1945 Girard Perregaux (Universal Genève) Compax - Ref. 22209
An extremely rare and well preserved chronograph.
WHY IS THIS WATCH SPECIAL
This watch was manufactured in 1945 by Universal Genève for Girard Perregaux. Girard Perregaux despite being a famous watch manufacture did not developped chronograph movements. In order to have chronographs in their timepieces range, they relied on Universal Genève for the production. During the same period and in the same spirit, Universal Genève manufactured chronographs for other famous brands such as Jaeger LeCoultre, Eberhard, Vacheron & Constantin and Zenith.
THE STORY
In 1791, watchmaker and goldsmith Jean-François Bautte signed his first watches. He created a manufacturing company in Geneva grouping, for the first time ever, all the watchmaking facets of that time, which meant starting from the engineering of the watch all the way to the final hand-assembly and hand-polishing of each watch. In 1852, the watchmaker Constant Girard founded the Girard & Cie Firm in La Chaux-de-Fonds. He then married Marie Perregaux and the Girard-Perregaux Manufacture was born in 1856. Girard-Perregaux quickly became established as one of the finest names in the Swiss watch industry. In 1889, Constant Girard presented his masterpiece, still faithfully recreated in various versions to this day: the Tourbillon With Three Gold Bridges. Constant Girard-Perregaux devoted long years to designing and crafting various escapement systems, particularly the Tourbillon escapement. The quality and beauty of his creations were rewarded by a number of prizes and distinctions at national and international exhibitions and competitions, and also at Universal Exhibitions.
In 1906, Constant Girard-Gallet, who took over control of the Manufacture from his father, took over the Bautte House and merged it with Girard-Perregaux & Cie.
Girard-Perregaux relies on being a manufacturer of movements and watches, and a manufacturer of cases and bands. They bring together some tens of different components: watchmakers, engineers, movement decorators, polishers, etc. This global approach, founded on the traditional know-how of the watchmaking craftsmanship, allows them to create and direct high quality watches and movements from the assembly stages all the way to the final encasement.
Since 1999, the Villa Marguerite, a building in La Chaux-de-Fonds from the beginning of the 20th century, has housed the Girard-Perregaux Museum. A selection of old watches and documents illustrating the history of the brand is presented there
THE DATA
- Maker: Girard Perregaux
- Model: Compax
- Reference: 22209
- Case N°: 1190xxxx
- Year: 1937
- Material: Stainless Steel
- Dimentions (WxHxT): 35x48,5x12,5mm
- Caliber: 281
- Bracelet/Strap: Brown aligator leather
- Lug width: 18mm
- Box/Papers: N/A
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
This watch is in extremely good condition for its age. The steel case is well preserved, and the Two-Tone original dial with its burnished steel sword hands is just stunning. This is a great vintage chronograph, elegant, sporty and and highly collectible. A nice presence on the wrist, this watch is perfect for everyday use.
