PHOTO REPORT: Girard-Perregaux - Unveiling 220 years of watchmaking Art".........more than 180 photos

To celebrate its 220th anniversary, Girard-Perregaux is holding a traveling exhibition. The first stop was in Singapore at the the Art and Science Museum in located MBS from 16th to 18th September 2011. It will next travel to

- Shanghai - Sinan Mansions - October 20th to 23rd 2011
- New York - Boutique Girard-Perregaux on Madison - November 18th to 26th 2011

- Paris - in a dedicated space of the Printemps Haussmann - August 25th to October 8th 2011
- Mexico - Salón Internacional Alta Relojería - October 4th to 6th 2011
- Moscow - Kremlin Museum – October 21st to November 10th 2011
- London - Salon QP - November 11th to 12th 2011
- Paris - Belles Montres - November 25th to 27th 2011

"Unveiling 220 years of watchmaking Art"


The exhibition was different as it not only showcased the various watches that were made during the important era of history but also incorporated other significant events of that time. Linking the watch made during Napoleon’s time or the building of the Eiffel Tower did give one an insight into the other aspects of history. It also engage your senses with different furniture pieces ( chairs in this case) and the music and video from that era. Short clips to some historic events were also shown in mini screens. There are more than 180 photos, so take your time to enjoy this photo tour



















Willy Schweizer, curator of the Girard-Perregaux Museum in Switzerland was my guide. Thank you very much Williy!






A craftsman polishes the Three gold bridges. I was told it takes 2 to 3 days to finish polishing one bridge.






Mirror finish on the surface including the anglage.



A jig design to hold the bridge.



A craftsman doing the polishing.
























Zach T
Forum Moderator



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2011 11:01AM by watchculture.

Zach T
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Listen to the music of that era



Past and present…







Zach T
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Zach T
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Zach T
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The highlight was the Esmeralda, unfortunately I can’t take better pic under this lighting.














Last but not least, the current collection on display………..






























Zach T
Forum Moderator



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2011 11:20AM by watchculture.

Stefano Macaluso (VP of Global Operations, Girard Perregaux) and the son of Luigi Macaluso was in town for the opening of the "A tale of inspiration - Unveiling 220 years of watchmaking Art" exhibition last week.

He took time off to meet with the media and watch aficionados for a cosy dinner before the opening. The dinner was hosted by Girard Perregaux and FJ Benjamin (Singapore)






warm camaraderie….















The food at Guy Savoy is out of this world!



Nash Benjamin (FJ Benjamin CEO) and Stefano Macaluso shared their thoughts with the guests.


































Zach T
Forum Moderator

Zach T
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Zach T
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The Vintage 1945 is always my fave..























The ultimate centerpiece of the evening of course was the Girard-Perregaux Pocket Watch with Three gold bridges…. one of the most beautiful pocket watch I’ve seen. Finish is immaculate not only on the three bridges but the entire watch. This classic beauty blows me away!

























End of report, I have to reboot my modem Hope you enjoy the report as much as I enjoyed posting it!

Zach T
Forum Moderator



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2011 11:32AM by watchculture.

Lots of pictures and faces I would have been pleased to see and meet again.

Too bad, Singapore is a few hours away from here.

Thank you for being my eyes at the show Zach

MarkS

Thank you, Zach - your detailed and involved report is as close as we can get to having been there.

Looks like a very thought-out presentation, putting the watches into their historical context, with what appear to be a few well chosen style icons.

Some very good-looking watches shown - the three gold bridges always draw my eye and the new 'minimalist' dial design I find very attractive.

I would have loved to inspect the pocket watch that appears to have made the rounds at dinner ...

Thanks for sharing, Zach - I enjoyed your report.

D.

You did an incredible job, I know how much
work it is to do a coverage like this.
Thanks a lot!
GEO


edited by marks: fixed typo



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2011 03:15AM by MarkS.

. . . I take it the furniture was there to place the watches in the larger context of the design philosophies of their various periods?

Sir Sanford Fleming was the founder of the modern time zone system and it's great to see all those early Girard Perregaux multi-time zone watches. It's interesting that some of the earliest widespread use of precision chronometers was in the railroad industry but multiple time zone displays were also useful to ship's captains and are sometimes called "captain's watches."

Fantastic display of old and new from GP. A question, was there any discussion of the constant force escapement they've been working on?

Jack

Thanks Zach for the very comprehensive coverage of the event.
Thanks to Girard-Perregaux and FJ Benjamin for hosting the dinner and exhibition.

Cheers,
Jim

It was a well thought out exhibition by GP, wish it would stay longer.
Glad that you guys enjoyed the report. It was my pleasure and I do what I can when I have the time

Zach T
Forum Moderator

Dear Zach, this is one of the most complete report i have ever seen on Horomundi so far.

Apart the beautiful timepieces (i still can't believe they placed all of them in the same place at the same time...) what i like a lot is the contextualization in terms of age of the watches. A very clever and original way to put a timeline side by side with GP's creations.
Any rumors about novelties or constant force escapment ?

PS:
Actually i am thinking to go and see the show in one of the european sites.....

Thanks and bye,
slide68

Zach did a fantastic job of an amazing exhibition organized by GP.

Let me know which town you will choose.

MarkS

Thanks for your kind words Slide. If I did not hear wrongly, the Constant force escapement is still work-in-progress.

Zach T
Forum Moderator