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WATCH
GIRARD-PERREGAUX
ÉCORCE VERMEIL
CA. 1970
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Girard-Perregaux is a Swiss watch manufacturer located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, whose origins date back to 1791.
Originally, Jean-François Bautte, who first learned the trade of case assembler and then became successively guilloche maker, watchmaker and goldsmith, signed his first watches in 1791, at the age of 19. A talented watchmaker, he became known for his models of extra-flat watches. In an innovative way for the time, he founded a manufacturing company housing all the watchmaking trades. Jean-François Bautte welcomed prestigious visitors such as the future Queen Victoria. As an astute industrialist and businessman, he traded with the European courts which allowed him, year after year, to establish his reputation.
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In 1837, Jacques Bautte and Jean-Samuel Rossel took over from Jean-François Bautte who bequeathed them his industrial heritage. A few years later, Jean-Samuel Rossel continued the adventure assisted by his son. Their work in the field of chronometry is regularly rewarded at international exhibitions.
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In 1852, the watchmaker Constant Girard founded the company Girard & Cie in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Two years later, he married Marie Perregaux. The Girard-Perregaux Manufacture was born from the union of their two names in 1856. Marie Perregaux's three brothers, Henri, François and Jules, also became involved in the company: Henri and Jules represented it in the Americas, and François in Asia. In 1860, François Perregaux moved to Yokohama and became the first Swiss watch merchant to settle in Japan, a few years before the signing of the treaty of friendship and trade between the Swiss Confederation and the Land of the Rising Sun.
In 1906, Constant Girard-Gallet, who succeeded his father at the helm of the Manufacture, took over the Bautte company and merged it with Girard-Perregaux & Cie.
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Here we present a very rare one-piece men's watch from the 70s. This particular model is made of vermeil, with a "écorce" finish typical of those years. Vermeil is an alloy of silver coated with gold by electroplating. It is considered a precious metal. The dial is also finished in a smooth golden tone, giving it great finesse.
The watch is in very clean condition overall, original and unpolished, giving it a superb bronze/brass hue, albeit with those few little flaws of time, like all vintages. The strap is adjustable at the clasp for easy adjustment. The watch is equipped with a Swiss-made 17-jewel mechanical hand-wound GP cal. 101-842 movement.
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