GIRAD PERREGAUX

The long and somewhat convoluted history of Girard-Perregaux begins in 1791, when watchmaker Jean-François Baute established a watchmaking atelier under his name. Another watchmaker, Constant Girard, founded Girard & Cie. in 1852, which became Girard-Perregaux after he married Marie Perregaux in 1854. Constant’s son took over the company in 1906 (still following?) and acquired the Baute company to merge it into the family firm. This series of business maneuvers allows the modern Girard-Perregaux to claim a pedigree back to 1791 even though neither Girard nor Perregaux had yet been born. In any case, Girard-Perregaux boasta an undeniably historic pedigree in the annals of high horology, the most notable being the Three Gold Bridges Tourbillon, Constant Girard’s patented, award-winning take on Abraham-Louis Breguet’s hallmark horological invention; the “Bridges” design continues to influence Girard-Perregaux’s watch innovations today from both an aesthetic and technical standpoint. A more recent milestone, the Laureato sport-luxury watch, conceived in the 1970s, heyday of that genre, has since its 2016 relaunch taken up the leader position in Girard-perregaux’s collection, with recent models designed in collaboration with the brand’s automotive partner, Aston-Martin.

Founded: 1791

Headquarters: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

Ownership: Sowind Group

Notable models: Laureato, Bridges, 1966, Cat’s Eye

Did you know: The Girard-Perregaux Laureato was given its name, which is Italian for “Graduate,” by an Italian distributor who was apparently a fan of the 1967 Dustin Hoffman film, “The Graduate."