Category: Girard Perregaux

Laureato Tourbillon with Three Bridges

One of the oldest Swiss watch manufactures, Girard-Perregaux defines, creates, develops and produces in-house both the external components of their watch models and their movement. Inspired by the company’s past, which goes back to 1791, this version of Laureato Tourbillon illustrates Girard-Perregaux’s modern approach to its know-how, the efficience of its research and development department and the company’s ability to base its innovations on tradition.

An exceptional watch design featuring three parallel bridges, one hosting a one minute tourbillon with 72 elements, Laureato Troubillon with three Bridges came out last year in a limited edition, numbered to 10 copies. The watchmaker provides its exclusive clients with an exquisite watch whose three usually golden decks have been replaced by translucent blue ones. Indeed, Girard-Perregaux has won along the years numerous prizes with different models featuring three gold bridges: at the Neuchâtel Observatory in 1860, at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889. Placed on the transparent back case, they now seem to be the silent witnesses of the work performed by the 241 components of this ingenious time measuring device.

Designed in a contemporary style, the new Laureato Tourbillon bu Girard Perregaux is a beautiful watch. First, the bracelet is by itself a small masterpiece: its H shaped links embody the perfection of classical design and simplicity of style. The titanium clasp has double blades and bears the GP logo. The titanium water resistant to 30 meters case has its back secured by 6 screws. An individual number is engraved by hand on the anti-reflective sapphire crystal that gives a nice view of the movement. The octagonal platinum bezel combines perfectly the finishes polished in a spirit of power.

From a technical point of view, this watch is a proud exhibit of the house’s mastership.
The mechanical movement with automatic winding caliber Girard-Perregaux 9600-0004 is one of this model’s most important features. It involves, amongst others, the tourbillon with its hand bevelled and polished escapement and lever bridges, the upper and lower frames balanced by means of regulating gold screws. Despite its 72 components, the tourbillon is extremely lightweight – 0.3 grams.

May 10, 2012
Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar

Proudly inheriting the Girard-Perregaux sober, traditional, yet contemporary style, this new model, manufactured in white and rose gold, offers an ingenious and easy to use mechanism. One of the most useful complications of everyday life, the annual calendar shows the date, automatically taking into account the different durations of months. It does not require more than one correction per year, each February 28 for non-leap years

Enriched by a poetic and technical touch – the equation of time, this model displays by means of a rare astronomical complication, with the hand at 4:30, the difference between real solar time and civil time. In order to understand the importance of this technical spec, we must know that the duration of a solar day varies daily, due to the elliptical shape of the Earth’s orbit. Real solar time and civil time coincide four times a year – on April 16, June 14, September 2 and December 26 and even these dates change during leap years. However, the gap is nearly a quarter of an hour on certain dates. On February 12, for instance, the equation of time is of about + 14 minutes. So, the sun passes the meridian when our clocks mark 12:14. On November 14, the equation of time is approximately -16 minutes; meaning that the noon has come at 11:44 civil time.

As if more sophistication was necessary, the correction of the calendar is made by the crown in both directions. The use is simplified and the absence of a correction device on the 38 mm case manufactured in the Bautte Workshops, leaves this model’s smooth curves intact. While facilitating readability, its display provides a twist of design. Two nicely curved hands punctuate the course of hours and minutes. The date, time equation and the small seconds are indicated by small blue steel hands, each with a specific shape as the months appear in a circular window at 7 o’clock.

The technical nature of this model provided by its GP3300 extra flat self-winding movement is revealed on the back of the watch. The transparent scratch and water resistant sapphire crystal reveals its movement’s architecture, consisting of 287 elements and meticulous finishing performed by the Swiss master watchmakers. A model especially conceived for astronomy lovers, Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar is reserved to a restrictive number of exclusive clients, as it is issued in limited edition – 99 pieces per version.

May 1, 2012
Girard-Perregaux 1966 Chronograph

Girard-Perregaux 1966 collection, launched in 1996, is an homage paid to the year in which the La Chaux-de-Fond based company received the Centenary of Neuchâtel Observatory’s prize as a sign of recognition for its product’s quality and performance. Indeed, the Swiss watch maker’s contribution to the field of precision research is remarkable as Girard-Perregaux was among the first manufacturers of this kind to have an R&D department.

Until last year, this collection was represented by a series of three models: a very sober “three hands”; a very elegant “small second” displaying the date, day of the week, month and moon phases; an “annual calendar and equation of time”. The Swiss factory completed this elegant collection in 2011 by the arrival of a column-wheel chronograph crafted from pink or white gold and boasting a total number of 38 jewels. There are not too many sapphires and not too few either. The same goes for the dial’s diameter – 42 mm. Not too large so that it does not become ostentatious; not too small so that the functions can be easily read – an ideal size that will certainly beat the fads and trends of the up-coming years. Its curvature and horns were studied carefully for a perfect adaptation to the wrist.

The whole line has a classical look featured by simplicity of the design and drawing the attention on the watches’ technical specs. In order to perfect this model’s timeless design, Girard-Perregaux opted for a traditional chronograph with a 30-minute and seconds hand symmetrically displayed in the center of the main dial. The date can be read on a small case positioned at 6 o’clock. This new display provides a perfect balance of the design and aids readability, while a tachymeter scale featuring the outer edge of dial enhances this model’s technical look.

The result of a long experience (over 200 years) its chronograph movement with column wheel belongs to the 3000 family – the foundation stone of this mythical collection. Made up of 304 elements, it was entirely developed and produced in-house. The complexity of the mechanism and the quality of its finishes are revealed to the eyes of this piece’s happy owner by the transparent background of the watch.

April 25, 2012