This Otherworldly Girard-Perregaux Watch Has Ancient Meteorite Fragments In The Dial
The luxury timepiece joins a growing galaxy of interstellar watches, including the Bulova Lunar Pilot Meteorite, De Bethune’s meteorite watch and the NASA-approved “moon dust” watch.
The “space race” has taken on a new meaning in the world of luxury watches these days, and Girard-Perregaux is the latest haute horology house to seek interstellar inspiration.
The new Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge Meteorite is both a stunning timepiece in its own right and another challenger in what you might call the “galactic watch” world.
The luxury timepiece notably joins out-of-this-world watches like the Bulova Lunar Pilot Meteorite, De Bethune’s meteorite watch and a NASA-approved “moon dust” watch in recent years. Where watchmaking goes next is anyone’s guess, but it certainly won’t be boring.
Two meteorite plates elevate the latest addition to the Girard-Perregaux Bridges Collection in a sophisticated, striking manner, blending “avant-garde design with cutting-edge materials,” the watchmaker said.
1889’s La Esmeralda chronometer, with its three gold bridges, was the first G-P timepiece to make waves with its “bridges” design, but suffice to say, few could have charted a course to the meteorite watch of today.
So named for its inverted movement and front bridges, the watch gains symmetry from a 6-o’clock balance wheel and a spring barrel positioned directly above.
The use of ancient galactic meteorite fragments, however, takes this timepiece to impressive new heights.
The meteorite plates hail from the Gibeon meteorite, discovered in Namibia. Slices from the meteorite were machined in an intense and complex process, then carefully treated to bring out a Widmanstätten pattern (or naturally flowing lines), the watchmaker noted.
The meteorite plates are treated with rhodium for preservation, then held in place by delicate screws. The rest of the watch is made to be similarly durable, with a Calibre GP01800-2085 crafted using lightweight silicum for low friction.
The escapement and its silicum components are also highly shock-resistant, all the better for balance and precise timekeeping.
Despite its galactically inclined use of meteorite plates, the watch still speaks to the heart of the Girard-Perregaux approach to horology.
The watchmaker notes that the Free Bridge Meteorite “incorporates several traditional materials synonymous with fine watchmaking,” including movement components with sandblasted finishing.
Impossibly precise, made with futuristic materials and yet nodding to the Bridges design signature of the 1860s, Girard-Perregaux says that its “inventive spirit is perpetuated with the release of the new Free Bridge Meteorite.”
Look for it at Girard-Perregaux shops starting in early March, priced at $25,700.