Friday, September 11, 2015

Girard Perregaux - A New Chapter

The Girard Perregaux Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges is the start of better things to come for the brand.

Thanks to the people at The Hour Glass, they invited us for a meeting with the new CEO of Girard Perregaux, Mr. Antonio Calce and their International Sales Director, Mr. Jean-Marc Bories. Mr. Calce laid out plans for the brand - they way forward and around that, five product lines. Amongst them are the Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges as well as the Neo-Tourbillon with three bridges.

This is probably the highlight of the event - the Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges. The timepieces comes without a dial which displays the movement as well as allows better resonance. The front of the timepiece shows off the two gold bridges...

Under the Haute Horlogerie category, this timepiece is a Limited Edition - only 10 will be made. The in-house developed manual winding movement is Calibre GP09500-002 and has a power reserve of 58 hours. And the third bridge is hidden behind the movement - so it is still Three Gold Bridges.

Equally mesmerising is the Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges. GP is famous for their Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges - such an iconic piece. With the Neo-Tourbillon, it brings a certain architectural dimension to the timepiece. In this case, the timepiece was on the wrist of Mr. Bories and the case is made of titanium with DLC. What is incredible is the weight of the Tourbillon - made in Titanium and weighing only a mere 0.25 grams!

The movement is the GP09400 with a minimum power reserve of 60 hours. Finished to the highest level of course. And this is the prototype.

Another category that GP is proud of is the lady's timepieces. Another icon for the brand is the Cat's Eye range. Featured here is the Cat's Eye Small Seconds - very feminine and very attractive IMHO. The new Cat's Eye range has less complications unlike the Zodiac Annual Calendar piece.

Alas, time for the stunning Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges. The rose gold timepiece is simply stunning!

Featuring Calibre GP09600 with a minimum power reserve of 48 hours, the timepiece is water-resistant to 3 ATM.

Exciting times ahead for the brand. Having heard from Mr. Calce and with his credentials, I think GP is going places. The icon of the brand will be even more iconic and they will find their place in Haute Horlogerie as they should. Stay tuned for more developments and thanks to the folks at the Hour Glass again.

Photos taken with an iPhone 6.

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