Girard-Perregaux Hires Legendary Watchmaker Dominique Loiseau

Dominique Loiseau at work

Legendary watchmaker Dominique Loiseau has joined Girard-Perregaux as part of the Swiss luxury watch brand's manufacturing team.

Loiseau has worked at the highest levels of complex horology for more than 30 years and is the creator of several remarkable timepieces, including six Montres de Sables, the Rose de Temps clock, the Renaissance or Capriccio pocket watches and the famed Blancpain 1735 wristwatch. His latest timepiece, the Loiseau 1f4, is the most complicated automatic watch in the industry with eight patents in its movement.

A restorer of collectors’ timepieces, artisan and teacher at the International Museum of Watchmaking in La Chaux-de-Fonds, where the Girard-Perregaux manufacture is located, Loiseau said he is no stranger to Girard-Perregaux.

“Girard-Perregaux is a unique brand in that it is a true manufacturer founded in very rich history and heritage”, Loiseau said of the watch brand that traces its origins back to 1791. “I am very excited to have become a part of this amazing team and look forward to a successful partnership”.

Loiseau was brought in by the Sowind Group (Girard-Perregaux and JeanRichard) during the last quarter of 2011 in order to strengthen the brand’s “think tank,” the company said in a statement Thursday. He will bring a new and fresh perspective to the brand but has also taken on the project of developing new complications and movements.

“We are extremely happy to have a man such as Dominique Loiseau on board,” said Michele Sofisti, CEO of Sowind Group (Girard-Perregaux and JeanRichard). “He is a true visionary, a legend within our world, but more importantly, he understands the values Girard-Perregaux.”

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Former Hublot Exec to Lead U.S. Expansion for Girard-Perregaux

Michael Margolis

 Updated, 12:04 p.m.

Luxury Swiss watch brand, Girard-Perregaux, named Michael Margolis president of America for Sowind (which owns Girard-Perregaux and watch brand JeanRichard), effective March 1.

Margolis will join Michele Sofisti, CEO of Sowind and Stefano Macaluso, Girard-Perregaux managing director, to oversee the U.S. expansion strategy for the watch brand.

Born in the U.S., Margolis graduated with a double major in Latin American Studies and Foreign Languages from the University of Connecticut. Proficient in English, Spanish, Portuguese and German, he began a sales career at Crest Reprographics and later moved to Nikon. His passion for luxury timepieces began when he served as TimeZone.com moderator from 1996 till 2007. It was during this time that Hublot CEO, Jean-Claude Biver, hired him as U.S. sales director.

“Mike is a remarkable individual, with true passion for the craft,” Sofisti said. “We are very glad to have him on board to lead the U.S. team into this new phase of the brand.”

“I am very excited and honored to join an iconic brand like Girard-Perregaux”, Margolis said. “I have admired the brand and its heritage from afar for many years and greatly look forward to being a part of the team.”

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Over 800 Diamonds on this Girard-Perregaux Ladies Watch

Luxury Swiss watch brand Girard-Perregaux unveiled a sparkling 38 mm ladies jewelry timepiece that combines robust mechanics, manufactured in-house, with a sparkling exterior paved with 807 diamonds. It is the latest offering from the La Chaux-de-Fonds-based company's 1966 collection.

The timepiece is available in white or pink gold. The gem-set bezel and slightly curved dial are entirely covered with “brilliant”-cut precious stones. The diamonds are arranged in concentric fashion. The “leaf”-type hour and minute hands and four applied hour markers lend elegance to the sparkle of the diamond-pavé dial.

The alligator-skin strap closes with a gem-set ardillon buckle. The Girard-Perregaux 3300-0066 mechanical movement with automatic winding is equipped with a power reserve of more than 46 hours. Visible through the sapphire-crystal case back, its gold oscillating weight is engraved with circular Côtes de Genève decoration.

The 1966 collection (introduced in 2006) pays homage to a prolific era in terms of creativity, technical expertise and performance of Girard-Perregaux—a period when the watch brand received several awards. The 1966 line specializes in manufactured movements with automatic winding in ultra-thin cases produced entirely in Girard-Perregaux workshops.

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Girard-Perregaux Presents a Youthful Look in New Campaign

For all of its success, the Swiss luxury watch industry has a bit of an image problem. The tradition of watchmaking that the industry uses so well to sell its high-end timepieces also lends itself to the criticism that it is a business that lacks the energy of youth. Girard-Perregaux is trying to dispel this image by telling the stories of its younger watchmakers and the diversity they offer the industry.

The La Chaux-de-Fonds-based brand recently launched the print and online journal, The New Face of Tradition, Eight Young Watchmakers and the Art of Making Time. The campaign shows a dynamic image of the young watchmakers behind the brand, featuring their interests outside of their jobs, such as music, sports and hobbies. 

