Nice looking world timer from Girard-Perregaux, the new ww.tc Worltimer honoring one of the greatest British watchmakers, John Harrison (inventor of the marine chronometer). The dial of this exceptional timepiece depicts the journey undertaken by John Harrison’s son William from Portsmouth, England, to Port Royal, Jamaica, against a map of the Atlantic Ocean. The trip lasted from November 1761 to March 1762 and was intended to test the reliability of Harrison’s H-4 timepiece. The H-4 was proven able to calculate a ship’s longitude to within half a degree, a breakthrough accomplishment for marine navigation. A fitting tribute for one of history’s most important watchmakers!
Girard-Perregaux ww.tc Worldtimer “John Harrison”
limited edition 50 pieces (individually numbered)
41mm white gold case, GP caliber 033 (automatic mechanical), 24 timezone display, engraved rotor
above picture : patriceschreyer.com
Worldtimer Flashback: The very awesome Vacheron Constantin Patrimony WorldTimer that I previewed earlier this year.
“Only Watch” is a biennial charity auction of one-of-a-kind watches created by many of the most renowned watch brands in Switzerland. This exceptional event is held every two years in Monaco during the Monaco Yacht Show and is under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II. All the proceeds from Only Watch go to support Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research which is why many of these watches go extraordinarily high prices.
Starting today Perpetuelle will begin its coverage of Only Watch 2011. Stay tuned in because over the next few months, you will get to see awesome “piece unique” watches from each of the participating brands for the 2011 event:
Click through to see our in-depth preview of each watch:
- Harry Winston Midnight GMT Tourbillon
- Patek Philippe Ref 3939A Minute Repeater
- Urwerk UR-103 “Phoenix”
- Romain Jerome “Rock the Rock”
- Hublot Oceanographic 4000m dive watch
- MB&F HM-4 “Flying Panda”
- TAG Heuer “Monaco Mikrograph”
- Bell & Ross Pink Gold “Casino”
- Louis Vuitton Tambour Diver Chronograph
- Blancpain Villeret Grand Decoration
- Piaget Altiplano Skeleton
- Breguet Reveil Musical Watch
- Audemars Piguet Gstaad Classic
- Jaquet Droz Petit Heure Minute
- Van Cleef & Arpel “From the Earth to the Moon” Watch
- Girard-Perregaux ww.TC
- Corum Golden Bridge Automatic Titanium
- Vulcain Anniversary Heart Watch
- Chanel J12 Marine Watch
- Franck Muller “Totally Switzerland”
- Ulysse Nardin Freak Diavolo
- Vacheron Constantin “Dove” Watch (M.C. Escher-inspired)
- Zenith El Primero “Destro” watches
- Montblanc Villeret 1858 Pulsograph
- Ikepod Red Hourglass by Marc Newson
- Bovet Fleurier, Celsius, Chaumet, Chopard, De Bethune, Delacour, De Witt, Frédérique Constant, Hermès, Laurent Ferrier, Maurice Lacroix, Richard Mille
Only Watch 2011 will be held September 24, 2011 and managed by watch auction house Antiquorum. But you don’t have to wait this long — because part of the excitement leading up to the September 24, 2011 event is the release of each participating brand’s special edition watch.
ONLY WATCH 2009
If you are interested in looking back, I covered the Only Watch 2009 auction extensively including blogging about several of my favorites inlcluding: Piaget Emperador Coussin, MB&F Sage Vaughn HM-2, Bovet 3-in-1 Mona Lisa Watch, Tourneau Jump Hour, Louis Vuitton Tambour, Chanel J12 Joallerie with pink sapphire, and Blancpain 500 Fathoms. You can see all 34 “Only Watch 2009″ watches here on the Perpeuelle World Watch Forum. The Only Watch 2009 auction was hosted by Patrizzi & Co.
