A brand is known for creating timepieces that evoke emotion, Girard-Perregaux at its very core was born out of pure love. The short story about the brand’s origins is that Constant Girard, the founder of Girard & Co, which was a firm based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, met Marie Perregaux. Marie Perregaux was the daughter of an important watchmaker, based near Le Loche. The two fell in love and wed in 1854 and two years later their surnames were combined which is what led to the brand name; Girard-Perregaux.
The Three Gold Bridges model is an iconic element of the brand’s history and has appeared in numerous models throughout the brand’s lineup. The Three Gold Bridges design started with the pocket watch “La Esmerelda” back in 1889. Girard-Perregaux treated the bridges in the La Esmerelda not just as functioning parts, but ones that would also serve as an aesthetic purpose to the viewer.
Now, Girard-Perregaux has reimagined the iconic Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges with precious stones to create the “Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges Ruby Heart”. A watch dedicated to love and passion, inspired by the romance between Constant Girard and Marie Perregaux.
The current CEO of Girard Perregaux, Patrick Pruniaux, explains that “with this latest model, we have celebrated the iconic Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges but refined it to allow for smaller proportions. At the start of the development process for this model we looked to our past and were inspired by the romance between Constant Girard and Marie Perregaux. We chose to combine a tourbillon, a highly desirable complication, with a ruby heart and other precious stones. In my opinion, the resultant timepiece is a wonderful expression of love.”
Design:
The Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges Ruby Heart comes in a 38mm pink gold case which is set with 56 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 1.25cts, and 18 brilliant-cut rubies totalling 0.36 ct along the bezel edge.
As the name suggests, the “ruby heart” cabochon is located on the crown. The sapphire anti-reflective glass opens the view into the beautiful dial where the Three Gold Bridges lie.
Girard-Perregaux has somewhat subtly re-designed the Three Gold Bridges from previous models, to ensure that it fits the new case size and dial layout. Each of the Three Bridges is hand-finished and polished, which is the same for the movement used in this timepiece. The finishing for the bridges includes mirror-polishing, which is what gives that beautiful aesthetic appearance on the dial. The Three Bridges are made from pink gold, which against the backdrop of the ruby heart dial, stands out very nicely.
The hour and minute hands sit above the three bridges and have a dauphine-type design making it look quite refined and sharp. The upper bridge located at 12 o’clock connects to the barrel which has been made from a hand-engraved white gold disc. The central bridge sits atop the hour wheel and finally, the third bridge located at 6 o’clock position contains the tourbillon. Designed according to Girard-Perregaux tradition, the tourbillon has a lyre-shaped cage, which is made up of 79 components and weighs just 0.3g! This incredibly low mass of the cage is a huge benefit to the design and movement overall, as it leads mitigates power consumption. The final touch to the tourbillon design is the blue steel hand which is fixed to the tourbillon cage. This blue hand acts as the constant seconds for the timepiece.
Movement:
The engine behind the Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges Ruby Heart is Girard-Perregaux’s own self-winding movement; the Calibre GP09600-1620. This movement features a micro-rotor which is located unobtrusively behind the barrel.
Each part in the movement is created to the finest finish in watchmaking as they are polished, chamfered, and has been carved out by hand with to a scale of 1/100mm. The movement operates at a frequency of 3 Hz (21,600 VpH) and thanks to the extremely light tourbillon cage, the movement can push out a power reserve of approximately 50 hours.
A watch suited for the romantics but only a few can only get a hold of, the all-new Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges Ruby Heart by Girard-Perregaux is unfortunately limited to only three models!
