Girard-Perregaux
Opera Two | A unique pink gold semi-skeletonized perpetual calendar minute repeating tourbillon wristwatch with Westminster carillon chimes | Circa 2004
Auction Closed
May 10, 02:36 PM GMT
Estimate
80,000 - 160,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
Dial: grey, semi-skeletonised
Calibre: cal. 9897 manual winding, 37 jewels
Case: 18k pink gold, sapphire crystal display case back secured by 6 screws
Closure: 18k pink gold Girard-Perregaux folding clasp
Size: 41.6 mm diameter
Signed: case, dial and movement
Papers: yes
Box: yes
Accessories: Girard-Perregaux Certificate of Authenticy, instruction manual, product literature and presentation box with outer packaging
Please note the leather strap derived from endangered species is for display purposes only and is not sold with the watch. The watch will be shipped with a Sotheby’s branded calf leather strap.
Produced between 1998 and 2003, the Girard-Perregaux Opera series comprised a trilogy of highly complicated wristwatches built around the minute-repeating complication. Among the most ambitious creations of the manufacture, these timepieces combined musical striking mechanisms with the brand’s celebrated tourbillon architecture.
The present Opera Two represents one of the most sophisticated interpretations within the series. Produced in an exceedingly small number, each example required approximately 500 hours of meticulous hand assembly and finishing. At its heart lies a Westminster carillon minute repeater, an exceptionally complex mechanism that strikes the time on four gongs to reproduce the celebrated chimes of the Houses of Parliament in London. Within the movement, four hammers strike in sequence to recreate the distinctive “Big Ben” melody.
Further elevating the watch’s visual appeal is its striking grey dial, decorated with a dramatic sunburst pattern radiating from the tourbillon aperture, enhancing the dynamic presence of the rotating cage.
The watch is accompanied by its impressive Girard-Perregaux wooden “écrin à résonance” presentation box, specially designed to amplify the sound of the repeater through a resonance soundboard. Engraved to the case back is the inscription “Unique Set,” confirming the exceptional nature of the ensemble.
Preserved in unworn, like-new condition and offered complete with its box and accessories, the present Opera Two represents a remarkable expression of modern haute horlogerie.