Since opening in 1999, the Girard-Perregaux Museum has exhibited many important collections of watches from the past which have served to illustrate the history of one of the oldest and most prestigious Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufactures.

Currently undergoing renovation following a burglary, the Museum has organised a temporary exhibition in Paris, presenting part of its collection at Place Vendôme on the premises of jewellers Boucheron, a friend of the Brand and a partner in various projects. An opportunity to discover some of the Brand's landmark creations, including the famous Tourbillon with three gold Bridges, once more in Paris, where it was awarded the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in 1889 for its exceptional character.

Tourbillon with three gold Bridges. © Girard-Perregaux

The Girard-Perregaux Museum will reopen its doors in La-Chaux-de-Fonds in 2011 to mark the Brand's 220th anniversary.

Watchmaking exhibition – Girard-Perregaux Museum
Open to the public from 13th to 16th October 2010
Boucheron
26 Place Vendôme, Paris

Guided visits every day, by appointment only.
Bookings and enquiries: 
expoparis@girard-perregaux.com 
Tel. +33 1 72 25 65 41


 
This three-part exhibition will open with an exploration of the ties that bind Parisian jewellery and Swiss watchmaking, as well as the history of the Maison Girard-Perregaux from its inception to the present day; the research undertaken by its founder Constant Girard (1825-1903), with particular regard to the movement of a pocket watch which would become the Brand's icon, the celebrated Tourbillon with three gold Bridges; its participation in the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889 and the recognition it received there.
 

"Croix". © Girard-Perregaux

The second exhibition space will be dedicated to the Genevan watchmaking and jewellery house Bautte, which was taken over by Constant Girard-Perregaux's son early last century, and to its founder, Jean-François Bautte (1772-1837). Known only today by a few specialists, Bautte was the most famous Genevan watchmaker-jeweller of his time. Visitors will be able to admire numerous dress watches and archive documents, and take a close look at the text in which Alexandre Dumas describes the boutique as "the most fashionable jeweller's boutique in Geneva".
 

Extra-thin Bautte pocket watch. © Girard-Perregaux

The third part of the exhibition will cover a number of themes: a model of the Villa Marguerite, the Girard-Perregaux Museum, situated in an urban environment, attesting to the classification of the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds as a UNESCO world heritage site. Visitors will also be able to discover the origins of our time zone system, against a backdrop of old watchmaking tools and machines. The numerous awards received by Girard-Perregaux from the Neuchâtel Observatory will also be on display. The final exhibition space will reveal the links between two of the Brand's icons: the Tourbillon with three gold Bridges and the Vintage 1945 model.   


La Esmeralda. Constant Girard-Perregaux's masterpiece, back in Paris after more than 120 years…

True technological showcases, the Universal Exhibitions, of which the first took place in London in 1851, were huge events that enabled exhibitors from various countries to compare their developments. Awarding prizes, medals and distinctions to the most deserving creations, they contributed much to progress during the industrial revolution.
 

La Esmeralda. © Girard-Perregaux

At the 1867 Exhibition held in Paris, Constant Girard-Perregaux, founder of the eponymous brand, presented for the very first time a watch of a particular calibre featuring straight bridges with pointed ends. Following this he went on to make countless improvements to the piece until, in 1889, his famous Tourbillon with three gold Bridges, the icon of the Maison Girard-Perregaux, was finally awarded a gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition. In the meantime, to protect the design of his movement with three arrow-shaped parallel bridges, Constant Girard-Perregaux had prudently applied to the United States Patent Office (no such competent body existed at the time in Switzerland) for a patent. The patent was awarded to him on 25th March 1884.

Numerous reports from the 1889 Universal Exhibition, also held in Paris, make reference to the exceptional appearance of the Maison Girard-Perregaux displays, and to the presence among them of a high-precision chronometer whose beauty no visitor could ignore. Just like its movement, a technical tour de force featuring unique architecture, the rich decoration adorning its case represented a masterclass in engraving. Indeed, its creation called for the application of almost all the techniques used in the art. Playing with the effects of light, the engraver revealed a virtuosity in pattern composition and the treatment of various depths, as well as in the creation of contrast between gloss and matt surfaces.

This piece, whose tourbillon escapement mechanism is equally a source of tireless fascination, was the pocket watch that would later become known as "La Esmeralda". Having achieved remarkable results during tests carried out in the preceding months at the Neuchâtel Observatory in Switzerland, it was awarded a Bulletin de Marche by the institution. For the jury at the 1889 Universal Exhibition, a gold medal was deemed the award befitting the perfection, both technical and aesthetic, of this extraordinary timepiece.

Bearing the name of the luxury boutique in Mexico owned by the agents Hauser and Zivy, to which it was entrusted for a while, "La Esmeralda" then became the property of Porfirio Diaz (1830-1915), president of Mexico from 1876 to 1911. Acquired in the late 1960s from the head of state's great-grandson, this pocket chronometer is now the iconic model of the Girard-Perregaux Museum's collections.

"La Esmeralda" pocket watch 1889
Constant GIRARD-PERREGAUX (1825-1903)

Gold medal at the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition

"Savonnette" type case in pink gold, richly engraved, bearing the "CG" monogram on one face and a cartouche containing three galloping horses on the other.

"Grand feu" white enamel dial with painted Arabic numerals and offset seconds disc; fine "Poire Stuart" type hour and minute hands in polished blued steel; bolt time setting.

20-ligne movement with three parallel gold bridges, chamfered and "bassine-shaped" with arrow-shaped ends; jewels mounted in screwed gold settings; 1 minute tourbillon, very finely cut cage, chamfered and polished, equipped with a pivoted detent escapement with gold spring blade; Guillaume-type self-compensating bimetallic balance with gold adjustment screws; Phillips-type terminal curve hairspring; all wheel platforms in gold; barrel engraved with the inscription "Girard Perregaux/* PATENTED */MARCH 25th 1884", main plate engraved with "DÉPOSÉ".

SOURCE: Girard-Perregaux, Worldtempus