Girard-Perregaux 230th Anniversary Exhibition in Singapore

Museum pieces until August 1.

In celebration of its 230th anniversary, Girard-Perregaux has extracted part of its museum collection and sent it across the world to Singapore, where they form an exhibition on the watchmaker’s history.

Shaping The Know Since 1791 provides a peek into the company’s past milestones and timepieces, illustrated by a diversity of items on show, ranging from enamelled pocket watches from the late 18th century to an ultra-modern wristwatch with its case and bridges in sapphire crystal.

Pocket watches

Though the Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges is Girard-Perregaux’s best known complication, the brand is instead focusing on its wider repertoire in the exhibition.

Arranged in a chronological manner, the company’s history is explained with a series of displays that include notes as well as representative watches of each era, from the 18th to 21st centuries. Notable contemporary pieces include the original Laureato from 1975, as well as the avant-garde Quasar Light that reinterprets the brand’s iconic triple bridges in sapphire crystal.

The original Laureato that was quartz

the exhibition unfolds the brand’s unusual origins: while husband-and-wife Constant Girard and Marie Perregaux founded the brand in 1856, the company later acquired Jean-François Bautte, a brand that was established in 1791, explaining the 230th anniversary in 2021.

A pioneer in ultra-thin timepieces, Bautte specialised in pocket watches decorated with enamel and gemstones, reflecting the prevailing taste of the era, which he sold to clients around the world.

The exhibition also includes pocket watches made by Girard-Perregaux, which differ from the work of Jean-François Bautte – the former focused on complications, while the latter artisanal decoration.

One of the standouts in the exhibition is a Girard-Perregaux pocket watch with five sets of hands showing five different time zones. Diametrically opposite is a watch without any hands, but is equally interesting thanks to the jumping hours and “wandering” minutes.