degrees, widely regarded as one of the most effective implementations of the complication for positional error correction. A three-dimensional rotating globe in the lower dial hemisphere displays universal time visually, while a 24-hour GMT subdial, a local time display, and a day/night indicator complete the information hierarchy. The Black Edition transforms the standard version's polished aesthetic into an all-business instrument: black DLC-coated titanium case measuring 43.5mm, blacked-out movement bridges, and a matte black dial that forces the eye to work — and rewards it.

With a production run of just 22 pieces globally, the GMT Black sits in rarefied collector territory even within the Greubel Forsey catalogue, itself a brand that routinely limits references to double-digit quantities. The combination of the tourbillon, the mechanical globe, and the DLC treatment makes this arguably the most visually and technically concentrated piece the Le Locle manufacture has produced for the wrist-worn segment. Comparable Greubel Forsey pieces have achieved strong results at Phillips and Christie's, consistently exceeding estimate.

Badr Hari, the Dutch-Moroccan kickboxer who has held multiple K-1 and Glory heavyweight titles, is known for an unapologetically luxurious lifestyle, and his watch choices tend toward statement pieces rather than understated classics. The Greubel Forsey GMT Black Edition fits that profile precisely — it is not a watch that whispers.

At a UK RRP of £430,500 (approximately $540,000 at time of release), the GMT Black Edition never had a conventional retail transaction. On the secondary market, the combination of sub-25-piece production, DLC treatment, and tourbillon ensures that verified examples command significant premiums. This is a watch that does not depreciate.