It's quite mesmerizing ...

Hi Mike,

I saw the movement working at the Manufacture, but haven't handled the cased-up watch - looking forward to the comments of our Moderators at Basel when they get to see it this week.

It is quite an open and large escapement so it is certainly easy to see the movements of the impulse lever and dual escape wheels, and GP chose the slower 3Hz speed to allow this. Under magnification you can watch the buckling of the spring. But it's a funny thing when you see something alien. Swiss lever escapements are immediately familiar and we can work out what is going on in a short moment, but when I saw the Constant Escapement it took a while to understand what was happening.

I recall handing the F.P.Journe Dead Second Tourbillon to a friend some years ago and after looking at it for a few moments he said: "I'm not sure what I'm looking at." An unusual reply perhaps, but it sums up the GP Constant Escapement as well; a watch to be seen, studied and contemplated for a long time.

Andrew

💰186 Marketplace Listings for Girard Perregaux›

Baselworld 2013: Girard-Perregaux Constant Escapement

By: AndrewD : April 26th, 2013-04:55

This is the first Girard-Perregaux mega-watch of 2013 and a piece that has been rumored for several years. Some of you will have seen the evolution of the prototype movements if you visited the secret GP Research and Development Laboratory in La Chaux-de-...

Impressive creation. Aesthetically speaking, very attractive and seducing.

By: amanico : April 26th, 2013-05:26

Mechanically, I will have to read it again, to fully understand how it works. One regret, the size of this new creature: 48 mm is a challenge for most of the wrists. Best, and thanks for this nice write up, my friend. Nicolas

Video

By: AndrewD : April 26th, 2013-06:05

embedded youtube video into post -AT

This is a very good looking watch and is obviously

By: docsnov : April 26th, 2013-22:21

very technically impressive. My only question is about the durability of the silicon strip. It is so small and thin that it makes me wonder how it holds up to the constant flexing back and forth. I am sure it has been tested extensively, but it just looks...

I will ask this question ...

By: AndrewD : April 28th, 2013-15:42

... of the technical gurus in La Chaux-de-Fonds, but it is interesting that they have designed the escapement in a modular way. But I suspect the silicon wears very well. Andrew

Durability of the Constant force escapement ...

By: AndrewD : April 29th, 2013-04:20

Hi Stewart, Our man in Girard-Perregaux informs me that the silicon will not fatigue. The blade will maintain its elasticity over a long period of time. It is of course the reason that silicon was chosen, as no other material has the same properties. Rega...

Thanks Andrew

By: docsnov : April 29th, 2013-04:44

It seems that silicon is becoming the popular material to solve many horological problems in the most modern of watches being produced. I knew it was desirable for its low coeficient of friction, but I did not know it was considered a durable material tha...

Girard Perregaux