La Chaux-de-Fonds, August 29th, 2024 (10AM CET) – Born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a city dedicated to watchmaking, the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges draws on the talents of the Maison’s craftspeople and watchmakers. The location of the Manufacture is optimised to harness light, a resource that has also influenced the design of this contemporary high complication, an ultra-refined expression of Haute Horlogerie. The skeletonised torso of this model masterfully plays with three dimensional shapes, conferring an aerial perspective of the eponymous three gold bridges that seemingly float in a light-filled case.
An abundance of light
La Chaux-de-Fonds, once described as a ‘huge factory town’, has been dedicated to watchmaking since the 18th century and is now a Unesco World Heritage site. In 1856, Girard-Perregaux opened its inaugural Manufacture in the city. Today, the company is still headquartered in the city with its Manufacture located on Rue Numa Droz.
After suffering a devastating fire in the 18th century, La Chaux-de-Fonds was rebuilt with the help of a local engineer, Charles-Henri Junod. Purposely designed for watchmaking, the wide streets are arranged in a grid, tiered against the hillside. The tall buildings incorporate large windows, designed to drink in light, illuminating the workbenches where fine timepieces are made. The city and the surrounding area continue to imbue each Girard-Perregaux timepiece with a distinctive character, much loved by watch aficionados.
New, yet familiar
During the 1860s, Constant Girard began sketching ideas for a new pocket watch equipped with three bridges. He redefined the role of a bridge from being merely a structural movement component to an aesthetic feature as well. When, in 1867, he unveiled a pocket tourbillon watch, endowed with three parallel nickel silver bridges, he introduced to watchmaking a new design philosophy, embracing both shapes and depths. Later, in 1889, the specification of the bridges was elevated to using noble metal with the release of the famous Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges; widely considered one of the oldest mechanical signatures in watchmaking.
In 2021, the Manufacture released an avant-garde timepiece, the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges, an expression of Haute Horlogerie that artfully harnesses natural light. Crafted in the company’s Grand Complications Atelier and inspired by the famous pocket watch of 1889, this contemporary creation featured an ingenious movement construction.
Beyond functionality
Eschewing a conventional mainplate, the eponymous bridges not only support the geartrain, barrel and tourbillon, but also provide the essential structural integrity for the remainder of the movement. Appearing to float mid-air, the bridges are braced by neat, openworked plinths that project from the interior wall of the case. Due to the absence of a conventional dial, the indexes are affixed to the case, fulfilling a functional role while preserving the airy appearance of the watch’s interior.
Subscribing to a philosophy of continuous improvement, the Maison has recently revisited the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges and made several improvements to its specification.
One of the updates for 2024 relates to the indexes which are a new design and include twin batons at noon. The sapphire crystals, positioned front and rear, remain ‘box’ style but are now more curved and, when viewed from the side, appear more symmetrical. A larger crown, endowed with a rounder shape, proves easier to manipulate, while the overall design of the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges has been refined to incorporate smoother contours.
By shortening the lugs and making the middle of the case rounder, the Manufacture’s design team has improved wearer comfort, something that will be especially noticeable to individuals with slimmer wrists.
The updated Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges also incorporates some minute changes that may go unnoticed by non-experts. For instance, the hour and minute hands are now satin-finished and incorporate additional Super-LumiNova, augmenting readability in dim light. The watch comes supplied with two straps, a new fabric effect strap, first seen on last year’s groundbreaking Neo Constant Escapement, and an additional black alligator strap enhanced with a gold effect.
Some things never change
While the Manufacture has revisited the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges, first released in 2021, and made subtle improvements, some things remain unchanged. The three gold bridges positioned to the front of the watch remain dressed in black. Girard-Perregaux, a brand known for its nuanced approach to design, presents the trio of gold bridges in a contemporary format. The upper and lower surfaces of the pink gold bridges are dressed in black PVD, while the chamfered edges eschew black coating, revealing a discreet sliver of gleaming pink gold. The flawless execution and notable gleam of each bevelled edge is the product of time-served hands using a small piece of boxwood to achieve the perfect polish; in total, two days of work are required to fully finish the set of three gold Bridges.
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