Founded in 1791, Girard-Perregaux is a long-established company with a rich history and deep ties to Japan. By deepening your understanding of this, you will be able to better understand the appeal of the brand. We will explore why Girard-Perregaux is highly regarded by many watch connoisseurs.
The history of the long-established watch brand Girard-Perregaux
Girard-Perregaux is a long-established manufacturer with a history spanning 230 years. Let's take a look at the glorious history of the brand.
The Beginnings of Girard-Perregaux
The history of Girard-Perregaux began in 1791 when Jean-François Botté, then 19 years old, founded a watch workshop in Geneva, Switzerland. The beautiful watches that Botté created captivated royalty and aristocrats around the world.
More than half a century after the founding of Bott's workshop, Constant Girard opened a workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1856. He purchased Bott's workshop in 1906, laying the foundation for the current Girard-Perregaux brand.
The brand is named after Constant Girard and his wife Marie Perregaux.
Technological innovation through the "Three Gold Bridges"
In 1867, Constant Girard released a pocket watch that would later become known as a legendary model: a tourbillon model with "Three Gold Bridges," featuring a design of three bridges and a circle lined up neatly.
The tourbillon, which rotates a cage incorporating a regulating mechanism, is a complex mechanism that is difficult to manufacture.
With its outstanding design, which shows the beauty of its construction and outstanding technology at a glance, this pocket watch won a gold medal at the Paris World's Fair in the same year it was released, and it can be said that this watch brought great fame to the Maison.
Girard-Perregaux's great technological innovations continue to this day, with the Constant Escapement LM, released in 2013, solving the long-standing problem of mechanical watches: maintaining stable accuracy.
Contributing to the development of quartz watches
When discussing the history of Girard-Perregaux, one cannot leave out its contribution to the development of quartz watches. Around the same time that Japan's Seiko released what is believed to be the world's first mass-produced quartz wristwatch in 1969, Girard-Perregaux also began mass-producing the first Swiss quartz wristwatch.
While the Seiko quartz watch of the time, the Quartz Astron, had a vibration frequency of 8192 Hz, the Girard-Perregaux quartz movement had a vibration frequency of 32,768 Hz, which is the standard for quartz watches today.
The Quartz Astron caused a sensation around the world, and Girard-Perregaux's quartz watches were overshadowed. However, Girard-Perregaux, which produced quartz watches with far higher accuracy than the Quartz Astron, also made a significant contribution to the development of quartz watches.
The relationship between Japan and Girard-Perregaux
Girard-Perregaux is a watch brand with deep ties to Japan. Learn about its contributions to the spread of watches in Japan.
The first imported Swiss watch
Girard-Perregaux was the first Swiss watch brand to be officially imported into Japan. Constant Girard's brother-in-law, François Perregaux, first visited Japan in 1860, at the end of the Edo period, to promote Swiss watches.
He set up a shop in Yokohama's foreign settlement, now Chinatown, selling Swiss watches, including Girard-Perregaux pocket watches. In 1864, a trade treaty was signed between Japan and Switzerland, allowing the official import of Swiss luxury watches.
François Perregaux, who passed away in Japan in 1877, is still buried in the Yokohama Foreign Cemetery. Girard-Perregaux and Japan have maintained a good relationship to this day, and in 2020, a limited edition model was released to commemorate the 160th anniversary of Girard-Perregaux's arrival in Japan.
The achievements of François Perregaux
When François Perregaux first visited Japan, people lived under a time system known as the "seasonal time system," which divides day and night into periods by defining 30 minutes after sunrise and sunset as "six o'clock in the morning" and "six o'clock in the evening."
In Japan, where constant timekeeping is not common, watches themselves were not popular. In order to survive in a foreign land, François Perregaux diversified his business by selling not only watches but also soft drinks and wine.
With the introduction of the fixed time system and the Gregorian calendar during the Meiji Restoration in 1873, watches became an essential item in Japan as well. François Perregaux delivered pocket watches to many people, making a major contribution to the spread of watches in Japan.
Why Girard-Perregaux is valued by watch enthusiasts
The precision of the internal mechanism and unique design are the main reasons why Girard-Perregaux has gained such a high reputation. We will explain in detail what makes them so appealing.
Precision internal mechanisms produced entirely in-house
Since its founding, Girard-Perregaux has been a manufacture brand that has been committed to in-house production. Every step of the process is carried out by hand by skilled craftsmen.
While many Swiss luxury watch manufacturers outsource the production of parts and movements, or mechanize many of their manufacturing processes, there are very few maisons that carry out the entire process in-house, primarily by hand, from the movement to the finished watch.
The internal mechanisms of Girard-Perregaux, created with exceptional craftsmanship, not only boast high precision but also enjoy delicate designs. Some of the movements are even supplied to other companies in the same industry. It is the excellent quality that only a manufacture brand can offer that attracts watch enthusiasts.
A modern design with a unique presence
One of the charms of Girard-Perregaux is that many of its collections retain antique elements within modern designs. The combination of the Maison's history and innovation gives it a unique presence.
For example, the "Vintage 1945," one of Girard-Perregaux's core collections, features a rectangular case that blends tradition and modernity. It is a unique collection that retains an antique feel while incorporating contemporary design elements.
Another notable feature is that the brand does not use any extravagant decorations, so it does not make excessive claims. It is a brand that can elevate masculinity with its unique designs that are neither modern nor antique.
