After our final main story about Girard-Perregaux, born out of our dialog with Managing Director Marc Michel-Amadry, we didn’t anticipate a second run to revolve round a grand complication. To start with, Girard-Perregaux has been using the sports activities magnificence wave fairly properly, with the Laureato lastly gaining the traction it has lengthy deserved. In our final dialog, Michel-Amadry took us by means of a brand new motion, the automated GP4800, that will be powering a brand new technology of Laureato Fifty fashions. And the successors, however simply but.
As you’ll be able to see right here, we couldn’t have been extra incorrect if we tried! Michel-Amadry blew by means of city once more to point out us what should be amongst essentially the most impressively completed grand problems that we have now seen. It definitely has the advantage of being the least bombastically named! As Michel-Amadry defined, the Minute Repeater Flying Bridges will not be about advertising discuss – it ties straight again to the founding of the manufacture that will grow to be Girard-Perregaux, by Jean-François Bautte in 1791.
That authentic thought was in regards to the phrase manufacture – Bautte supposed to grasp all points of watchmaking in-house, or as a lot as doable. Certainly, the manufacture made its first chiming watch in 1820. To actually elevate issues for the twenty first century
although, Girard-Perregaux must combine Fixed Girard’s Three Gold Bridges in some way. This bit is essential as a result of it includes making the invisible seen, one thing that enormously advantages chiming watches. By our reckoning, the Minute Repeater Flying Bridges rises to the event.
With out additional ado, we welcome Michel-Amadry to enlighten us as soon as extra.
It’s good to see you once more, not so lengthy after our first assembly final yr! Since we will likely be spending most of our time immediately on the Minute Repeater Flying Bridges, allow us to get proper into it!
Gladly. I like to start with a query I obtain each time we introduce a significant grand complication or a brand new flagship motion: “How lengthy have you ever been engaged on this?” Folks normally anticipate a selected timeframe – 4 to 10 years. For instance, the Fixed Escapement we launched in 2013 took greater than 15 years of analysis and improvement.
For this piece, what we prefer to say is it took us 235 years! That isn’t only a advertising narrative; it’s basically the results of 235 years of heritage.
The Calibre GP9530 is outstanding not merely for its element depend – 475 elements – however for its extraordinary degree of hand-finishing. The motion options 1,340 hand-polished angles, together with 295 inside angles, which exceeds typical haute horlogerie requirements. Finishing and assembling this motion requires over 440 hours – roughly 11 weeks of devoted work by a single grasp watchmaker. As a result of every watchmaker invests a lot of themselves into the piece, each motion is hand-signed on a satin-finished plate with their initials. Jean-Luc Borel, our grasp watchmaker liable for this motion, indicators his initials, “JLB,” straight onto it.
That explains the visible within the press supplies (although not seen in our pictures right here). On that be aware, inform us extra in regards to the motion structure, which is far more stunning than the phrases 295 inside angles!
Persevering with Fixed Girard’s legacy, the structure reconciles acoustic efficiency with sculptural magnificence. The grasp watchmakers, motion engineers, and case designers collaborated so that each useful determination serves an aesthetic function.
The signature Three Bridges format has been reinterpreted: Two bridges are positioned on the dial facet and one on the again. The hammers and gongs are positioned dial-side so acoustic vitality isn’t absorbed by the wrist. The hammers themselves mirror the long-lasting form of the bridges.
The motion structure mirrors human anatomy: a central backbone flanked by important organs. On the dial facet, the mainspring barrel is visually balanced by a white-gold micro-rotor of similar diameter, creating central vertical symmetry. The devoted minute repeater barrel is positioned centrally. Capabilities that might create undesirable acoustic friction – such because the centrifugal governor – are positioned on the again, and the micro-rotor is mounted on a jewel quite than ball bearings to minimise extraneous noise. Fixed Girard’s historic Nineteenth-century lyre-shaped tourbillon cage completes the composition.
Moreover, the bridges and mainplate are crafted from titanium. The plate is built-in seamlessly into the case construction.
Jean-Luc Borel has been an energetic musician since age 14. He has a educated ear and serves as the final word arbiter of whether or not a watch is acoustically prepared for launch. If he’s dissatisfied with the chime, it requires disassembling main parts of the motion for minute acoustic changes. Manufacturing is strictly capped at eight items per yr, adhering to a “one watchmaker, one watch” philosophy. We at the moment have two grasp watchmakers certified for this calibre, with the second working underneath Jean-Luc’s steerage.
Lastly, throughout our two centuries of chiming legacy, this represents our first automated minute repeater outfitted with a micro-rotor.
Why tackle the added complexity of constructing this an automated quite than a conventional manual-wind repeater?
A micro-rotor doesn’t hinder the view like a full winding rotor; it integrates flush into the motion structure. From a sensible standpoint, it permits the proprietor to put on the watch constantly or go away it for a few days with out dropping time or requiring fixed handbook winding.
Aesthetically, aligning two round parts of similar diameter – the barrel and the micro-rotor – creates vertical stability throughout the central axis. Girard-Perregaux has lengthy innovated with micro-rotors, together with patented designs positioned beneath the barrel in our Three Bridges calibres.
It’s fascinating that you just didn’t use the phrases “openworked” or “skeletonised” within the mannequin title, though many manufacturers apply these labels liberally.
Open structure is an intrinsic a part of Girard-Perregaux’s design DNA relationship again to 1867, so we don’t really feel the necessity to label it.
