Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition
A new rendition of the brand’s sumptuous tribute to the famous La Esmeralda pocket watch with three bridges.
While Girard-Perregaux is currently associated with the sporty Laureato collection, the brand’s first brush with international fame was thanks to a historic watch known as La Esmeralda. Distinguished by its three gold bridges and tourbillon, Constant Girard’s La Esmeralda pocket watch won a gold medal at the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition. Since then, the three arrow-shaped bridges have become integral to the brand’s identity, appearing in contemporary adaptations and more grandiose editions like the La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition. Coinciding with Geneva Watch Days, Girard-Perregaux launches another high-end interpretation of La Esmeralda in a pink gold case with lavish finishings and a secret hinged cover on the caseback.
Watchmaker Constant Girard’s original layout of three parallel bridges became part of the design language of his pocket watch, which he patented in 1884. Following its consecration in Paris, Girard’s elaborately engraved gold pocket watch with a hinged dust cover engraved with three horses was sold to Mexican president Porfirio Díaz via a retailer, La Esmeralda (hence its name). In 1970, a descendant of Díaz sold the pocket watch back to Girard-Perregaux.
Offered in different case materials and enamel colours since its release in 2021, the latest iteration comes in a lavishly decorated pink gold case measuring 43mm across with a height of 15.1mm. The case, lugs, bezel, and buckle are engraved by hand with leaf motifs, and the case middle is treated with honey-coloured enamel that matches the dial.
As a tribute to the 1889 La Esmeralda, three arrow-shaped gold mirror-polished bridges span the dial horizontally, with two hand-engraved gold horses perched on two bridges. The first bridge, positioned over the rhodium-plated barrel, features a horse on the right, while the third bridge over the tourbillon has the horse on the left. The area surrounding the vertical movement is decorated with circular guilloché and finished with honey-coloured Grand Feu enamel. Made using state-of-the-art technology, the 78-component lyre-shaped tourbillon cage weighs just 0.3g. The dauphine-style hour and minute hands in pink gold are complemented by a blued steel hand on the tourbillon to indicate the seconds.
The pink gold caseback is engraved with three horses galloping across a sunray guilloché landscape enhanced with Grand Feu enamel. A pusher releases the secret cover to reveal the in-house automatic GP09600-2083. The pink gold motion-work bridge and marking plate are designed to emulate the shape of the bridges on the dial. Beating at 21,600vph, the movement delivers a minimum power reserve of 50 hours when fully wound. The watch comes on a brown calfskin strap with an engraved pink gold buckle and is delivered with a complimentary black alligator strap.
Availability & Price
The Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition is limited to 18 pieces and retails for CHF 428,000, GBP 381,000, EUR 472,000 or USD 447,000. For more information, please consult girard-perregaux.com.