To celebrate its 220th Anniversary this year, Girard-Perregaux is producing a blue-dialed version of its 1966 Chronograph. Paired with a white gold case, the main dial has a “sunray” pattern and the chronograph counters are also decorated (see close-up below), giving the watch somewhat more modern and refreshing look. This said, I’ve never been a big fan of this watch mostly because I feel the overall dial layout is a bit unbalanced (chrono counters are too centrally located). How about you? The Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Dial Chronograph price is $29,700 on the strap and $51,850 on the white gold bracelet.
Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Dial Chronograph
40mm white gold case, column wheel chronograph with tachy scale, GP030Co automatic mechanical movement, on black alligator strap
close-up of dial – note “sunburst” pattern on the main dial and “snailed” chronograph counters
Did you Know?
“Do nothing without advice”
A new diver from Girard-Perregaux — the Seahawk Pro 1,000m featuring orange color accents. The name “Sea Hawk” has been used by Girard-Perregaux since the 1940s to designate models designed for use in extreme conditions, however the collection’s current design as you see here first debuted in 2002. The GP033R0 automatic movement is “GP Manufacture”. The case is equipped with a screwed crown, a unidirectional rotating bezel in steel to enable the dive time to be monitored, and a helium decompression valve. And it’s also meets the ISO 6425 dive watch standard, if that sort of thing matters to you.
Girard-Perregaux Seahawk Pro 1,000m
44mm steel case, helium decompression valve, GP0330Ro automatic mechanical movement (GP in-house), rubber strap with extendable folding clasp
Functions: hour, minute, small second, power reserve indicator, date
dial close up:
The watch has a screw-in case-back and is engraved with a porpoise, anchor and trident motif that is a nod to a Girard-Perregaux patent which dates from the end of the 19th century, and at the time were accompanied by the inscription “Do nothing without advice”.
Fit for a gentleman…
I will end the day on a strong note with this new Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 XXL. In fact all of Girard-Perregaux’s 2011 watch collection is absolutely stunning, if you have not yet seen it click through for a look. I really admire this new Vintage 1945. Here’s a nice first look, click through for Full specs / details/ more pics.
Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 XXL
35.25 x 36.20 mm Pink gold case, Girard-Perregaux GP3300 mechanical automatic movement
also available in steel
by Kyle Stults on January 16, 2011
Exquisite…
From the brand who made the “golden bridge” famous, Girard-Perregaux brings us this new “1966 Tourbillon with Golden Bridge” limited edition watch for 2011. An absolutely splendid watch, I must say. Here you can see that the simple, clean and elegant design of the “1966 Small Seconds” watch is elevated to a new level with the addition of a tourbillon in place of the small seconds sub-dial. The tourbillon is secured in place by a beautiful golden bridge, the visual result of which is nothing less than exquisite. Only 50 will be made, each individually number and with a specially engraved caseback. You can read the official press release here on the Official Perpetuelle.com SIHH 2011 News Feed for Girard Perregaux.
Girard-Perregaux 1966 Tourbillon with Golden Bridge (Ref 99535)
40mm pink gold case, automatic mechanical “manufacture” movement
It’s a good week for watches, my friends!
Panerai PAM 386, Vacheron Constantin Quai de l’Ile Annual Calendar, and now this from Girard-Perregaux! I was reallly pleased with Girard-Perregaux’s 2010 offerings at the SIHH in Geneva, and if this new 1966 Small Seconds is any indication of what is to come from GP in Geneva in 2011, it will undoubtedly be another good year for the brand! My only question about this watch is, what’s not to like?
Girard Perregaux 1966 Small Seconds
40mm white or rose gold case, white enamel dial, Girard Perregaux automatic Caliber 3300 (new movement), alligator strap with matching buckle
In case you are wondering why the “SIHH 2011″ notation in the title, it is because these watches are all special previews of the new watches that will be released by several of the major watch brands in January 2011 at a show called the “Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie” — SIHH, for hort. If you want to see what happens at the exclusive, “invitation only” event held in Geneva in January, just check out Perpetuelle.com’s 2009 and 2010 coverage of one of the hottest watch events in the world. And rest assured, we’ll be in full force come January 2011 – You won’t want to miss the action!
