21 years: 2005 - 2026

Girard-Perregaux

Constant Othenin-Girard (1825-1903) learned the craft of watchmaking as an apprentice in La Sagne. He was a partner with C. Robert in the company Girard & Robert between 1845 and 1850, after which he continued on his own as Constant Girard.

In 1854 Girard married Marie Perregaux, the daughter of a well known chronometer maker. In keeping with Swiss tradition he appended his wife's family name to his own as Girard-Perregaux, and changed the name of his company to the same.

At the time of his marriage Girard was working on a watch with the escapement mounted in a rotating cage, a design pioneered by Abraham Louis Breguet which he called a tourbillon or whirlwind. The purpose was to reduce deviations in timekeeping when the watch was in different vertical positions. Girard's watch had three parallel gold bridges and it won a medal at the Paris Exposition of 1867.

J. F. Bautte and 1791

In 1906 Girard-Perregaux acquired the company and factory in Geneva of Jean Hecht, who in turn had acquired them from J.F. Bautte. From this, Girard-Perregaux' advertisements sometimes stated “Since 1791”.

In 1912, “Chronometro Financial” was registered under the name “Fabrique D'horlogerie Girard-Perregaux & Cie, Successeur De Girard-Perregaux, Fabrique Ideal, Successeur De Juan Hecht & J. Rossel Fils, Ancienne Maison J. F. Bautte & Cie, Geneva, La Chaux de Fonds.”

Girard-Perregaux German Navy Watch

Similar to German Navy Watch? Unfortunately not.
© Girard-Perregaux: Click image to enlarge

There is a story, apparently originating in notes made by Constant Girard-Gallet, that in 1879 the German Emperor Wilhelm I visited the Berlin Trade Fair and saw some experimental wristwatches produced by Girard-Perregaux. According to the company, the German government subsequently placed an order for 1,000 of these watches for the Imperial Navy, which were delivered one year later. Willy Schweizer of the Girard-Perregaux Museum has said that a personal note by Constant Girard-Gallet add that the government was satisfied and placed a second order for a further 1,000 pieces.

On the strength of this story, Girard-Perregaux claim to be the first manufacturer of wristwatches in significant volume.

It is said that the watches were 10 or 12 lignes in size, with a small seconds hand, in gold cases to resist the corrosive effects of salt water, fitted with wrist chains and with a grid-like metal guard over the dial. In Histoire de la montre suisse, Alfred Chapuis describes them as ‘13 lignes, in 14-carat gold, with the dial protected by a grid, and attached around the wrist by a chain.’

Unfortunately, nothing is known about these wristwatches apart from the story. The archives of Girard-Perregaux were partially lost some years later; there are no records of such a wristwatch being exhibited at the Berlin Trade Fair; there are no records of their use in the German Imperial Navy; and there are no photographs of naval personnel wearing wristwatches.

Over the years there have been many attempts to locate one of these watches, or any other evidence for their existence, but none has been successful. The fact that the watches were supposedly in gold cases, and that Germany later went through several periods of severe economic hardship, could account for some loss. But it would be remarkable if several thousand watches had been produced and issued to naval officers and not a single example, document, or image had survived.

The fact that these wristwatches were said to be made in gold cases to resist salt water corrosion actually undermines the story. Silver or nickel-silver cases would have been equally suitable for a marine environment, and a lot cheaper. There was no reason for the German navy to specify gold cases and no known examples of issued naval equipment of this class were made in gold.

The picture shown here was kindly provided to me by Girard-Perregaux and is of a watch thought to be similar to the alleged German Navy watch. The photograph shows a watch with fixed wire lugs for a leather strap, and a protective metal grill hinged at 12 o’clock with a push-release at 6 o’clock.

The watch in the photograph, with a silver rather than gold case, is not consistent with an 1880 manufacture date because the dial has radioluminescent paint on the hands and numerals, which did not exist in 1880. Radium was not discovered by the Curies until 1898. Both radioluminescent paint and the metal grill are characteristic features of wristwatches used by officers and soldiers during the First World War, commonly called trench watches. The watch in the photograph is of that period.

David Penney has stated that the watch in the photograph is indeed of First World War production and is part of the collections held by the Musée d’Horlogerie du Locle (La Chaux-de-Fonds).

The reason for the supposed German Navy order is not given in the story, and the purpose to which these small wristwatches might have been put is unclear. At that time, ships were equipped with box chronometers for navigation, and with deck watches—large, boxed pocket watches—for transporting chronometer time to the deck when making observations of the sun or moon.

Apart from the box chronometers and deck watches used for navigation, there was no operational need for an officer in 1880 to carry a personal watch. There was therefore no plausible reason for the German government to buy 2,000 gold wristwatches and issue them to naval officers. Governments do not distribute expensive equipment without operational justification.

In the complete absence of any contemporary evidence for these wristwatches, and with no reason for their supposed issue, many researchers now share my view that the story to be apocryphal. Although it has been widely repeated, it is not true.

It would also be interesting to know more about the personal note by Constant Girard-Gallet saying that the German government placed a second order for a further 1,000 pieces. This appears to be the only reference to some concrete contemporary evidence for the story. Does it still exist? Could the wording have been misinterpreted to give rise to the story?

If you have any evidence for the existence of these watches, I would be very happy to hear from you. My email address can be found here.