written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . august 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message girard perregaux industry watch making haute horlogerie founded 1791 headquarters la chaux de fonds switzerland area served worldwide key people fran ois henri pinault antonio calce products watches parent sowind group kering website www.girard perregaux.com girard perregaux french pronunciation i a p o zhi rar per go is a high end swiss watch manufacture with its origins dating back to 1791 . it is situated in la chaux de fonds switzerland and is a part of the sowind group a subsidiary of kering . 1 contents 1 history 2 manufacture 3 collections 3.1 tourbillon with three gold bridges 3.2 main models 4 girard perregaux museum 5 few historical pieces 6 see also 6.1 see also 7 references 7.1 sources 8 external links history edit in 1791 watchmaker and goldsmith jean fran ois bautte signed his first watches . he created a manufacturing company in geneva grouping for the first time ever all the watch making facets of that time which meant starting from the engineering of the watch all the way to the final hand assembly and hand polishing of each watch . in 1852 the watchmaker constant girard founded the girard & cie firm in la chaux de fonds . he then married marie perregaux and the girard perregaux manufacture was born in 1856 . in 1906 constant girard gallet who took over control of the manufacture from his father took over the bautte house and merged it with girard perregaux & cie. 2 since then the brand has pursued its activities by reinforcing from the 1980s its position in the domain of prestigious mechanical watches haute horlogerie under the lead of luigi macaluso . in 2011 sowind group the holding incorporating girard perregaux became a subsidiary of kering . constant girard produced the first ever major commercial production of a wristwatch made for german naval officers and ordered by german kaiser wilhelm i the manufacture has approximately 80 patents in the watch making domain and is the originator of many innovative concepts . in 1965 girard perregaux designed the first mechanic movement at high frequency with the balance beating at 36 000 vibrations hour the gyromatic hf 1880 constant girard produced the first ever major commercial production of a wristwatch made for german naval officers and ordered by german kaiser wilhelm i for his german naval officers . two thousand such watches were ordered and produced which represents the first important commercialization of wristwatches . 1965 girard perregaux designed the first mechanic movement at high frequency with the balance beating at 36 000 vibrations hour the gyromatic hf . 3 1967 girard perregaux receives the centenary award from the astronomical observatory de neuchatel in recognition of the accomplishments of the manufacture generally and specifically for the observatory chronometer wristwatch that used the gyromatic hf movement . 1970 girard perregaux presents its first wristwatch to the world to be equipped with a quartz movement and the following year a second one which vibrates at 32 768 hertz the frequency remaining the universal standard for quartz watches today . 2008 the brand presents prototypes of a constant force escapement distinguishing itself from all the other known escapements to this day . the first watch housing the constant escapement is presented in 2013 . manufacture edit girard perregaux relies on being a manufacturer of movements and watches and a manufacturer of cases and bands . they bring together some tens of different components watchmakers engineers movement decorators polishers etc. this global approach founded on the traditional know how of the watch making craftsmanship allows them to create and direct the high quality watches and movements from the assembly stages all the way to the final encasement . 4 the girard perregaux manufacture designs and develops its own movements a large collection of high end watch making movements of which the tourbillon with three gold bridges is the emblematic piece . a complete range of mechanical movements at automatic reassembly gp2700 gp3200 gp3300 gp4500 that can fit all the types of watches all by serving as the base for the module constructions of complicated mechanisms . quartz movements collections edit tourbillon sous trois ponts d or . tourbillon with three gold bridges edit it s the emblematic model of girard perregaux . 5 in 1884 constant girard submitted to the united states patent office a patent of the design of the movement tourbillon with three gold bridges . the three bridges were redesigned in the form of arrows and placed parallel to each other . the movement was no longer just a functional and technical element but it also became an element of design in every way . in 1889 the tourbillon with three gold bridges was awarded a gold medal at the universal exposition of paris . in 1980 girard perregaux decided to make 20 pieces to conform to the original of 1889 1500 hours of work were necessary to create the first one . to celebrate its bicentenary in 1991 the company created a miniaturised wristwatch version of its famed tourbillon with three gold bridges . since then it is offered in different versions and is sometimes associated with other watchmakers complications . main models edit out of the high end watch collection the most well known watches of girard perregaux are vintage 1945 with a rectangular case and a design inspired by an art deco style watch dating back to 1945 ww.tc standing for worldwide time control this collection displays 24 time zones on the dial girard perregaux 1966 laureato evo and the cat s eye from the feminine line . girard perregaux is also famed for its signature complication piece the bi axial tourbillon ; it has released this complication in a number of limited edition watches including the 2012 release of the bi axial tourbillon dlc titanium wristwatch which renovated the trend in line with modern titanium cases . 6 girard perregaux have recently introduced new models in both the vintage 1945 and girard perregaux 1966 collections for 2012 in respect of the girard perregaux 1966 they have introduced a new girard perregaux 1966 full calendar and a 1966 chronograph which has been highlighted as a new grand classic by girard perregaux themselves . 7 this girard perregaux 1966 is a slightly larger faced model than previously issued by the watchmaker at 42mm and may be a sign of the changing demands upon watchmakers by the watch enthusiast community . as for the vintage 1945 its back with its three rose gold bridges and rectangular case design . the vintage 1945 is powered by the girard perregaux 9600 0019 mechanical self winding movement an all inhouse movement ... 8 in 2013 girard perregaux presented its constant escapement an answer to the waning power in traditional mechanical watches . the key component of this completely new design of the escapement is a buckled silicon blade thinner than a hair 14 m which acts as an energy micro storage unit delivering constant impulses to the balance wheel . in 2013 girard perregaux presented its constant escapement an answer to the waning power in traditional mechanical watches . girard perregaux museum edit since 1999 the villa marguerite a building in la chaux de fonds from the beginning of the 20th century has housed the girard perregaux museum . a selection of old watches and documents illustrating the history of the brand is presented there . few historical pieces edit see also edit see also edit list of watch manufactures references edit socha miles ppr takes majority stake in sowind group women s wear daily july 4 2011 fran ois chaille girard perregaux fran ois chaille girard perregaux fran ois chaille girard perregaux website of the fondation de la haute horlogerie legendary watches r.g. holland girard perregaux bi axial dlc titanium october 2012 the watch review site girard perregaux 1966 chrongraph 42mm march 2012 the watch review site girard perregaux vintage 1945 three gold bridges march 2012 sources edit fran ois chaille girard perregaux editions flammarion 2004 isbn 2 08 011069 1 armbanduhren special girard perregaux peter braun 2007 isbn 978 3 89880 808 8 external links edit official website all the informations about girard perregaux girard perregaux watch news and reviews website of the fondation de la haute horlogerie girard perregaux brand profile by michael weare website of the fondation de la haute horlogerie girard perregaux watch news and reviews at the watch review site v t e kering subsidiaries kering group gucci yves saint laurent boucheron bottega veneta b dat & co brioni alexander mcqueen stella mccartney balenciaga sowind group girard perregaux jeanrichard sport lifestyle volcom puma cobra golf electric tretorn authority control worldcat identities viaf 173505605 lccn no2005064608 gnd 1237285 7 sudoc 100940463 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title girard perregaux & oldid 729851954 categories 1791 establishmentswatch manufacturing companies of switzerlandwatch brandsluxury brandshidden categories articles with a promotional tone from august 2013all articles with a promotional tonewikipedia articles with viaf identifierswikipedia articles with lccn identifierswikipedia articles with gnd identifiers navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as 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