On May 1, Those in New York will have a chance to meet four of the young watchmakers during an event at Cipriani Dolci. In addition to revealing their journals, the watchmakers will be giving one-on-one workshops to watch connoisseurs and guests for insight on watchmaking and what goes into creating these complicated timepieces.

“We are proud of the young artists we share our passion for watchmaking with and are excited to show to the world who they are,” said Michele Sofisti, CEO of Sowind Group (the parent company of Girard-Perregaux and JeanRichard). “The New Face of Tradition seeks to break away from the current image many people have of the craft. It is not an antique and certainly not a dead art; it is young, revitalized and constantly evolving, much like the people behind it."

New York City is the first stop of The Girard-Perregaux Young Watchmakers Tour. Later this year the tour will move on to Beijing, Paris and other international cities.

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Girard-Perregaux Gives Desmond Tutu 1966 Collection Watch

Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu was in Los Angeles Thursday for a public conversation with author Robert V. Taylor titled, “How to be Happy, Change the World and Embrace a New Way to be Human.”

More than 500 guests attended the event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Bing Auditorium, which was followed by a private reception.

Also in attendance as an event sponsor and supporter of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation was Girard-Perregaux. The luxury Swiss watch brand presented Archbishop Tutu with an engraved 1966 collection watch in honor of his philanthropic accomplishments around the world.

The Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation helps people and societies create cultures of peace by developing programs that focus on young people through the use of new media and traditional methods.

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Girard-Perregaux and Carl F. Bucherer Redux

Luxury Swiss watch brands, Girard-Perregaux and Carl F.Bucherer are on the move. Almost immediately after I posted a story that included timepieces released for the U.S. market from the two companies, they showcase new watches.

Carl F. Bucherer, has released the Patravi TravelTec FourX (top picture). 18k rose gold is paired with ceramic to form the bezel. High-quality titanium and resistant rubber also play a role in the overall structure.

The case of the timepiece contains part of the time-zone selection mechanism, which is controlled in two directions by means of a single monopusher. The process can be observed through a window that has been let into the side. The design is aimed at ease of operation. For example, the direction of travel (east or west) can be pre-selected on the multifunctional monopusher at 10 o’clock and each push causes a jump to the next time zone, the flange with its imprinted 24-hour scale turning in either direction to guarantee that the red hours hand always shows the correct local time. It is suitable both for frequent flyers and for those who communicate with people all over the world.

A skeletonized dial permits a free view of the gearing. The elegant date indication can be seen under an effective loupe: the figures are milled out of the date ring and remain invisible until they appear over a red background in the date window. 

 

Meanwhile, Girard-Perregau’s newest version of its 152-year-old Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges timepiece has a round 41 mm case is carved out of pink gold. Inside it contains the Girard-Perregaux GP9600-0018 automatic mechanical movement. It’s attached to an alligator strap with a gold folding clasp.

It is available with or without diamonds. The diamond model is $406,500 (pictured) and the price without diamonds is $211,500. It is being sold as a limited edition of 50 pieces.

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The Girard-Perregaux Unveils 1966 in 41 Millimeters

The latest edition of the Girard-Perregaux 1966 timepiece comes in a new size of 41 millimeters and in pink gold. Its opaline surface reveals a slightly curved dial with 15-minute markers that take the form of slender batons. The two leaf-shaped hands are joined by a central seconds hand in blue steel, while the date is visible at 3 o’clock.

The enlarged case is adapted to the dimensions of the self-winding mechanical caliber GP4500, designed at the manufacture’s R&D department and produced and assembled in its workshops. Composed of 188 pieces, the caliber has a power reserve of 54 hours. Its pink gold oscillating weight, engraved with the name of the brand, is adorned with Côtes de Genève decoration.

An alligator strap with pink gold pin buckle is the finishing touch on this classic timepiece that retails for $16,500.

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Girard-Perregaux Presents Watch to Basketball Giant Yao Ming

Yao Ming with limited edition Chrono Hawk watch.

Luxury watch brand, Girard-Perregaux, presented NBA star Yao Ming with a Chrono Hawk timepiece during a gala honoring the seven-foot, six-inch basketball player for his achievements on and off the court.

Yao was honored by the Asia Society Southern California with its “Visionary of the Year” award at the organization’s annual gala, held Tuesday at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

The “Yao Ming” Chrono Hawk watch features a manufacture chronograph automatic movement housed in a 44mm stainless steel case. The rubber strap and sapphire caseback are embossed with Yao’s special symbol in vivid red. Girard-Perregaux only created two watches of this design. The second was auctioned at the event for $16,000.

The Yao Ming Chrono Hawk timepiece.

Yao is an eight-time All-Star center with the Houston Rockets and played on three Olympic basketball teams for China He is a veritable ambassador of the sport on behalf of China. In 2011, he became the founder and proprietor of Yao Family Wines, cabernets from Napa Valley. He is also a giant in the philanthropic world through his foundation and through partnerships with the Special Olympics and WildAid in its quest to prevent the eradication of sharks and African elephants.  

