A Charming Reinterpretation Of Girard-Perregaux’s Most Iconic Creation

As the refreshing expression of a revolutionary watchmaking concept, the Free Bridge shook up the world with its ingenuity and engineering, leaving a lasting mark while taking forward the maison’s most prestigious line to bigger heights. In 2020, Girard-Perregaux added two new avant-garde models – Free Bridge and the Free Bridge Infinity Edition – to its acclaimed Bridges collection. The idea behind the curation of these masterpieces was not to imitate but pay reverence to the iconic three-bridge movement and provide it with a newfangled personality. Therefore, Free Bridge is a modern watch with archival inspiration adapted to the urban zeitgeist. It beautifully brings traditional and contemporary together, or should we say, bridges these two sensibilities. It aims at pushing the boundaries of not just design but function and wearability as well, putting it in another league entirely.

Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge Infinity Edition and Free Bridge

 The Bridge Context

To better understand this elegant yet technical timepiece, it’s crucial to acquaint oneself with the context of ‘bridges’, a word synonymous with the brand today. In the 19th century, Constant Girard created a legendary tourbillon movement with three gold bridges set in parallel, positioned above the gear train on the same axis. The clean placement of the bridges above the barrel, centre wheel, and tourbillon sanctioned an unrestricted view of the movement. It was a mindblowing watchmaking discovery to realise that the movement powering the watch can also serve an aesthetical purpose. In 1867, Girard presented the movement design at the prestigious Exposition Universelle in Paris and won a gold medal. The development of this emblematic piece proved to be an inflection point for the house. It became the source of inspiration for a series of timepieces, each of which put the three gold bridges as its cynosure. 

Constant Girard created the legendary tourbillon movement with three gold bridges in the 19th century. The development of this emblematic piece proved to be an inflection point for the house, serving as a source of inspiration for a series of timepieces

The Free Bridge

The concept of skeletonisation is nothing new, but it’s one much preferred by watch intellects. Girard-Perregaux, an already-established master of this art, took a bold shot with Free Bridge which delivers on every aspect while offering a great deal of novelty and function. It’s a serious piece of mechanical watchmaking with a wealth of discerning details, including the three-dimensional case, the unique domed-shaped sapphire crystal, and naturally, a high-performance movement. 

Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge is a serious piece of mechanical watchmaking that pays reverence to the iconic three-bridge movement and provides it with a newfangled personality

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The first thing to note is that though Free Bridge appears to hang its hat on the tourbillon and the arrow bridge, there’s much more to admire about this timepiece than just that. Girard-Perregaux has interestingly inverted the movement to position components that otherwise dwell on the rear of a watch on the dial side. Consequently, the mainspring barrel, the escapement, and the balance wheel find pride of place on the dial at 12 o’clock, at the centre, and at six o’clock, respectively. Apart from these intrigue-fostering elements, the dial overall is quite captivating. It displays only hours and minutes; however, no one’s complaining, for the excellent finish, the symmetry, and the architecture more than make up for any lack of extra functional elements. From the Côtes de Genève pattern to the bevelling and sandblasting, the finish on the dial is a feature in its own right. The floating hour markers and the minute chapter ring are designated on the perimeter. And, of course, the highlight of the watch — the single, arrow-shaped ‘neo bridge’ that sits gallantly over the balance wheel at the lower half of the dial. The dial is protected by a domed sapphire crystal, especially. The Infinity Edition carries a more luxurious trope with the addition of 18k pink gold oscillating weight and hands. 

The Movement

Exuding Girard-Perregaux’s unparalleled craftsmanship, the in-house self-winding movement GP01800-1170 is a reinterpreted version of maison’s widely-used calibre GP01800. It is assembled with 23 jewels and 185 components, runs at a frequency of 28,800 beats per hour, and boasts a whopping power autonomy of 54 hours. The decoration is meticulously done with Côtes de Genève striping, clean engravings, and a gold brand logo. Such visual magnificence is visible through the sapphire crystal caseback. Ingeniously, the house uses silicon for the escapement and the balance wheel. The use of silicon comes as a rather wise choice. It demonstrates high anti-magnetic properties, higher durability, and reduced friction and temperature insensitivity. 

The in-house calibre GP01800-1170 uses highly anti-magnetic and durable silicon for the escapement and the balance wheel

Summing Up

The Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge is an outstanding piece of high horology with exalted specifications. But ultimately, it is how the brand has showcased the past in a current-day sensibility that makes the Free Bridge incredibly desirable and lends it an enduring allure. Skeleton in design, the Free Bridge naturally has an open character and still, everything on the watch feels a bit discreet. Perhaps, it’s the restrained profile why Free Bridge could easily dwell in the realm of dress watches offering more versatility than one might have expected.