Girard Perregaux offers a sneak peek at its Baselworld 2013 – the brand’s first year at Baselworld after being acquired by PPR – line-up with the announcement of the Bi-Axial Tourbillon with a DLC coated titanium case, in a limited edition of eight pieces.

Equipped with twin cages, the inner one rotating once every 45 seconds and the outer one in one minute and 15 seconds, it draws on the brand’s history with the Three Gold Bridges tourbillons with two straight bridges for the barrel and centre wheel and a third bridge on the tourbillon cage. Because of the tourbillon, the watch is a huge 18.5 mm thick and 45 mm wide. Though this is more elaborate than the classic Three Gold Bridges, the Bi-Axial Tourbillon lacks the elegance of its simpler brethren. Unsurprisingly, this watch is a variation of an existing model; GP has not created a significant timepiece in a long time. Hopefully the new management will do something about that. – SJX