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New Watch Releases from Girard-Perregaux, Hublot, Tag Heuer, Seiko at Baselworld 2013

Girard-Perregaux Constant (Force) Escapement

These watchmakers have unveiled what they claim are new innovations in the Swiss watch industry. I can’t tell you how many times a watch brand has made a claim of creating something completely new or whether that function or design detail has any real value.

However, this elite group of brands can certainly back their claims and I believe they have succeed in doing that with products that are listed below.

Girard-Perregaux Constant (Force) Escapement (top photo)
It’s not often that one experiences a horological breakthrough but this may have been in the case at the Girard-Perregaux booth during Baselworld 2013. It is about as a complicated as a complication can be but in short the Swiss luxury watch brand has created a way to provide constant energy to the balance (regulator) wheel. The brand describes the solution to this problem as the “holy grail” of watchmaking.

What this means that there is no revving up or slowly down the rate of speed of a watch, which is typical in the operation of a mechanical watch. For example, when first winding a watch the movement sometimes works at a faster than normal rate of speed. As the watch loses power its speed diminishes until it slowly stops or is manually wound again. The solution created by Girard-Perregaux keeps the watch at constant and consistent regulated speed throughout this cycle.

This breakthrough (if indeed it is a breakthrough and time will tell) uses a 14 micron silicon buckled-blade, six times thinner than a human hair, which acts as a way to provide a repeated pulse to two escape wheels at a rate that is constant and consistent. This in turn provides the same consistent force of energy to the balance wheel. It beats at the frequency of 3 Hz or 21,600 vibrations per hour.

It is a bit more complicated than my explanation. There are detailed stories of how this process works at Hodinkee and Revolution that include Girard-Perregaux videos.

The operation of the escapement and its butterfly-shaped wing frame is clearly visible on the lower half of the dial. The hours and minutes occupy a sub-dial off-centered at 12 o’clock. This is flanked by two energy reservoirs in the shape of double barrels. The power reserve indicator is placed at 9 o’clock.

Tag Heuer Carrera MikroPendulumS
The Swiss luxury watch brand explains this as the first ever magnetic double tourbillion. Two magnetic pendulums replace hairsprings: one is for telling time and the other for timekeeping. The watch chain turns at 12Hz and its chronograph chain turns at 50Hz (60-minute power reserve). The chronograph tourbillon, the world’s fastest, says the watch brand, controls the 1/100th of a second, beats 360,000 an hour and rotates 12 times a minute.

The case is forged from a chrome and cobalt alloy used in aviation and surgery. It is biocompatible, harder than titanium, easier to shape and as luminous as white gold. The case design, with its stopwatch-like placement of the crown at 12 o’clock, is based on the 2012 Aiguille d’Or winner, the TAG Heuer Carrera Mikrogirder, and the Carrera 50 Year Anniversary Jack Heuer edition. The two tourbillon pendulums and their solid rose gold bridges (18K 5N) are visible through the fine-brushed anthracite dial. The hand applied “100” at 12 o’clock is in solid rose gold. The chronograph minutes counter is at 12 o’clock, chronograph seconds at 3, and the chronograph power reserve at 9. The 1/100th of a second scale appears on the silver flange.

Hublot Big Bang Unico Chrono
This is the first in a new line of products designed to house all future incarnations of the Unico movement. The iconic design of the Big Bang has evolved to contain the Unico, an in-house made column wheel chronograph movement with a dual horizontal coupling visible on the dial side. This marks the start of a new line of Hublot products designed to complete the Big Bang, Classic Fusion, King Power and Masterpieces ranges, the company said.

For the very first time since the creation of the Big Bang in 2005, the push-buttons are round. Each one is protected by a push-button guard integrated in the middle and finished like an engine piston. A skeleton dial reveals the movement. A minute counter is positioned at 3 o'clock and a small seconds counter at 9 o'clock. The date view is at 3 o'clock.

The HUB 1242 Unico manufacture movement is a flyback chronograph that can be reset at any time with two push-buttons. The hour counter is driven directly by the barrel, and there is no jumper in the chronograph mechanism. This simplification boosts reliability and robustness. Its silicon pallet fork and escapement wheel are fixed to a removable platform and are made from silicon. The movement has been trimmed to 330 components. It has a frequency of 4hz/28,800 vibrations per hour with a power reserve of about 72 hours.

Seiko Kinetic Direct Drive
Seiko made the world’s first kinetic watch 25 years ago that used the motion of the wearer to create the electrical energy to power a quartz movement. Using the mechanical energy of a traditional oscillating weight, the Kinetic rotor spins at up to 100,000 rpm, creating the electrical energy that drives the quartz movement without having to change the battery.

For the Kinetic Direct Drive caliber, not only does the rotor power the watch as one moves, but the wearer can also power it by turning the crown, just like a mechanical watch. In addition, when winding the crown, the power reserve changes function to become a real-time indicator of the energy that is imparted to the watch through the winding. 

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