Girard-Perregaux 1966 Minute Repeater

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Girard-Perregaux

Girard-Perregaux is an old company, founded in 1791 by Jean-François Butt, it was then that the talented young master Jean-François Bot created his first watch, the feature of which was an ultra-thin case, which then became the hallmark of a well-known brand. The work of the 19-year-old watchmaker quickly earned recognition, which allowed him to open his own manufactory in Geneva. Production attracted the interest of high society, one of the guests of the factory was Victoria - the future Queen of England. And she got her name when one of the directors of the firm Constant Gerard married Marie Perego and in 1854 became the head of the company. Constants Gerard did a lot to strengthen the company's position, and it was at that time that the specialists of the company put into practice a lot of interesting advanced ideas and projects. In 1880, for the first time in history, Girard-Perregaux received a large order for the manufacture of a solid batch of watches for the German navy.

In 1852, Girard & Cie was founded by Constant Girard; in 2 years, an entrepreneur married Marie Perrego. The names of the spouses became two parts of the name of the manufactory - Girard-Perregaux, which opened in 1856 in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

In 1906, the watch house Bautte and the company Girard-Perregaux merged.

At the moment, the famous company has about 80 patents in the manufacture of watches and is the creator of many innovative developments. It conducts the policy of continuous product improvement from the first years of its existence. Thus, in 1867, the public was presented one of the most famous models in the history of the brand - Tourbillon with Three Bridges (“Tourbillon with three gold bridges”), awarded gold medals at the World Exhibition in Paris twice - in 1867 and 1889, which became the collectors dream .

In 1880, a new important event took place - Constant Girard, on the personal request of Kaiser Wilhelm I, developed a wristwatch for the German navy. The first commercial series in the world consisted of 2000 copies.

Girard-Perregaux rightfully occupies one of the leading positions in the global watch market thanks to the use of only original, developed at its own factories movements.

In 1966, the engineers of the company invented the first clockwork of high frequency. Three years later, the first quartz movement was created with a pulsation of 32,768 Hz, which became the international standard for quartz watches. By 1970, the manufactory expanded the range of watches of this type and became the first Swiss company that launched the production of such products on an industrial scale.

The merits of the famous watch company are marked by the Astronomical Observatory de Neshetel: in 1967, Girard Perregaux received the Century Award.