I ordinarily only post on the G-P forum, but yesterday this amazing timepiece arrived at our office and I just have to share it on the PF.
First, a small history lesson:
CONSTANT GIRARD THE VISIONARY
The second iconic figure in the history of Girard-Perregaux was a native of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Born in 1825 in the city nestled in the Neuchâtel mountains, Constant Girard founded the Girard & Cie firm in 1852. Two years later he married Marie Perregaux (1831-1912), born to a family of important watch merchants from Le Locle. The Girard-Perregaux Manufacture was born from the marriage of their two names in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1856.
Constant Girard-Perregaux was particularly acclaimed for his research into escapement systems, notably the tourbillon escapement. The quality and beauty of his creations were rewarded by a number of prizes and distinctions at national and international competitions, and also at Universal Exhibitions. In 1867, he presented a tourbillon which was a prizewinner at the Paris Universal Exhibition. The culmination came in 1889, when his famous Tourbillon with three gold Bridges, established as the icon of the Girard-Perregaux firm, won a gold medal at The Paris Universal Exhibition which highlighted the inauguration of the Eiffel Tower.
LA ESMERALDA
A technical masterpiece and a lesson in superb engraving.
Several reports of the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889 referred to the outstanding display cases of Girard-Perregaux particularly mentioning an extraordinarily beautiful, high-precision chronometer that impressed all who saw it. Its movement was a technical masterpiece with an original structure, and the sumptuous decoration of its case was an exceptional demonstration of engraving that involved most of the techniques of the art.
Gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889
This pocket-watch with its fascinating tourbillon movement was later named "La Esmeralda". Over the months before the International Exhibition, it had achieved some remarkable test results at the Neuchâtel Observatory in Switzerland, attested by the institution's issue of its rating certificate. Then, at the exhibition, it was awarded a gold medal by the jury who recognized the perfection, both technical and aesthetic, of this extraordinary timepiece.
A prestigious provenance: Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico
The watch bears the name of the luxury Mexican boutique of the agents Hauser and Zivy, to whom it was entrusted for a while. Then "La Esmeralda" is thought to have passed into the ownership of the President of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz (1830-1915) who led the country from 1876 to 1911. Finally, at the end of the 1960s, the pocket-chronometer was acquired from the president's great grandson and it now crowns the collections of the Girard-Perregaux museum.
Here is a photo of La Esmeralda:
/history....
Fast forward 120 years....
Girard-Perregaux decides to recreate La Esmeralda, and so is born this stupendous pocket watch with three golden bridges, true to the original. The top bridge holds the tourbillon cage and mechanism, the middle bridge the hands and the lower bridge the the barrel and mainspring.
The case is plain at this point in time, because included in the price of the watch are two trips to La Chaux-de-Fonds for the buyer. One to design the engraving on the case, and the next to pick up the watch once the engraving is done.
In the mean time, she stands as a blank canvas, waiting for the artist to create her outer beauty. But, unlike the canvas that has only the outer beauty, this special timepiece houses the inner beauty of Constance Girard.
- Mike Margolis