Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges

[Ernie Romers]

The Macaluso family, owners of Girard Perregaux, have been busy creating a new rarity limited to just 50 pieces and this time fashioned in pink gold.

The case and bridges of the GP Vintage 1945 Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges form a striking contrast with the colour of the main plate. Other elements, such as the barrel, the lower gearwheel bridges and the bridge supports, are finished in matte anthracite.

The watch is powered by an in-house GP 9600 self-winding movement with a power reserve of at least 48 hours. It has a patented integrated micro-rotor housed under the barrel, and the matte anthracite-coated components are visible through the sapphire back. Also, intricately worked into the movement are 31 jewels.

The origins of the movement, housed in a delicately curved Art Deco-inspired case, dates back to the concept of a movement where the bridges for the barrel, gear train and the tourbillon are aligned on the same axis. It was originally conceived as long ago as 1865 when the “Tourbillon sous Trois Ponts d’Or” pocket watch was first presented.

The satin-finished skeletonised bridges are open-worked, and then carefully hand-polished, a process which takes 7 days to obtain the perfect finish due to the challenge of numerous closed angles.

The tourbillon system features 72 components assembled inside a diameter of just 12 millimetres. With each watch serial number on the back of the watch, the GP Vintage 1945 is created as a powerful demonstration of GP’s watchmaking expertise.

Specifications

Case
Pink-gold case with domed anti-glare sapphire glass
Back: with anti-glare sapphire
Dimensions: 36.10 mm x 35.25 mm
Water resistance: 30 metres
Crown: pink gold, engraved with GP logo
Dial: matte anthracite surface treatment (NAC) on the mainplate
Hands: gold regatta, diamond polished

Movement
Girard-Perregaux 9600-0019,
Mechanical self-winding
Functions: Tourbillon, hours, minutes
Dimensions: 28.60 mm x 30.30 mm
Total thickness: 3.20 mm
Jewels: 31 jewels
Power reserve: minimum 48 hours
Winding: automatic, hand-brushed platinum rotor
Frequency: 21,600 vibrations/hour (3 Hz)

Components
Number: 257
Balance wheel: variable inertia with gold regulating screws (diameter 8.35 mm)
Balance-spring: Breguet, Philips terminal curve
Mainplate: anthracite (NAC) surface treatment, vertical guilloché on top,
pearling and guilloché below, hand-polished angles
Lower gear train bridge: vertical guilloché, hand-polished angles
Barrel: engraved cover with hand-applied circular guilloché and brushing
Rhodium-plated barrel, central and tourbillon bridges: in gold, hand-polished angles
brushed top and edges
Tourbillon:
- 72 components weighing a total of 0.3 grams
- one rotation per minute
- upper and lower carriages beveled and polished by hand
- escapement and pallet bridges beveled and polished by hand

Strap
Alligator with folding clasp in pink gold

Limited edition of 50

Reference
99880-52-001-BA6A

POSTED BY MICHAEL WEST @ for watchuseek

[Watchbreath]

Just checked my wallet.

[Tick Talk]

Lovely watch and all, but they've done this theme to death! I'm waiting for a bicycle with three golden bridges...