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.

Girard Perregaux & The Constant Escapement

It has been a long time since a significant development has hit the world of horology and with the Constant Escapement, I believe Girard Perregaux has hit the mark!

The Hour Glass hosted a lunch with Girard Perregaux and present was Stefano Macaluso who heads up the Product Development at GP. The luncheon was to showcase the Constant Escapement and a few new watches from the brand.

Stefano started by explaining how the Constant Escapement works and why this is a significant achievement in the world of horology. The idea came to the inventor while he was in a train and playing with a business card. For more on the tech specs, please visit the GP Website.

The first Constant Escapement timepiece is a large 47mm timepiece largely due to the size of the escapement as well as the use of a double barrel to provide 6 days of power reserve. Well made as one would expect from GP for a watch like that. It is expected that the escapement will revolutionize watchmaking in quite a significant way.

Unlike normal escapement, the constant escapement "releases" energy to the "heart" of the watch at a constant rate thereby ensuring a higher rate of accuracy whether the watch is fully wound or when it is coming to the end of its 6 days of power reserve.

The escapement is made from Silicium and the lip-shaped or some call it butterfly-shaped escapement can be made smaller. At the back, you can also see the double twin barrel providing 8 days of power reserve. The back of the watch is amazing - the balance wheel held in place by the iconic bridges.

Presented at the lunch were several iconic pieces from the Three Bridges Tourbillon collections. The Three Bridges Tourbillon is the icon of the brand and comes in several iterations. The most striking one I saw must be the Neo Tourbillon.

The bridges are made from titanium coated with DLC and with the deeper case, the bridge extends over like an arch giving the watch a three dimensional look and feel. The black bridges also put a more sporty feel to this classic.

The back of the watch revealing the prototype.

A close up of the tourbillon. Pardon the pictures - all taken in restaurant lighting.

Up next the Three Bridges Tourbillon in a Vintage 1945 case. The bridges in this one is straight unlike their earlier models which used the iconic bridge structure.

A very handsome piece I must say. Well proportioned and a nice twist to the three bridges.

The case is nicely curved so the watch sits well on the wrist - even for my small wrist, the watch wears very comfortably.

Last but not least is the "regular" Three Bridges Tourbillon - iconic to the brand. In the very familiar round case.

And the case back. You may not be able to see it, but the finishing on these timepieces are top notch.

Presented at the luncheon was also the Triple Axis Tourbillon from GP but I shall leave it to another post for that.

I love the the Three Bridges Tourbillon in any fashion and it is definitely on my list of dream watches - actually on the list that says "beyond reach". Hopefully I get a chance one day to acquire one at an affordable price. Till then, I will continue dreaming about it. Thanks to the Hour Glass for hosting the luncheon.

Girard Perregaux - Three Bridges Tourbillon

The Three Bridges Tourbillon by Girard Perregaux is an iconic timepiece and one on my list of Dream Watches.

Here's a first hand view of the iconic piece...

Stay tuned - more of the stunning work of art coming up in my next report. Just had to share this with you first.

GP - Gina Pang and her Girard Perregaux

For the longest time, my wife has her eyes set on Girard Perregaux's Cat's Eye. Not only does GP represents her initials, she likes the unique shape of the watch.

The Cat's Eye comes in different iterations - from simple time only to bi-retro moonphase. I managed to get my hands on the now discontinued Zodiac Annual Calendar.

The white gold version with the 68 diamond bezel comes with a mother-of-pearl dial. The watch comes with a satin strap and that adds a touch of femininity to the whole timepiece.

The watch features an Annual Calendar in the form of the Zodiac calendar. The diamond marker at the 7 o'clock indicates month while the date disc is at the 1 o'clock position. The annual calendar feature is different from the perpetual calendar in that you need to adjust it for the month of February every year. Other than that, an annual calendar watch will automatically take into consideration the 30 or 31 days depending on the month. The moonphase is in a rather unusual position - towards the centre of the dial.

The watch comes with an automatic movement and the rose gold rotor is engraved - with her initials no less!

Overall, a pretty package that my wife is very happy with. And I am happy for her too.