26 place Vendôme…
Seriously?
Ermenegildo Zegna, CEO of the Zegna Group, and Gino Macaluso, majority shareholder of Sowind Group (owner of Girard-Perregaux and Jeanrichard), announced today a long-term partnership for the design and production of “Ermenegildo Zegna Watches”. Call me a naysayer, but is this partnership really a good idea?
Gino Macaluso went on the record saying that this partnership is “an interesting tale of two families whose commitment and work ethic have become their own life philosophy, and who have chosen to travel together along a new mutual path while still maintaining their own identities.” Blah…Blah…Blah. Macaluso may want to think twice about that “maintaining their own identities” bit, because it is almost inevitable that the identity of one or both of the brands will be diluted by this partnership. And most likely it will be you, Girard-Perregaux. Sorry, but you had a winner on your hands with the the very beautiful and limited Ermengildo Zegna Centennial watch — you should have called it quits at that point and gone out on top.
Full press release is HERE>>> Read it and Weep!
Ermenegildo Zegna Centennial Watch
Tourbillon, Minute repeater with Westminster chime…
Girard-Perregaux Opera One
40mm white gold case, sapphire case-back, GP9899 manual winding mechanical movement, Frequency: 3 Hz, Power reserve: 75+ hours
What you see above is a new variation of the “Opera One”, an watch that was introduced by Swiss luxury watch manufacture Girard-Perregaux in recent years. Actually I not certain when the first Girard-Perregaux “Opera” watch was introduced (help me here, GP!), but there are now three variations – Opera One, Opera Two, and Opera Three (my personal favorite of the group). These are all highly complicated watches that demonstrate the true prowess of Girard-Perregaux’s watchmakers. With a price well into the six-digits and perhaps approaching $500,000, I think it is safe to say that the the exclusivity of this — in fact all the Opera watches — speak for themselves.
What makes this watch so expensive? Mostly the fact that it has a tourbillon and a minute repeater — arguably two of the most complicated and challenging functions to integrate into a wristwatch. And not just any minute repeater, but one that can play a Westminster chime. A Westminster chime is a specific melody chimed by the watch on the hour using four hammers to play a melody of four different notes – I’m sure you’ve heard it before, it is quite popular on clocks and clocktowers.
This new Opera One watch differs from its predecessor in that it has a a semi-transparent dial. GP describes it as a semi-transparent, tinted sapphire dial”, but what they mean by “tinted” is not clear to me from image. I have mixed feelings about this new dial — while I do appreciate the sunburst pattern on the crystal, it seems somewhat dizzying. But I suppose to have made it completely transparent would have meant this watch would not be much different from the first Opera One (REF : 99750-52-000-BA6A) except for the use of white gold rather than pink gold for the case. Then again, a watch of this caliber is one you absolutely must see to appreciate. And not just see, but hear!
Minute repeater hammers
If you look closely at the dial, you can see the three [white] golden bridges which run horizontally behind the crystal. The “tourbillon with gold bridges” is in fact a signature of the brand and they have produced many watches built around this design. The shape of the three gold bridges on this particular watch have been given a nicely stylised redesign in order to incorporate the chime mechanism, and if you look closely you can see three of the four chime hammers through the dial (the fourth appears when the chime sounds). The lower bridge secures the tourbillon, which is fully visible at the 6 o’clock position. As a reminder for any watch neophytes out there, a tourbillon is a rotating mechanism that is designed to eliminate the effects of gravity on the watch’s regulating organ, the escapement.
The case-back is also sapphire/transparent, but I am not yet able to obtain pictures from GP — I’d venture a good guess this watch looks beautiful on the back side. But as I said above this watch is more about the sound than the sight. While it is not my favorite Girard-Perregaux, it will most surely find a good home in the hands of a discerning collector who can appreciate its beauty.