A bit like this can’t be summarised in a soundbite. It begins with visible impression – proportions, symmetry, and architectural depth – and expands as you study the slate-grey titanium tones paired with the brushed pink-gold case By way of mechanical problems, there aren’t any limitations on what our manufacture can execute internally – whether or not tri-axial tourbillons, minute repeaters, or astronomical indications. When our watchmakers and motion engineers convene, the variable is solely the event time required.
Our guiding constraint is guaranteeing that no matter we construct stays devoted to our historic DNA. We wished to interpret the minute repeater not merely as an acoustic mechanism, however as an expressive, impeccably completed horological sculpture.
For grand problems involving excessive ending or case engraving, the worth delivered to the collector usually exceeds customary business margins, given the sheer allocation of manufacture assets. How do you body that business proposition?
While you think about over 440 hours of grasp watchmaker labour for meeting and ending alone, this isn’t a product designed for top business margins. We don’t design excessive problems round predetermined advertising value brackets.
A grand complication serves as an envoy of the manufacture’s inside know-how, craftsmanship, and heritage. Girard-Perregaux doesn’t depend on huge celeb ambassador campaigns or billboard-driven advertising; our timepieces and the technical mastery inside them are our main assertion.
As for the case building, repeater slides usually introduce vulnerability to mud and moisture. Was 30-metre water resistance a baseline requirement from the beginning?
The water-resistance engineering originated straight from our case design staff. Conventional minute repeater slides create a gap alongside the case flank, exposing the motion to exterior parts.
Our staff developed a sealing system that forestalls any ingress whatever the slide’s place. Whereas an proprietor won’t swim with a half-million-franc grand complication, the 30-metre ranking gives full on a regular basis peace of thoughts, guaranteeing the motion inside stays protected.
For grand problems of this stature, collectors usually deal with them as delicate assertion objects quite than timepieces meant for normal put on.
Which is a disgrace, as a result of…problems ought to by no means grow to be a constraint. With this minute repeater, operation is easy: you set the time, let it run, and revel in it.
That ties again to efficiency by means of magnificence. Whereas it’s a creative object, it stays a sturdy, useful wristwatch, quite than one thing fragile that should be handled as sacred.
Precisely. Magnificence is advanced to outline. You don’t arrive at magnificence by means of a inflexible method; you expertise an instantaneous visceral and emotional response first, after which start to rationalise it by means of the small print – the symmetry, the stability, the hand-finishing, the microrotor integration.
Regardless of the watch’s 46mm diameter, collectors are sometimes shocked by the minute repeater’s lightness on the wrist. Between the field sapphire crystals on either side, the skeletonised structure, and the floating bridges, the motion seems suspended (as if by magic). The watch can also be exceptionally comfy. Despite the fact that it’s a excessive complication, we have now activated the slide mechanism tons of of occasions throughout testing and shows. It’s constructed to be worn and loved.
How does the design philosophy behind Calibre GP9530 run in parallel with the event of one thing just like the GP4800 for the Laureato? They inhabit utterly totally different value brackets, but each emerge from the identical manufacture.
Inside the span of six months, this represents our third main allnew motion, with a fourth arriving later this yr.
At Girard-Perregaux, every part we produce is haute horlogerie. Haute horlogerie will not be outlined strictly by problems, tourbillons, or value tags. A 3-hand Laureato powered by the brand new Calibre GP4800 is genuinely haute horlogerie.
It begins with our heritage as an built-in manufacture since 1791 underneath Jean-François Bautte: designing, growing, adorning, assembling, and regulating actions solely in-house. It’s outlined by the extent of care and ending utilized not solely to the calibre, however to the case, bezel, and built-in bracelet. Whether or not producing an 18k pink gold dial or a grand complication, our watches are crafted with out compromise.
Introducing 4 distinct calibres in such a brief window is an immense technical enterprise.
We do that as a result of motion design is our signature; once more, not ambassadors not big sponsorships. This philosophy additionally underpins our partnership with Williams Racing in System 1. Each maisons possess enduring heritage – Girard-Perregaux’s spanning 235 years, and Williams’ approaching 50 years on the grid as one of many sport’s foundational groups. Williams think about themselves purists in System 1; they’re there strictly to race and push motorsport engineering ahead, to not market vitality drinks or promote highway vehicles. Equally, Girard-Perregaux acts as a pure participant in haute horlogerie. Our capital, assets, and dedication are directed squarely at mechanical watchmaking and calibre improvement.
How do you make sure that uncompromising intentionality is clearly communicated throughout each phase of the gathering, from entry degree fashions to grand problems?
We use the very same horological language throughout the whole portfolio. When presenting a three-hand Laureato, the dialogue centres on why and the way it was created. The excellence lies within the hours of hand-finishing, materials decisions, and particular talent tier required, however the underlying customary of manufacture execution stays similar.
Provided that market forces and collector hype usually outline business worth for iconic metal sports activities watches, how do you clearly talk the intrinsic artisanal worth of the Laureato?
The business as an entire should do a greater job articulating intrinsic worth past uncooked supplies and fundamental capabilities. For Girard-Perregaux, that worth is rooted in independence and authenticity. We’re an unbiased manufacture, not a part of a multi-brand luxurious conglomerate. We don’t share base calibres throughout sister manufacturers, match a customized rotor, and rename it. Our actions, circumstances, and designs are developed solely inhouse inside our personal manufacture and design studio. At Girard Perregaux, the hassle, engineering, and human hours invested justify the fee, guaranteeing that each piece delivers genuine substance.
This story was first seen as a part of the WOW #86 Autumn 2026 challenge.
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