Girard-Perregaux Opera One Sapphire Dial

Tourbillon, Minute repeater with Westminster chime…

Girard-Perregaux Opera One

40mm white gold case, sapphire case-back,  GP9899 manual winding mechanical movement, Frequency: 3 Hz, Power reserve: 75+ hours

What you see above is a new variation of the “Opera One”, an watch that was introduced by Swiss luxury watch manufacture Girard-Perregaux in recent years.  Actually I not certain when the first Girard-Perregaux “Opera” watch was introduced (help me here, GP!), but there are now three variations – Opera One, Opera Two, and Opera Three (my personal favorite of the group).  These are all highly complicated watches that demonstrate the true prowess of Girard-Perregaux’s watchmakers.  With a price well into the six-digits and perhaps approaching $500,000, I think it is safe to say that the the exclusivity of this — in fact all the Opera watches — speak for themselves.

What makes this watch so expensive?  Mostly the fact that it has a tourbillon and a minute repeater — arguably two of the most complicated and challenging functions to integrate into a wristwatch.  And not just any minute repeater, but one that can play a Westminster chime.   A Westminster chime is a specific melody chimed by the watch on the hour using four hammers to play a melody of four different notes – I’m sure you’ve heard it before, it is quite popular on clocks and clocktowers.

This new Opera One watch differs from its predecessor in that it has a a semi-transparent dial.  GP describes it as a semi-transparent, tinted sapphire dial”, but what they mean by “tinted” is not clear to me from image.  I have mixed feelings about this new dial — while I do appreciate the sunburst pattern on the crystal, it seems somewhat dizzying.  But I suppose to have made it completely transparent would have meant this watch would not be much different from the first Opera One (REF : 99750-52-000-BA6A) except for the use of white gold rather than pink gold for the case.  Then again, a watch of this caliber is one you absolutely must see to appreciate.  And not just see, but hear!

Minute repeater hammers

If you look closely at the dial, you can see the three [white] golden bridges which run horizontally behind the crystal.  The “tourbillon with gold bridges” is in fact a signature of the brand and they have produced many watches built around this design.  The shape of the three gold bridges on this particular watch have been given a nicely stylised redesign in order to incorporate the chime mechanism, and if you look closely you can see three of the four chime hammers through the dial (the fourth appears when the chime sounds).  The lower bridge secures the tourbillon, which is fully visible at the 6 o’clock position.   As a reminder for any watch neophytes out there, a tourbillon is a rotating mechanism that is designed to eliminate the effects of gravity on the watch’s regulating organ, the escapement.

The case-back is also sapphire/transparent, but I am not yet able to obtain pictures from GP — I’d venture a good guess this watch looks beautiful on the back side.  But as I said above this watch is more about the sound than the sight.  While it is not my favorite Girard-Perregaux, it will most surely find a good home in the hands of a discerning collector who can appreciate its beauty.