Description
Founded in 1791, Girard-Perregaux is one of the oldest fine watchmaking manufactures still in operation in Switzerland today, remaining one of the rare watchmakers to retain manufacture status for over two centuries by mastering all the required horological skills in house. Best known for the historic Tourbillon with three gold bridges, awarded a gold medal at the Paris International Exposition in 1889.
It was Jean-Francois Bautte, watchmaker and goldsmith, who created a manufacturing company in Geneva that brought together all the watchmaking resources of the time. This process included the engineering of the watch all the way to the final assembly and polishing of each timepiece. It wasn’t until 1852 when the watchmaker by the name Constant Girard founded his own company Girard & Cie in Switzerland and then two years later, married Marie Perregaux, resulting in the merging and founding of Girard-Perregaux Manufacture in 1856.
Today, Girard-Perregaux holds 80 patents in the watchmaking domain and is the creator of many innovative concepts in the industry. Since the 1980s Girard-Perregaux has been apart of the Sowind Group, which is a subsidiary of the French luxury group Kering, and now partners with the luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin.