girard-perregaux

Girard-Perregaux Cat's Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie Watch

Filed under: Jewelry, Timepieces / Watches

For half a million dollars you can get a lot of watches or this lovely new high jewelry watch from Swiss Girard-Perregaux. The Cat's Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie timepiece has an 18k white gold case and is 32mm wide by 38mm tall in the typical Cat's Eye oval shape. It has a stunning amount of large diamonds all over it. According to Girard-Perregaux the watch required over 700 hours of work to create, containing over 20 carats of diamonds. The precious stones come in various cuts and are placed all over the case, crown, and dial.

Inside the watch is a Girard-Perregaux in-house made caliber GP09700-0006 manually wound tourbillon movement. The Tourbillon escapement is visible on the dial using a traditional GP style bridge. The movement has a power reserve of about three days. Attached to the strap is a gray satin strap with a white gold buckle... and more diamonds. Price for this very impressive haute joaillerie watch is $490,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews website aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: cats eye, diamonds, girard-perregaux, haute joaillerie, tourbillon, watch

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Chronograph Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Girard-Perregaux's 1966 Chronograph watch gets bathed in blue for this 1966 Blue Chronograph version of the attractive retro-inspired timepiece by the high-end Swiss brand. The 40mm wide case in in 18k white gold with a sunburst style metallic blue dial that is very attractive. Blue just happens to be quite trendy in 2011 for watches. The chronograph subdials engravings are "snailed," which results in pleasantly contrasting visual with concentric circles. It also helps with legibility when wanting to see the chronograph info easily.

On the dial the hands and hour indicators are applied and in 18k white gold. Inside the watch is an in-house made Girard-Perregaux GP030C0 automatic column wheel chronograph movement that is decorated and visible through the caseback window. The watch will come either on a black alligator strap, or an all 18k white gold metal bracelet. Prices for the 1966 Blue Chronograph are $29,700 on the strap and $51,850 on the gold bracelet. Look for this attractive watch soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1966, blue, chronograph, girard-perregaux, watch, watches

Reach the Beach: Luxury Resort Style in the Turks & Caicos Islands {Exclusive Feature}

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos, Books, Men's Style, The Classicist

Click above for a high-res image gallery

The Turks and Caicos islands in the British West Indies is well known for having the world's most beautiful beaches. It also has some of the world's most stylish and luxurious beach resorts, which are remarkable for their amazingly private settings and lush natural landscapes, far removed from the over-development that plagues some other Caribbean hotspots. The perfect setting for our latest style feature, we're sure you'll agree.

Parrot Cay, located on a pristine 1,000-acre private island, including a mile-long powdered beach, is an elegant combination of glorious nature, understated luxury and unparalleled privacy complete with an award-winning holistic spa, healthy gourmet cuisine and beach villas with private pools (above).

The villas are a favorite with celebrities including Donna Karan, Bruce Willis, Keith Richards and Sir Paul McCartney. Some like Willis and Karan were so entranced they decided to build their own beach houses on the island. Want to own one? So do we. Parrot Cay is currently offering a small selection of villas for private ownership, starting at $10 million.

Tags: Aman resorts, Amanyara, architecture, Bagatelle, beach, beach resorts, books, Caribbean, celebrity vacations, Donna Karan, Gansevoort, Girard-Perregaux, Helly-Hansen, islands, JetBlue, Land Rover, luxury resorts, Parrot Cay, private island, R A E N Optics, resorts, Rizzoli, Royal Elastics, shoes, spa, Tods, Turks and Caicos, Vineyard Vines, watches

Continue reading “Reach the Beach: Luxury Resort Style in the Turks & Caicos Islands {Exclusive Feature}”

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Tourbillon 220th Anniversary Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Simple tourbillon watch lovers are probably thrilled with the offerings this year. Many brands are releasing uncomplicated (relatively speaking), classic tourbillon based watches - and here is Girard-Perregaux's entry. The watch is meant to celebrate the 220th anniversary of the brand that began in 1791. They call it the 1966 Tourbillon with Gold Bridge 220th Anniversary Edition watch - it looks lovely in a 40mm wide 18k gold case with a warm dial with blued steel hands and Breguet style Arabic numerals. The tourbillon has a bit of a unique look with one of Girard-Perregaux's iconic "golden" bridges over the tourbillon. Extremely classic and handsome. The movement is the in-house made GP 9610 that is manually wound and has 48 hours of power reserve. On the back of the watch are some special commemorative engravings for this special Anniversary Edition watch. Girard-Perregaux will produce just 50 1966 Tourbillon 220th Anniversary edition pieces - look for them soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Girard-Perregaux 1966 Tourbillon LE watches

Tags: 1966, anniversary, edition, Girard-Perregaux, tourbillon, watch, watches

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar In White Gold Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The only difference here from last year's 1966 Full Calendar watch is it being in 18k white gold for 2011. The new colors look sharp, but these are the only real changes. The 1966 Full Calendar watch from Girard-Perregaux gets a nice "tuxedo timepiece" demeanor with its white or black case matched to the white gold case (that is 40mm wide). I first wrote about this range here with a hands-on look at the palladium version. The elegant dial is easy to read and has an annual calendar and moon phase indicator thanks to the in-house made GP033M0 automatic movement. While the white dialed version has some nice blue accenting, the black dialed version tries to do this in red - but I don't like it. I think the "31" marker of the date should have been white. The red is distracting, and a splash of color has already been added to the dial via the gold moon and stars in the moon phase indicator. Still the watches are quite nice and the 1966 range from GP feels desirable as ever. Price will be in the $20,000 range.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1966, calendar, girard-perregaux, watch, white gold

Ralph Lauren's Cars, Private Parrot Cay Villa & More in Bid to Save the Earth Auction - Part 2

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions, Celebrity Shopping, Charity, Celebrity Design

Parrot Cay Villa for auction in Bid to Save the Earth

Last week we reported on the host of international celebrities, creative icons, industry leaders and conservationists joining together with famed auction house Christie's to support the 2011 Green Auction, a momentous live event and companion online auction raising funds and awareness for the preservation and sustainability of the planet.

Christie's has partnered with luxury charity auction site charitybuzz.com to put more than 200 coveted auction packages online from now through April 7 to raise funds for Oceana, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Conservation International and the Central Park Conservancy. Supporters can make a Bid to Save the Earth at www.charitybuzz.com/BidtoSavetheEarth.

A companion invite-only event and live fantasy auction hosted by Seth Meyers will be held at Christie's New York on March 29 in partnership with Vogue's Runway to Green. The event will feature a fashion show sponsored by Tiffany & Co. on the night of the live auction, with designer collection selections available online through Net-A-Porter.com.

In part one of our report on the incredible experiences on offer, we focused on the big ticket items estimated at over $100,000 apiece, including a ride with Harrison Ford on his private plane. Now we're selecting some of our favorite lots across a range of expected prices (N.B.: Lagerfeld and Ducasse are being auctioned off live tonight):

Tags: Alain Ducasse, auctions, bid to save the earth, celebrity auctions, Chanel, charity, Charity Buzz, Christies, christies+bid+to+save+the+earth, christiesbidtosavetheearth, environment, Ferrari, Girard-Perregaux, green+auction, greenauction, Karl Lagerfeld, luxury travel, Paris, Parrot Cay, Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren car collection, Robert F. Kennedy, Turks and Caicos

Continue reading “Ralph Lauren's Cars, Private Parrot Cay Villa & More in Bid to Save the Earth Auction - Part 2”

Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 XXL Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

While I really like what comes out of house Girard-Perregaux, I am getting a bit tired of seeing the same old thing. This year the vintage 1945 XXL Square watch gets a new dial. Yes, it looks lovely, and yes, they did a good job. Though if you didn't tell me that it was new for 2011, I wouldn't have asked. Always strong in the movement making department, Girard-Perregaux has yet to find its modern legs. It can't seem to decide whether it is competing with Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, or someone else. Maybe all high-end Swiss brands are on its radar. For this reason, the brand has turtled itself in a place of "adherence to tradition." This means their pieces are nice looking and classic in appearance, but don't even attempt to rock the boat design-wise with novel concept.

Thus, I bow my hat to the brand and afford it all my respect and praise. And humbly ask "do you have anything more modern looking?" Hey, maybe I am in for a surprise this year. This watch features a new dial for the Vintage XXL . Very straight forward art-deco style case and dial with Arabic numerals, dauphine hands, and a subsidiary seconds dial. The case is almost a perfect square being about 35 by 36mm in size, and in 18k pink gold. Inside the watch is a in-house GP3300 automatic movement. There will also be a less expensive model with a steel case. Seems like you've seen it before, but trust me it is new.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1945, 2011, girard-perregaux, vintage, watch, xxl

Bottega Veneta BVX Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags, Timepieces / Watches

Luxury handbag and accessories maker Bottega Veneta will soon release their first watch called the BVX. The brand which prides itself on "brandless" styles, offers mostly bags with no brand logo on them. The idea is for them to be a "brand in the know," offering clues to true insiders as to the maker of the bags - but simply presenting themselves as good looking items to everyone else. It is an approach that has worked for Bottega Veneta.

The same ethos holds true for the BVX watch. The strap of the watch is in the same woven leather style as many of the brand's bags. The dial contains no branding or badging. Above I include an image of one of the brand's bags next to the watch for comparison's sake. The watch strap is quite well done - offering the woven pattern with a solid siding to prevent against wear. The watch case itself is in PVD black toned titanium and has an interesting dial from a design perspective. The dial color is a sort of matte brown (they call it "brunito"), with white dot style indicators and large conical hands. There is a large black "screw" that appears to be located on the sapphire crystal where the hands connect in the center of the watch case.

Specifically intended to be a unisex watch, the case is 41mm wide. Design is well, a bit odd for my tastes, but it certainly is distinctive and easy to read. Bottega Veneta likes their products to be ambiguous in terms of their luxury stature. Meaning you don't know whether the items are expensive or not when you see them. True enough it is difficult to determine that the BVX timepiece is a luxury item. The best hint is knowing that inside the watch is a Girard-Perregaux made GP4500 automatic movement with a solid gold rotor. Girard-Perregaux is said to make most of the watch actually. The Swiss watch brand has been working with other fashion brands as of late, as I recently mentioned them being the official watch maker of Ermenegildo Zenga. Price for the Bottega Veneta BVX watch will be $14,600 and available starting next month.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: bottega veneta, bvx, girard-perregaux, watch, watches

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Petite Seconde Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

girard-perregaux 1966 petite seconde watch

Small seconds are in this year for Girard-Perregaux. New for 2011 will be this "Petite Seconde" model in the brand's 1966 watch collection. Though I must admit the dial, with its classic feel and Breguet style numbers looks like something from well before 1966. The case on the other hand still feels about right with the purported era. As a formal watch does with a simple dial and Arabic numerals, this watch is hard to beat. Love the blued steel hands and the very tiny touch of red for the number "60" in the subsidiary seconds dial. You used to see watches like this from a long time ago with a red colored "12." People used to guess why it was red, but I am thinking that it was just for style. As such, the dial has white, black, blue, and red making for a good sophisticated look. Oh, and the dial is gonna look extra good because it is done in enamel. Fancy! But really not "1966."

The case is still 40mm wide in 18k white or rose gold, and has a sapphire crystal over the front and back. Inside the relatively thin case is an in-house made Girard-Perregaux GP03300-50 automatic movement. The movement is finely decorated and has a gold rotor. Look for this timepiece sometime next year.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watches reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1966, 2011, girard-perregaux, petite seconde, sihh, watch

Girard-Perregaux To Be Official Maker Of Ermenegildo Zegna Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Men's Style

Just announced, Swiss Girard-Perregaux (in the Sowind Group) and clothing/fashion designer Ermenegildo Zegna have signed a 10 year contract whereby Girard Perregaux will design and produce timepieces for the famous men's fashion brand. The two most recently created a special Girard-Perregaux watch for Zegna that I discussed here. The partnership sort of reminds me of the deal that Ralph Lauren made with the Richemont Group to produce high-end Ralph Lauren timepieces. Along with the high-status reputation that Girard-Perregaux timepieces have, the watches it will make for Zegna are to be equally luxurious and high quality. More than likely the watches will only be available in Ermenegildo Zegna stores. Look for the watches starting sometime in 2011.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 2011, Ermenegildo Zegna, Girard-Perregaux, sowind, watch, watches

Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 New York Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

New Yorkers who have a desire for a connection to the past will highly appreciate this New-York-only special edition model of Girard-Perregaux's Vintage 1945 watch. Limited to just 10 pieces the watch replaces its Roman numeral at 12 o'clock for a "NY" marker. Only the perceptive will notice that. The case is 36mm wide by 37mm tall and in 18k white gold. A handsome, and almost petite watch by "large watch' standards.

Dial is a gorgeous black enamel, with easy to read hands and indexes along with a splash of red. According to GP, the dial is not only made personally by them, but it uses a closely guarded secret formula for the beautiful black. The in-house made Girard-Perregaux Calibre GP1900 is manually wound, and features the time with subsidiary seconds, power reserve indicator, and a date dial. Will all 10 watches be on the hands of proper New Yorkers? Not likely. More than enough tourists who have a taste for the town will probably find happiness in the watch. You can only get it at Girard-Perregaux's newer Madison Avenue boutique store. Price is likely high enough to make most New Yorkers yell.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1945, girard-perregaux, limited edition, new york, vintage, watch

Remembering The Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Things were grand in 2007 for luxury watches. Producing a timepiece with a price of over $100,000 was a decision to be made over coffee. The assumption is that someone would buy it. A few such watches actually reveled in their excess, and others simply played with the idea of money and excess. One such interesting watch was the Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon. A timepiece that combined a tourbillon with a working slot machine mechanism - complete with chimes. It cost oodles of money and was limited to just a few pieces a year in 18k rose or white gold.

The watch was placed in Girard-Perregaux's Vintage 1945 XXL case which roughly looked like the rectangular cabinet a slot machine might be placed in. The devilishly complex gambling mechanism made small for a watch has 125 possible combinations of images in the three windows. Operating it involved a small tug on the classic slot machine level arm on the right side of the watch cover the crown. It was a perfect little toy to distract that ultra-elite.

Combining the slot machine complication with the tourbillon seemed natural even though it was unnecessary. I am just happy the watch actually told the time. The Girard-Perregaux in-house made manually wound GPFAY08 movement is truly beautiful and visible through the sapphire caseback window of the watch. Forgive my finger smudges on the images I took here while meeting with Girard-Perregaux - but at least you get to see what the watch looks like. You can click on the "Read More" link below for a video I took of the watch in action. You can hear how the hammer and gong based chiming mechanism sounds-off each time a roller in the slot machine stops.

Looking at the Jackpot Tourbillon now after it has been in the wild for a few years make me a bit sad. Well, it proves that the watch industry had no ability to look anywhere but up. I believe that watch costs over $500,000 and is a novelty at best. None of what they were doing at the time was economically sustainable, and they believe the luxury market would surge for the foreseeable future. At least they had fun in the process though. Even though this is a serious watch, it does not take itself too seriously. In fact, it is a toy. An expensive toy, but still a toy. Girard-Perregaux still likely makes a few of these today, and the willing can still get them. One thing most people don't know about is the elaborate "gambling trunk" case that the watch comes in. Complete with a full set of Vegas style poker chips, playing cards, a curtain you draw to reveal the watch (complete with lighting), and other fun things (more toys). I think it is going to be a while before the watch industry releases horological items like this en masse again.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon Watch back

Tags: girard-perregaux, tourbillon

Continue reading “Remembering The Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon Watch”

Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon With Three Gold Bridges Pocket Watch - Like Its 1889 All Over Again

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

With some watch brands being as old as they are, you can't blame people for forgetting their past achievements. So when a watch maker is proud of something they did back in the 19th century, they pretty much have to repeat whatever that was for people nowadays to know or care about it. Girard-Perregaux started the "three golden bridges" trend a long, long time ago But since no one around now was alive back in the 1880s. This Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Three Golden Bridges watch is a reissue of a model with the same name that won a Gold Medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889. Still looks fresh today right? Sorta. The three bridges tourbillon movement was patented in 1884, starting the beautiful tradition of the style in high-end Girard-Perregaux timepieces. In addition to the bridges, the movement also has a tourbillon and is totally hand-built and decorated.

One of the reasons the watch was awarded back at the Paris Exhibition was due to the movement's accuracy. Today's watch is COSC chronometer certified and over a period of 15 days of testing, it showed accuracy of about 0.1 second a day. That is pretty darn incredible for such a movement, or any mechanical watch for that matter.

The GP Tourbillon with Three Golden Bridges pocket watch is in an 18k rose gold hunter-style case that is 60mm wide and 20mm wide. The traditional style piece has several opening doors operated via pushers. The simple, but classic dial is white enamel with blued steel hands. Not necessarily a limited edition i think, but given the time involved in making the watches I would imagine a very limited production (requiring an almost unlimited budget if you want one, I am sure).

Ariel Adams publishing the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges Pocket Watch

Tags: bridge, Girard-Perregaux, golden, pocket, tourbillon, watch

Girard-Perregaux Opera One Watch, Again

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Instead of releasing a new member of the Opera watch collection, Girard-Perregaux opted to release a new Opera One. This time with a different dial (made from sapphire crystal with the black sunburst pattern applied to it. The watch contains a tourbillon and a minute repeater with a Westminster chime. I am not sure if it is the full chime, as that goal was recently accomplished by the Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Mechanica Grande Sonnerie. Tourbillon minute repeater watches are more common these days. You had Corum start the year off with the Corum Admiral's Cup Tourbillon Minute Repeater.

Inside the new Opera One is a manually wound Girard Perregaux GP9899 movement with 75 hours of power reserve. The case is in 18k white gold and 40mm wide. The dense metal is probably not best for the sound of the minute repeater to travel, but you need a luxury metal in such a luxury watch. Mechanical minute repeater watches aren't known for being particularly loud. At least Girard-Perregaux indicates that the new Opera One watch will have a very clear sounding chime.

While on the topic, I wanted to include images of the Girard-Perregaux Opera Three. This wasn't a minute repeater but rather a music box watch. It had a music wheel built into it. You can see styling is similar though to the Opera One, at least in theme. The Opera Three is an extremely rare watch, so see images of the face and back in the gallery below.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Girard Perregaux Opera Three watch

Tags: 2010, girard-perregaux, Opera One, opera three, watch

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Chronograph Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The wave of retro watches continues this year. Your favorite high luxury watch makers just keep em coming. If today's luxury watches aren't selling, maybe ones that look like yesterday's will? This is the new (but you thought it was old didn't you?) Girard-Perregaux 1966 Chronograph is the next iteration of the 1966 watch style. It may say 1966, but 1945 telegramed and wants their watch back. Not that this is a bad thing, but that is mentally where I place this design. A neatly displayed bi-compax 30 minute chronograph with a overly intricate tachymeter that takes up seemingly most of the dial. Reminds me a bit of certain Patek Philippe Calatrava watches.

The watch case is in 18k pink or white gold and 40mm wide. This size seems to be the new de facto of new vintage styled watches from the haute luxury watch makers. Good news is that the movement is an automatic, the newer caliber GP030C0 in-house made Girard-Perregaux column wheel movement. Strap is alligator and done in that classic thin style. A nice looker but not likely a top choice for younger generation luxury watch buyers. The official announcement will be in January at SIHH.

Ariel Adams published the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1966, 49539-53-151-BK6A, chronograph, girard-perregaux, vintage, watch, watch of the day, WatchOfTheDay

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