Girard-Perregaux

The Tourbillon sous Trois Ponts d’Or (Tourbillon with Three Golden Bridges) is a unique design from the traditional Swiss watch brand Girard-Perregaux, whose roots can be traced back to 1791. A characteristic feature of these watches and their caliber is the unique design with three parallel gold bridges, which are usually open on the dial side or on the movement side. The classic version of the original pocket watch movement, invented in 1867 by Constant Girard, one of the brand's founding fathers, has three gold bridges traditionally placed on the back of the movement. The design of the caliber was patented by Constant Girard in the USA in 1884 (patent No. 14919), and in 1889 the luxurious Esmeralda pocket watch with tourbillon and three gold bridges was awarded a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. In 1981, Girard-Perregaux launched a limited series of 20 pocket watches with tourbillon and three bridges in honor of the brand's 190th anniversary. In 1986, in preparation for its 200th anniversary, the brand once again began developing a caliber with a tourbillon and three gold bridges, this time for a wristwatch, which was finally presented to the public in 1991. It was one of the first tourbillon wristwatches to be produced in series.

The Tourbillon with Three Golden Bridges Skeleton Ref. 99050 is an extremely attractive opportunity for collectors to acquire a magnificent platinum timepiece with a tourbillon. It is a spectacular, very rare and important mechanical watch from a world-renowned traditional brand that is one of the undisputed leaders in Haute Horlogerie. This watch is a precious and impressive reminder of the time when the traditional Swiss watch brand began to overcome the consequences of the so-called quartz crisis. At that time, Girard-Perregaux turned with renewed vigor to mechanical watches equipped with traditional complications and created its most famous iconic design: the wristwatch with tourbillon movement and three gold bridges, which is still unparalleled today. The special skeletonized design and the hand-engraved decoration of the movement bridges, the blued hands in the old style of the Poires Anglaises underline the historical significance of this watch and clearly distinguish it from the tourbillon wristwatches with three gold bridges of modern production. The early serial number certainly enhances the appeal of this watch for the knowledgeable collector.