Girard-Perregaux Classique Elegance Ref. 49520 - or: the praise of a simple, but thoroughbred watch
by
Magnus Bosse
March 1st, 2004
(please click on grayscale thumbnails to view full-size images)
March 1st, 2004
(please click on grayscale thumbnails to view full-size images)
When I
start to reflect upon my tour de force through the rich and
highly diverse philosophies of watchmaking, I begin to shake my head
after comptemplating about my first interstations (and even more about
my foolish believe that I found the 'holy grail'!!). I often felt like
at the end of a long journey, but these feelings faded away too soon,
and I most likely traded the watches for another one: another time -
another chance! A few years later, some experiences richer (and luckily
not much poorer!), a certain tiredness came up, combined with some slight
scepticisms whether the world of Haute Horlogerie is the right
playground for me. Remember the advertising for the Davidoff cigarettes:
A man in his best years, subtitled with the unfinished sentence: 'The
more you know...'!
I performed a little thought experiment: What would you search for if
you intend to buy just one watch, suitable for most occasions, a reliable
compangion, designed and constructed with the same excellence, depth
of thought and love to the detail inside and outside. Boring???? you
may ask? I honestly feared the same! In fact, my search and above all
the result opened my eyes:
Welcome
Girard-Perregaux Classique Elegance Ref. 49520!
Actually
the watch catched my eyes a few years ago upon a TimeZone.com post by
Hans Zbinden about watches with in-house movements. I forgot about the
Girard-Perregaux over the time, and never really thought back. Then came
John Davis' detailed examination of the Cal. 3300 base movement on ThePurists.com,
and at least the manufacturer came back into the 'there's something about...'
section of my cerebellum.
Then it hit me: It is the case!!! It is the case that made me struck on Girard-Perregaux watches. I cannot really explain it other than to characterise it as 'juicy'! They show such a distinct joy of life, such an understated if not even hidden refinement while at the same time being lustrous and shyly flippant. There are only very few other manufacturers who master this tensing balance. No wonder, since Girard-Perregaux even makes the own cases, bracelets and buckles in-house!
Then it hit me: It is the case!!! It is the case that made me struck on Girard-Perregaux watches. I cannot really explain it other than to characterise it as 'juicy'! They show such a distinct joy of life, such an understated if not even hidden refinement while at the same time being lustrous and shyly flippant. There are only very few other manufacturers who master this tensing balance. No wonder, since Girard-Perregaux even makes the own cases, bracelets and buckles in-house!
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The Girard-Perregaux Classique Elegance Ref. 49520 comes in a nice box made of pale wood (beech?) and honey coloured leather. I quicky strapped her on, we said our goodbyes and I headed back to Zurich with a smile on my face. Needless to say that I celebrated with a nice burgundy wine in the restaurant coach on my train back!
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The
rose gold 38mm case (perfect for any occasion!) is elegantly shaped and
with a nicely accentuated curvature of the lugs, which make the watch
appear to hover once placed on a table. It is about 8mm high (not including
the lugs, of course). It features sapphire crystals on both side, the
front one being domed. While looking simple, the case reveals its secrets
on the second view: First, there is the contrast of brushed and perfectly
polished surfaces, which make the watch appearing slimmer than it is.
Second, there is the slightly domed, bold but very slim polished bezel,
which catches the eyes with great effect. Its curvature flows perfectly
over into the domed crystal. The crown is nearly 7mm in diameter and is
adorned with a lovely engraved G-P logo.
The
watch looks much bigger than the 38mm diameter may promise. This I think
is due to the long lugs. It makes a very bold statement with a understated,
nearly skulptural look. Just as an example that a most appealing design
can come along with perfect functionality: I do not know about another
watch that fits my wrist as if it was custom made for me like this one!
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The
watch's face is a dial of creamy colour, adorned with applied rose gold
indices and arabic numerals, and the small seconds hand at 9 and last
but not least a date window at 3 o'clock.
The dial is one of the most fascinating features of this watch: One a
more detailed view it reveals some remarkable care to perfection. The
cream-coloured surface has the very finely made structure that resembles
the grain of calf leather. The ensemble of small seconds hand and the
indices at 6, 9 and 12 o'clock is elegantly balanced by the large crown
and the date at 3.
Even
the standard (tang) buckle surprised me when I first used it: This well
made piece, also carrying the G-P logo, features recessed holes for the
springbars that fix the (fantastic honey-brown aligator) Camille Fournet
strap with the buckle. The result is that the strap is bent only to a
much lesser extent than with other buckles. The longevity of the strap
will probably increase, and my wallet will be happy...
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The
back-side of the watch is of course the highlight for every connaisseur:
The display-back that allows the admiration of the superb Girard-Perregaux
Cal. 3300 movement.
But before I comment on the movement I want to draw your attention to the case back. The sapphire glass is held by a small bezel secured by 6 screws. Applause to Girard-Perregaux for chosing this more eleborate and subtle solution (imagine the intimate moment when a watchmaker unlocks one screw after the other to open the case!), and a double applause for leaving out unneccessay engravings. There are only the name of the manufacture, the reference number and the case number to be found, and not the ubiquitous remarks on water resistance, jewels, sapphire crystals etc - they would be completely out of place on such a high-grade watch!
But before I comment on the movement I want to draw your attention to the case back. The sapphire glass is held by a small bezel secured by 6 screws. Applause to Girard-Perregaux for chosing this more eleborate and subtle solution (imagine the intimate moment when a watchmaker unlocks one screw after the other to open the case!), and a double applause for leaving out unneccessay engravings. There are only the name of the manufacture, the reference number and the case number to be found, and not the ubiquitous remarks on water resistance, jewels, sapphire crystals etc - they would be completely out of place on such a high-grade watch!
The movement
is the great automatic Girard-Perregaux Calibre 3300. Based on the movement
Cal. 3000 and 3100, which debuted at the Basel watch fair in 1994, this
movement family represents what can be considered as Girard-Perregaux's
impressive re-entry into the world of true manufactures. Now the Cal. 3200
and 3300 have completed the stable. Meanwhile, this movement evolved into
a base movement for an impressive range of complications, from large-date
moonphase watches to column-wheel chronographs and world time watches.
Calibre |
diameter |
height |
jewels |
power
reserve |
date |
| 3000 | 10-1/2 lignes | 2.98mm | 27 | 50h | |
| 3100 | 10-1/2 lignes | 3.28mm | 28 | 50h | yes |
| 3200 | 11-1/2 lignes | 2.98mm | 27 | 50h | |
| 3300 | 11-1/2 lignes | 3.28mm | 28 | 50h | yes |
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The movement shows a care to the detail that prove the watchmaking capability of the house of Girard-Perregaux. Despite a very fine (but not top notch) finishing it also delights the connaisseur with mechanical delicacies: an elaborated handsetting mechnism which allows for precise control during time-setting, a highly efficient automatic winding system (unidirectional) and a modern, well executed escapement with Nivarox 1 hairspring which is lased welded on a Glucydur balance and which can be adjusted using the Spirofin micro regulator. If you want to read more about this amazing little movement I'd refer to John Davis' excellent in-depth review on Girard-Perregaux's Vintage 1945 Large Date watch, which uses the same base movement.
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All in all, these 'complaints' are not really severe. The strap is my personal problem, and I'm happy that Girard-Perregaux invested the money in the watch and not in the box. But the front crystal and the finish remain two points the manufacture should think about.
Magnus Bosse © March 2004 Last update 10 December 2006
