Girard Perregaux

PeterCDE
10167

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Design / Haute Horlogerie / Creative Expressions - a "Style Guide" introduction

Design.

• n. The industrially applied quest for new forms adapted to their function (…)
  Petit Robert, dictionary of the French language

1 a sketch, plan, or preliminary drawing
2 the arrangement or features of an artistic or decorative work
1. 3 a finished artistic or decorative creation (…)
   Collins dictionary

Down the ages, the shapes and functions of watches have been intimately linked, given rise to a host of watchmaking creations. Beyond their intrinsic usefulness as a measuring instrument, timepieces have evolved in their appearance under the threefold drive of history, technology and symbolism.

The history of Girard-Perregaux testifies to this quest in the combination of shapes, materials and technologies. In the early 19th century, the watchmaker Jean-François Bautte, who was behind what would become Girard-Perregaux, was a genuine virtuoso who created ultra-thin watches and excelled in designing extremely refined watchmaking creations, the sought-after "designer watches": watches disguised as a miniature musical instrument, a butterfly, a flower or book, face-downward watches or even in the form of perfume dispensers.

In the mid-19th century, the watchmaker Constant Girard incorporated the Tourbillon device in a majestic architecture: the three bridges holding the movement parts were redesigned in arrow shapes and set in parallel, thereby aligning the barrel, train wheel and Tourbillon in the same axis. Hence it embodied a completely innovative outlook: the movement was no longer only a technical and functional element, but also a design element in its own right.

The 20th century and early 21st century saw Girard-Perregaux innovations with the development of collections in phase with the changes in society, while retaining the distinctive elements of its know-how. The appearance of wristwatches, for example, led watchmakers to rethink their models under new parameters: the position, permanent exposure to view, the anatomy of the wearer's wrist and the reduction of component size. Driven by Luigi Macaluso, its President since 1992, Girard-Perregaux models have been marked with new references and a powerful visual identity, but always respecting the Brand's heritage.

Alongside the development of the movement portfolio, this attention paid to ergonomics, shapes, materials and surfaces is still just as keen. It has given rise to emotionally charged watches. Today Girard-Perregaux stresses this aspect of its identity by presenting the previews of its new creations in a symbolic place: the London Design Museum. Since 1989, this institution has conducted high quality actions to put design, in all its forms, at the heart of contemporary culture. With its variety of exhibitions, it reveals both the wealth and importance of design.

That is why we wanted to highlight our design with a quick review of the aesthetic evolution of the collection accompanying each new model presented. An acknowledgement of Girard-Perregaux's inspirations and ideas, in a few images.