2013/06/05

Girard-Perregaux the Tourbillon Bi-Axial Tantalum and Sapphire Bridges

 

History reinvented

A Tourbillon Bi-Axial with high-tech materials: an iconic design inspired by a Tourbillon pocket watch from the 1860s, a style that has nevertheless maintained its modern appeal. The new tantalum Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon Bi-Axial with three sapphire bridges imposes a vision of time where precision, both technical and esthetic, is the watchword. A new limited edition of 12 pieces has been released.

This time, the Tourbillon Bi-Axial has chosen tantalum because of its durable, malleable and corrosion-resistant gray-blue metal, which is usually used in the chemical, electronic and aerospace industries. In addition to its many technological assets, it also lends a masculine and contemporary style to the watch.

The pure design and strong character of the timepiece are conveyed by the style of the three bridges cut in sapphire. Both imaginative and imposing, they have a metallic black finish that accentuates their volume for a striking visual effect. Gold, steel, glucydur and grade-five titanium contribute in their own way to optimize the tourbillon bi-axial mechanism and highlight its components. It offers surprising delicacy: the two cages, featuring more than 110 parts, only weigh 0.8 grams.

The platinum is decorated by a traditional circular guilloche motif, counterbalanced by its galvanic gray finishing, while the barrel bears the characteristic elliptic pattern of the famous nickel and silver three parallel bridge pocket watch made by Constant Girard in the 1860s.

Visible from both sides of the case, the bi-axial rotation of the tourbillon is hypnotic. Oscillating with the strict precision, the system is fitted with two concentric cages enabling the regulating part to make multi-dimensional rotations, thus compensating for power variations caused by gravity. The internal cage bearing the balance, balance spring and escapement completes one turn on its axis in forty-five seconds. The external cage completes one revolution in one minute and fifteen seconds on a second axis. These different positions guarantee excellent precision.

Inspired by its 19th Century origins, this new edition of the Tourbillon Bi-Axial forms a link between these time periods. Benefiting from cutting-edge technology, it calls on rare manufacturing expertise. In its day, Constant Girard's pocket watch brought in a new vision of Fine Watchmaking, crowned by a first class prize at the Neuchâtel Observatory and a distinction at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1867. Today, the new Girard-Perregaux design hallmarks a vibrant tribute to this heritage through this reinterpretation. It is proof that the brand's watchmakers and designers have the talent needed to reinvent it without deviating from its rich history.