Great Watches - Girard-Perregaux

Girard-Perregaux has been producing luxury timepieces since 1791. With numerous awards to its name and a long history of innovation, few watch brands are more qualified to craft fine watches than this exemplar of haute horlogerie.

In the highest echelons of academia, qualifications indicate proficiency and a specialist competence few others share. The same could equally apply to the world of horology, with the finest practitioners of watchmaking demonstrating an elevated expertise, producing a limited number of no-compromise timepieces. Indeed, it is this small group of companies who populate the rarefied world of haute horlogerie.    One such company belonging to the higher echelons of watchmaking is Girard-Perregaux. The Swiss brand, based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, has a rich tradition of making fine watches, dating back to 1791.

UNESCO World Heritage List. La Chaux-de-Fonds is a city in the canton of Neucha^tel, famed for watchmaking. It sits along the spine of the Jura mountains. La Chaux-de-Fonds, together with its neighbour, Le Locle, appears on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The streets are laid out in a system of grids, with workshop windows arranged to capture natural light. Karl Marx in Das Kapital, referred to the city as a “huge factory town” when he analysed the division of labour within the watchmaking industry of the Jura.    Watchmaking continues to play a major role in the economy of this region, with many companies making components, machinery and tools for the watch industry, as well as complete timepieces. However, Girard-Perregaux is one of the most prestigious names in the city with its own museum proving a popular tourist attraction.

Complicated watches. A “complication” is a term used in watchmaking to describe a timepiece which conveys more than just hours and minutes. There are many complications to sate the needs of the most demanding client. The “chronograph” provides a stopwatch function. The “dual time” or “GMT” provides the convenience of an additional hour hand to show the prevailing hour in another time zone, proving highly useful for the business traveller.    In some instances the intricacy of a complication can lead to it being referred to as a “complicated watch”. Alternatively, this term may be applied when several complications are combined and housed in one timepiece. The nature of a complicated watch often necessitates the use of many parts, some barely visible to the naked eye. Only the most capable and experienced watchmaker can work on this type of timepiece, given the level of skill necessary to bring it to fruition. Moreover, some watches will require many weeks or even months to complete.

The tourbillon and the birth of the Three Gold Bridges. The tourbillon is arguably one of the most complicated watch movements. It was invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet and patented in 1801 and is, for many, the most coveted complicated watch. The escapement is a device which receives power from a tensioned spring, the “main spring” and ultimately portions this energy to advance the hands of the watch in a uniform and precise way.    Breguet, a genius, realised that gravity could unduly influence the rate keeping of a watch and conceived his “tourbillon” or whirlwind. Today, the enhanced rate keeping of a tourbillon, compared with a standard mechanical watch, is negligible and is often chosen solely for its aesthetic beauty and hypnotic motion.    In approximately 1860, Constant Girard-Perregaux created a pocket watch featuring a tourbillon with three parallel bridges. This timepiece received a first-class award from the Observatory of the Canton of Neucha^tel. The expertly polished bridges conferred a beguiling aesthetic. The Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges was ultimately offered in wristwatch form and now enjoys iconic status within the watch collecting community.    Girard-Perregaux has always been innovative and earlier this year, the brand released its Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges. The design overflows with modernity whilst still respecting traditional watchmaking craftsmanship.

More silverware. In 1966, Girard-Perregaux introduced the first high frequency movement with its balance beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour (vph). The balance is a small wheel at the heart of the escapement which oscillates to and fro. It features a fine coiled spring at its centre, the hairspring.    At this time, typical frequencies were much slower and would range from 18,000 to 28,800 vph. Once again, Girard-Perregaux was pushing the boundaries in the pursuit of enhanced accuracy. Its efforts were subsequently recognised by the Administrative Council of the Canton of Neucha^tel with the award of the “Observatory Centenary Prize” in 1966. Interestingly, it is this year which provides the name for one of the brand’s collections, the Girard-Perregaux 1966.    Girard-Perregaux has also received critical acclaim for its Constant Escapement L.M, launched in 2013.

Remarkable precision. The ultimate goal of any watchmaker is to achieve heightened levels of accuracy. A creative watchmaker, holding a train ticket between his forefinger and thumb, conceived the idea of the Constant Escapement L.M. This watch features a fine silicon blade, measuring only 14 microns in thickness. It buckles backwards and forwards, accurately portioning doses of energy, causing the watch hands to advance with remarkable precision.    This exemplar of innovative thinking delivers a novel means of enhancing the rate-keeping of a timepiece and is arguably one of the biggest advances in the field of haute horlogerie since the advent of the tourbillon.    The watch world was truly amazed at this technical achievement. In 2013, the watch received the “Aiguille d’Or”, the most prestigious award from the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). The GPHG is regarded as the watchmaking industry’s equivalent of the Oscars and, in a multi-billion pound industry, its prizes are coveted by German and Swiss brands alike.     Further accolades have been received from other parts of the globe. At the time of writing, the Girard-Perregaux Constant Escapement L.M. has received eight different international awards and counting. 

Excellence and value. Regrettably, I share the plight of many watch collectors, unable to afford some of the most complex models from Girard-Perregaux. These models attract six-figure pricing that would buy a row of terrace houses in my native Lancashire.    However, Girard-Perregaux does offer more accessible timepieces. I must add these are not “cheap” watches; the pursuit of excellence precludes the production of low-cost watches. Nevertheless, some watches are available from less than £8000 and, compared with similar models from competing brands, represent excellent value, especially considering that they feature “manufacture” movements and a high degree of hand craftsmanship.    A few months ago, I had the pleasure of wearing the Vintage 1945 XXL Small Second for a few weeks. This watch features an engaging deep blue dial and is supplied with a matching alligator strap. The case of the watch arcs, following the profile of the wrist, delivering sublime levels of comfort. Interestingly, the sapphire crystal, the dial and even the hands all follow this curving line. The resultis truly beautiful.    The aforementioned Girard-Perregaux 1966 is available in several versions, but a personal favourite is the Column Wheel Chronograph. The watch is delivered in a gorgeous pink gold case, measuring 40mm in diameter, and features two subdials. This is a complication which often proves useful in daily life, ideal for timing events with a simple press of the push pieces adjacent to the crown. The column wheel chronograph is a type of stopwatch movement and is highly prized by the cognoscenti. This particular model delivers a smooth, almost buttery action to its push pieces.

Diverse and familiar. The Girard-Perregaux range of models is extensive. The designs span the spectrum from traditional to neoteric. The complications range from the comparatively simple to the mind boggling. Men's, ladies', large or small, the diversity of purchasing options is breathtaking.    All Girard-Perregaux models share some specific qualities in common. The movements are finely finished. The dials and cases exude a notable degree of quality to their construction. Moreover, this degree of exalted creation confers a lifetime of faithful service, a trait synonymous with this historical maison and familiar to the company’s loyal clientele.    I return to the subject of qualifications. The Swiss brand’s artisans imbue each component with time-served know-how. Indeed, Girard-Perregaux is highly qualified, an aspect any ambitious student should strive to emulate.