IN ASSOCIATION WITH Ineichen AUCTIONEERS AND
Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants
Thank you for submitting a form!
We will reach out to you shortly.
The Tourbillon with Three Golden Bridges (originally called Tourbillon sous Trois Ponts d’Or) 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 bridges made of gold, which are usually open on the dial side or – much more rarely – on the movement side. The origin of this design is the pocket watch movement invented in 1867 by Constant Girard, one of the founding fathers of the brand. This pocket watch movement has three parallel gold bridges instead of the traditional bridges, which makes the look of the movement spectacular, decorative and noble. More importantly, it is instantly memorable and recognizable. The design of the caliber was patented by Constant Girard in the USA in 1884 (patent no. 14919), and in 1889 the luxurious, highly decorative 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 hand-wound caliber with 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. 9906 is an extremely attractive opportunity for collectors to acquire a magnificent, very rare and important timepiece with a tourbillon. It is a hand-engraved and skeletonized version of the historic design of a tourbillon watch with three gold bridges. We consider this watch to be one of the jewels of the Girard-Perregaux collection from the mid-2000s. The baroque character of the skeleton work and the hand-engraved decoration of the movement, the blued hands in the traditional Poires Anglaises style emphasize the historical roots of this iconic design, which dates back to the last quarter of the 19th century. All this clearly distinguishes this watch from the tourbillon wristwatches of modern production by Girard-Perregaux.
Girard-Perregaux has modified the hand-wound GP9900 caliber, which was developed for the original Tourbillon sous Trois Ponts d’Or wristwatch, several times. The first time was in 1995, when a skeletonized version was introduced and the new caliber was given the designation GP9900S. This attractive, historically significant and rare modification caliber became the basis for the Tourbillon sous trois Ponts d'Or Squelette Ref. 99050, which is offered in 18k yellow, white and rose gold or platinum. An important evolution of this concept was the development of the GP9600 caliber, which the brand embarked on in 1999 and which resulted in an automatic version of the iconic watch. The originality of this modification is evident in the design, which has hardly affected the appearance of the movement - so much so that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish which type of movement is fitted in the Tourbillon sous Trois Ponts d’Or watch: automatic or manual. The fact is that the rotor of the self-winding movement - here it is a mini-rotor - is mounted above the winding barrel, which is located under the upper of the three gold bridges. This minimalist technical approach naturally led to a reduction in the caliber's power reserve to 48 hours, but this is insignificant, as automatic watches worn on the wrist are constantly wound. The second technical aspect is the very complex task of producing a compact automatic winding module, which the watchmakers at Girard-Perregaux have successfully mastered.
The Ref. 9906 with the caliber GP9600S is a skeletonized version of this development, which was launched around 2006 and received the same detailed and elaborate decoration as the earlier skeletonized hand-wound watch Ref. 99050, which was launched 11 years earlier in 1995. The skeletonization was done in an unusual way by removing metal from the space between the characteristic golden bridges, while the shape of the bridges remained unchanged. This Ref. 9906 is characterized by meticulous, entirely hand-engraved work, right down to the inscriptions on the caseback and the chapter ring markings - a sign of high quality and a magnet for discerning collectors. As for the movement, the engraved decoration, which Girard-Perregaux calls Ponts Ciselés, adorns the entire movement, including the characteristic gold bridges. This is an extremely rare example of the extensive use of hand engraving in a modern wristwatch, which makes this watch extremely attractive.
Ref | 9906 |
D= | 38.5mm |
Glass | Sapfire glass |
Claps | Double difficulty clasp |
Movement | Automatic |
Color of Bracelet | Black |
We offer worldwide delivery on all of our watches.
If ordering from Switzerland or Europe, your watch will be sent the same working week. The courier will depend on the value of the watch, with all watches delivered the next working week.
If ordering from outside Europe, delivery will depend on the choice of courier and destination.
You can cancel your order without giving any reason, within 14 days from the day the watch has been delivered to you.
All of our pre-owned watches have undergone thorough mechanical inspections, including being ultrasonically cleaned, serviced and resealed if appropriate and tested for at least four days, to ensure they meet our highest timekeeping standards.
Our pre-owned and vintage watches, unless stated otherwise, are covered by a full or a limited twenty-four month warranty. For example, due to their age, some vintage watches should not be subjected to the same conditions as when they were new.
All of our new watches are covered by the warranty from the original manufacturer. Please contact us for further information.
Please see our Terms & Conditions for further information.
Thank you for submitting a form!
We will reach out to you shortly.
Please fill the form one more time or contact artemy@lechbinsky.com