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Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 XXL-A Modern Art Deco Masterpiece
Sat, 02 March 2013 20:08
Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 XXL-A Modern Art Deco Masterpiece
There are periods in our history that are best kept a distant memory and not recreated in modern times. Mistakes were made and acknowledged and buried in the vaults of our mind. Most can agree that the fashion of the 1970s is best not resurrected in any form. The high full hair styles, the wide bell bottom pants and the big collared colorful shirts should rest in peace.
There are periods that have elements that deserved to be revisited and in some cases recreated in modern times. Art Deco which had its birth in Paris in the 1920s and lasted until the 1940s is such a period. Art Deco principle is to place geometry in the heart of design. Straight lines, geometrical symbols, they all represented a new wave in the post-modernist era. The arrival of technological progress would definitely affect Design, Architecture, Fashion and interior decoration. All artistic fields were involved. It started with the universal exhibition of 1900 in Paris; Art Deco only took over the world in the late 30′s and 40′s.
Girard-Perregaux has used Art Deco as the inspiration for the 1945 collection as it defines perfectly the artwork of the watch manufacturer.
A member of this family is the GP Vintage XXL Chrono. The current model which was introduced at the end of last year is a sublime piece.
A couple subtleties worth noting here: the two chronograph counters face each other and bring a nice symmetry to piece; the blued steel hands match the central seconds hand, and the dauphine-style hour and minute hands match the applied Arabic numerals. Note also the the "railroad" minute track. The case also has a beautiful convex shape to it and there is a sapphire case-back for viewing the in-house caliber which is the automatic mechanical GP 3300 (first introduced last year) with added chronograph mechanics (GP 3300-0064).
The rectangular case is curved to fit nicely on the wrist. It is one of the most comfortable fits I have come across in a rectangular watch.
The watch comes in pick gold and stainless steel which is greatly welcomed by those wanting to experience this luxury watch without paying the premium for a gold case.
■Pink gold or Stainless steel case
■Dimensions: 36.95 mm x 36.00 mm
■Height: 12.77 mm
■Case-back: Sapphire crystal secured by 4 screws
■Water resistant: 30 meters (100 feet)
■Black Alligator strap with pink gold folding clasp
In terms of mechanism, the Vintage Chrono reveals the Girard Perregaux GP03300 with the following features.
■Caliber 11 1/2″"
■Frequency of 28,800 Vib/h (4 Hz)
■Power reserve minimum of 46 hours
■47 jewels
■Functions: Hours, minutes, small second and chronograph
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
- kev5366