This Watch

This Girard Perregaux Alarm Watch dates to the 1960s and features a 34.5mm Case in steel, with an attractive silvered dial, baton handset, and rectangular hour markers. The alarm functionality appears via an aperture near the six o'clock position that houses a 24-hour wheel; a small arrow is placed above the dial opening that allows the alarm to be set with precision to the nearest quarter hour, or in between for slightly less precise moments. The watch features two crowns. The upper crown is branded with an "A" symbol (for alarm), and it controls the winding and setting of the alarm complication; when the alarm is wound to its full capacity, you can expect the hammer to ring for more than 10 seconds. Leave the crown open once the alarm is set, and when it rings, all that is required is pushing the crown in to silence the alarm. The lower crown winds and sets the normal timekeeping display.

The brand’s origins date back to Geneva Switzerland in 1791, where Jean-François Bautte, a fine pocket watchmaker and goldsmith built workshops and created his first watches. It wasn’t until 1906 that the two companies became acquainted when Constant Girard-Gallet actually bought the Bautte company from Jacques Bautte and the modern Girard-Perregaux was formed. The brand name was established in 1856 in the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, thanks to the marriage of Constant Girard and Marie Perregaux.

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