Girard-Perregaux

18k, rhodium plated lever movement stamped no.22 December 1991, 20 jewels, one minute tourbillon with mono-metallic compensation balance, adjusted to 6 positions, skeletonised dial with three pink gold bridges, inner bezel calibrated for minutes and  Roman numerals for the hours, circular case with polished chamfered bezel, screwed down case back with inscription, case, dial and movement signed, with 18k gold Girard-Perregaux buckle

 

In 1884, Constant Girard patented his first 'three bridge movement'. Five years later, in 1889, Girard's first tourbillon watch using the three bridge design won the gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition. Between 1865 and 1911, Girard-Perregaux registered 57 tourbillon watches at the Observatory of Neuchâtel.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Girard-Perregaux began to research and manufacture 20 golden bridge tourbillon pocket watches based on the 1889 original. In 1986, the Research and Development team at Girard-Perregaux were charged with designing and producing a wristwatch version of the three bridge tourbillon to be ready in time for the the company's 1991 bicentenary. This was no mean feat and required the miniaturisation of the movement and its inversion to allow the three golden bridges to be visible from the dial side.

Highly appealing aesthetically, the movement of the three golden bridges appears beautifully simple, yet it masks the remarkable mechanical complexity of its design. It is this classic design that has arguably made it the most  visibly recognisable tourbillon wristwatch.