The 2012 Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Tourbillon Three Golden Bridges offers a variation of the well-known GP Caliber 9600 installed in a compact, Art Deco-styled white gold case.
I can’t call myself the greatest fan of Girard-Perregaux’s Three Bridges family from the point of view of the overall aesthetics. Still, I must admit that the movements they use to power these timekeepers are absolutely gorgeous.
They didn’t really click with me when Girard-Perregaux tried to install them inside skeletonized timepieces in round cases. There were just too many details in too confined a space for the watch to be as elegant as I expected it to be.
Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Tourbillon Three Golden Bridges: The Overall Impression
Revealed during the SIHH 2012 show, the watch is… just beautiful in its sober, even if somewhat monotonous, combination of polished white gold and rhodium-plated surfaces.
The recently revealed Vintage 1945 Tourbillon Three Golden Bridges, however, is a different story.
This model shares its general styling with their earlier Vintage 1945 XXL collection. Having its original solid silvered dial completely removed in order to proudly display the rhodium-treated base-plate of the movement, the new watch is a rare treat for the eye of a true connoisseur.
Even the hand-crafted and hand-decorated bridges that support the spring barrel, the drive train, and the tourbillon cage look perfect when emphasized by the satin-finished surface of the dial.
While looking deceptively simple, the combination of the three bridges is one of the most important features here, both in terms of engineering and exterior design.
According to the Swiss watchmaker, the three tiny elements take a whole week to manufacture. They start from cutting one from a tiny slab of gold, then skeletonize them, drill all the necessary holes, and, finally, bevel them and carefully polish the parts to a mirror finish.
It’s no wonder that Girard-Perregaux is so proud of the parts that it makes them the main selling point of the whole collection.
The In-House Mechanism
The watch sports their relatively new self-winding GP Caliber 9600C. To keep the thickness of the movement in check, it features a micro-rotor winding system positioned somewhat unconventionally closer to the main plate.
Virtually invisible when looked at through the sapphire case back cover, the part makes the watch look like it is animated by a hand-wound mechanism.
We have already seen another iteration of the movement in the beautiful Boucheron Hera Tourbillon.
Compared to the ‘normal’ version, the Cal. 9600C variation features a rectangular baseplate and is better suited to power square-shaped watches.
Measuring less than 29 millimeters wide, just over 30 millimeters high and only 6.25 mm thick, the mechanism allowed the Swiss watchmaker to produce more compact timekeepers, even when compared to most three-handers with self-winding calibers.
The mechanism features an unusual, high-tech finish with its skeletonized bridges and plates decorated with nothing more than fine vertical lines that echo those on the dial.
As laconic and sober as it is, the decor still looks refined and elegant.
Also, it is refreshing after seeing hundreds and even thousands of timekeepers with those inevitable Geneva Stripes motifs. The circular-graining decor on the base plate is a bit banal, but, well, at least it makes the open-worked mechanism a bit more entertaining to look at by giving it some extra visual depth and making the bridges look more in contrast. As usual, all components are meticulously polished and beveled by hand.
The White-Gold Art-Deco Case
As I have already noted, the case is small. I would even say that, with its dimensions of 36.10 mm x 35.25 mm, it is refreshingly small and, thanks to its curved profile, feels comfortable on a normal wrist.
The only problem with ergonomics I see here is a relatively short winding/setting crown: it may be a bit difficult to use for men who have thick and stubby fingers and also prefer to trim their nails extra short. Otherwise, don’t see anything wrong with the timekeeper’s exterior.
Noblesse obliges, as they used to say, so the pair of sapphire crystals that protect the movement from dust and water is treated with a high-quality antiglare coating that makes admiring the inner workings of the Caliber 9600C even more entertaining. The convex shape of the front crystal makes the part more prone to occasional scratches, though.
The Strap
As far as the watchband is concerned, it is the usual hand-sewn alligator-skin strap. It sports a white-gold folding clasp and looks satisfyingly well-finished. Given the brand’s reputation when it comes to attention to detail, I am sure that you won’t be disappointed with its quality.
The Dial & Legibility
Like other members of the family, this new Vintage 1945 Tourbillon Three Golden Bridges won’t set a world record in legibility. Obviously, there is no chapter ring, not a single drop of Superluminova, and there is generally nothing that would have helped you to read time in suboptimal lighting.
However, legibility here was sacrificed in favor of beauty and I must admit that the sacrifice is well justified. All elements of the dial make a strong impression in the brand’s traditionally ice-cold sort of way.
More than that, if you don’t plan to use the ultra-expensive wristwatch as a glorified egg-timer, its ability to tell time is absolutely adequate for the task. A person wearing this piece will always be able to tell time with an accuracy of up to a couple of minutes, which is more than enough. Also, persons who can afford such an expensive toy rarely need to be deadly accurate when it comes to most sorts of occasions, whether it is a business meeting or a trip on a private jet.
Pricing & Availability
The Swiss brand limited the total production run to only 50 pieces. Although the price is yet to be officially announced, I would wager that the watch will probably cost some $200,000 or even more given the recommended pricing of currently available similarly styled members of the collection.
Of course, when it comes to ultra-luxury timekeepers, like this one, judging them in terms of value for money is pointless: they are not about value at all.
Anyway, if you consider the quality of movement, level of finish, uniqueness of the complication, and, well, the sheer mass of 18-karat white gold that this watch is fashioned from, I would say that the price is more than justified.
See also: Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 XXL in Rose Gold 25880-52-721-BB6A
Photos: Girard-Perregaux
WWR verdict
Originality: 5/5
Build quality: 5/5
Usability: 4/5
Legibility: 3/5
Value for money: 4/5
Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Tourbillon Three Golden Bridges specification
Movement: Automatic, GP Caliber 9600C, micro-rotor design, oscillating weight in platinum, Swiss Made
Number of jewels: 31
Movement frequency: 21,600 vph
Movement decoration: Vertical guilloche, circular graining; engraved, polished, and beveled by hand
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds/tourbillon
Power reserve: 48 hours
Case: White gold, 18-karat
Shape: Rectangular
Dimensions: 36.10 mm x 35.25 mm
Dial: Rhodium-plated
Hands: Black
Water resistance: 30 meters
Strap: Black, hand-sewn alligator-skin strap with a folding clasp in white gold
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective
Back: Sapphire, antireflective