GIRARD-PERREGAUX – Is quartz back into haute horlogerie?

Girard-Perregaux stuns the watch world with a quartz driven novelty.




”It was far from cheap to join the 32 watch companies that created the Beta21 quartz movement. Girard-Perregaux was too small and we could not find the money needed to join forces with CEH,” Georges Vuffray told Worldtempus on January 18th after Girard-Perregaux left an audience of stunned journalists who had just witnessed a reintroduction of quartz from the watch company renowned for triple bridge tourbillons, foudroyante chronographs, movements playing Mozart or Tchaikovsky and other highly complicated mechanical movements.

This is what the first quartz wristwatch from Girard-Perregaux looked like in 1970.

Lets turn back time (pun intended). When precise Japanese quartz movements threatened the mechanically dominated Swiss watch industry in the late 1960ies and early 1970ies, the reaction from the Swiss was panic and poorly made, yet extremely expensive quartz movements, i.e. the Beta21. Girard-Perregaux differed, however. They decided to make their own quartz movement and did so in 1970, with the help of Motorola.

The original quartz Caliber 350 was introduced at Basel World spring 1970.

Georges Vuffray was hired by Girard-Perregaux in 1966 to develop a quartz movement. A movement that actually introduced the standard frequency of 32.768 Hz for all quartz movements.

”I was not a watch maker. I was trained and working in electronics,” Vuffray told Worldtempus with a little smile, wearing his very early version of the Girard-Perregaux Caliber 350 quartz. ”Mine is actually a later generation, a caliber 352 from 1975,” he explained Worldtempus when asked to the watch adorning his left wrist. ”It took quite a while to develop a machine small enough to fit into a wristwatch,” he said. ”But with help from several American companies and Motorola, we managed to develop the quartz movement that met our expectations and high standards.”

Original advert from 1970.

Today, 40 years later, Girard-Perregaux once again offers an inhouse quartz movement, caliber GP13500 with 32.768 Hz as its ancestor prescribed. This movement is fitted into a 42.60 millimeter Laureato – a collection introduced by GP 35 years ago – of steel with a stunning blue dial and striking red ticking seconds hand. Unlike most quartz watches, this model actually features a see through case back; giving the opportunity to enjoy the luxurious Cote de Geneve decorated quartz movement. Even the battery cover is customized, featuring GPs logo.

The 2010 Girard-Perregaux Laureato Quartz. Offered in 40 pieces only, indicating ”for collectors only”.