This included the engineering of the watch all the way to the final hand-assembly and hand-polishing of each piece. He created a manufacturing company in Geneva, grouping for the first time ever all the watchmaking facets of that time.
In 1791, watchmaker and goldsmith Jean-François Bautte signed his first watches. Other notable models from the company include the collection 1966, Vintage 1945, and models such as Tri-Axial Tourbillon and Laureato, an icon inspired from the 1970s. It is best known for the historic Tourbillon with three gold bridges, which was awarded a gold medal at the 1889 International Exposition in Paris soon after the launch of the watch. Headquartered in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the company opened the Girard-Perregaux Museum near its headquarters in Villa Marguerite in 1999. In 2022, then-owner French luxury group Kering sold its stake in Sowind Group SA, the parent company of Girard-Perregaux, via management buyout. Girard-Perregaux SA ( French: ) is a luxury Swiss watch manufacture with its origins dating back to 1791.
