
Auction Closed
December 11, 08:21 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
GIRARD-PERREGAUX
芝柏
CONSTANT ESCAPEMENT L.M.
AN IMPRESSIVE WHITE GOLD WRISTWATCH WITH SIX DAY LINEAR POWER RESERVE INDICATION AND CONSTANT FORCE ESCAPEMENT CIRCA 2013
「CONSTANT ESCAPEMENT L.M.」白金腕錶備6日直線式動力儲存顯示及恆動擒縱裝置,年份約2013
Dial: silvered semi skeletonized
Caliber: GP09100-0002 manual-winding 28 jewel
Movement number: 9100
Case: 18k white gold, exhibition case back
Case number: 34
Closure: titanium Girard-Perregaux folding clasp
Size: diameter 46 mm
Signed: case, dial and movement
Accessories: Girard Perregaux presentation box with outer packaging, Guarantee hard card, and instructional booklet
Girard-Perregaux launched the Constant Escapement L.M. at Baselworld in 2013, putting into production an extraordinary feat of engineering and new technology while celebrating their venerable heritage.
Achieving constant force is widely considered a holy grail of horology. A standard portable watch is powered by a balance spring, but the power exerted diminishes as the spring unwinds. As early as the 16th century, the fusee and chain was developed solely to counteract this inconsistency in the distribution of force. In 1999, F.P. Journe released his own constant force device, the remontoir d'égalité; the remontoir, or small spring, stores and releases a fixed amount of energy to the mainspring creating a more stable distribution of energy throughout the power reserve of the watch.
While these inventions created solutions outside of the escapement, Girard-Perregaux has integrated the mechanism within the escapement itself. A silicon escapement spring with a horizontal blade measuring only 14 microns thick is attached directly to the escapement. The silicon blade continuously distributes its own force through the snap back effect produced by the pure nickel escape wheels below.
The endeavor would have been wholly impossible without the introduction of silicon. Within the dial, this silicon escapement flickers and shines an entire spectrum of spectacular colors, making this watch feel even more futuristic. The lore behind this feat of ingenuity places Nicholas Dehon, then a watchmaker for Rolex, at a train station idling with his train ticket between his fingers. Realizing that the stiff card always bends into a C and snaps into place inspired the Constant Escapement L.M. we see here.