Manufacturer
Girard-Perregaux
Also recorded as: Girard Perregaux · Girard-Perregaux & Co. · Girard Perregaux & Cie · GP Girard-Perregaux
La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacturer known for the tourbillon with three gold bridges and for early work on quartz watches.
The firm takes its name from Constant Girard and his wife Marie Perregaux, who married in 1854; Girard-Perregaux was established in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1856. The company also traces its lineage to the Geneva watchmaker Jean-François Bautte, whose business it later absorbed, and so gives 1791 as a founding date in its own history.
Constant Girard's tourbillon pocket watches with three parallel bridges in gold, shown at international exhibitions in the 1860s and later patented, became the firm's emblem. In the twentieth century Girard-Perregaux made wristwatches for a wide market and was among the Swiss makers that developed quartz watches around 1970; the company is often credited with standardising the 32,768 Hz quartz frequency now used by most quartz watches. Dates in the catalogue come from the auction and museum records; the company's own early claims, such as wristwatches for German naval officers in the 1880s, are not confirmed by the records here.
- Country
- Switzerland
- City / centre
- La Chaux-de-Fonds
- Founded
- 1856
- Status
- Active
- Key people
- Constant Girard (1825–1903); Marie Perregaux; Jean-François Bautte (1772–1837)
Innovations & specialities
- Tourbillon with three gold bridges (1860s; patented later)
- Early Swiss quartz wristwatches (c. 1970)
Works by Girard-Perregaux in the catalogue
All 56 records →
Wristwatches · 1940s
Girard Perregaux Sea-Hawk "Military Style", 1940s
Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles
Wristwatches · c. 1940s
Girard-Perregaux 'Mid Size' Chronograph ref. 5070, Silver 'Breguet' Dial
Oliver & Clarke (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · 1950s
Girard Perregaux Triple Calendar, 1950s
S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle
Wristwatches · 1960s
Girard Perregaux Alarm, 1960s
Analog/Shift (dealer), New York
Wristwatches · 1960s
Girard Perregaux Gyromatic 14K YG Cal. 47EU103, 1960s
Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles
Wristwatches · c. 1960s
Girard Perregaux, Square Case Watch in Steel, Gilt Dial Markers, circa 1960s
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · 1970s
Girard Perregaux Alarm, 1970s
Analog/Shift (dealer), New York
Wristwatches · 1990s
Girard Perregaux Chronograph Lemania 47930, 1990s
S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle
Wristwatches · c. 1990s
Girard Perregaux wristwatch, ref. 7000, Chronograph White Dial, circa 1990s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1995
Girard Perregaux wristwatch, ref. 2595, Vintage 1945, circa 1995
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 2007
Girard Perregaux wristwatch, ref. 2585, Vintage 1945 Power Reserve, circa 2007
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 2018-2020
Girard Perregaux wristwatch, ref. 49538, 1966 Equation of Time Annual Calendar Limited 50/100, circa 2018-2020
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Linked through the Atlas maker authority list, which reconciles the spellings used by different institutions. Attributions are as stated by each holding institution or auction house.
