One of the things I will absolutely never tire of when it comes to attending watch shows like Watches & Wonders and Geneva Watch Days is the opportunity to handle watches that would be simply impossible to view at any other time. These events are important for networking purposes and to see and learn about new releases from mass market brands as early as possible so we can share them with our readers, but let’s be honest: even the “rare” watches from brands that are part of the big luxury groups are relatively easy to see if you’re in New York City and connected to the watch media or collector world. But there are some watches that when they’re brought out, you understand immediately that you’re probably getting your one, last look. That’s the impression I got at my Girard-Perregaux meeting when they showed me the La Esmeralda ‘A Secret’ Eternity Edition Honey.
I saw lots of cool stuff over three very busy and sweaty days taking meetings in the Beau Rivage and other hotels that lack American style air conditioning during Geneva Watch Days, but if you asked me to narrow things down and pick just one watch that is simply the most beautiful object I saw during my time there, the Esmerelda gets my vote. Beauty, as we know, is in the eye of the beholder, so I won’t speak in absolute terms here. It would be perfectly reasonable to prefer the Garrick S3 or the Armin Strom Dual Time Resonance, or virtually any number of other great watches. But the Esmerelda won me over as a maximalist watchmaking statement from a brand I’ve always had a ton of respect for. It’s executed at such a high level in so many ways, its appeal, to me, is undeniable.
The La Esmerelda is based on an historic Girard-Perregaux pocket watch bearing the same name, an early example of their famous movement architecture using a trio of large bridges, and the first to feature these bridges in gold. This is a movement design that the brand is incredibly proud of. It’s a highly distinctive visual mechanical signature that is all their own, and they’ve gone all out in finishing the bridges on the Esmerelda. They feature incredibly intricate concave bevels, fully polished, that will have you puzzling over how, exactly, they were able to finish these strips of gold to such tight tolerances. The total area that features this concave finish is small – microns – but it has an outsized impact on the presentation of the watch as light hits the dial.
But the real standout aesthetic feature here is the engraved case. Rendered in pink gold, the case, bezel, and lugs have all been decorated with an intricate and deep pattern. It’s stunning to look at and represents not only hours upon hours of hand-work, but years of accumulated skill on the part of the craftspeople involved. And that, I think, is what really makes this watch and others like it so extraordinary to me and many others. To think about the lifetimes of knowledge that must be acquired to create something like this is genuinely humbling.
I think engraved cases are often very beautiful but I must admit I don’t know if I’d choose to own one for myself. That’s the conundrum of watches like this, and also a cheat code of sorts to developing an appreciation for this stuff. If you can divorce yourself from the idea that any watch you look at needs to be considered in a binary “to buy, or not to buy” equation, you can simply enjoy it for what it is. In this case, a beautiful object that represents the absolute pinnacle of a historic brand’s ability to craft something amazing.
Did I mention this is a tourbillon? The Esmerelda runs on the GP09600 caliber, a micro rotor tourbillon movement. The rotor is hidden perfectly behind the balance so as not to obstruct the pink gold, miniature sculptures adorning the dial. The horse motif is a callback to the original pocket watch, which featured similar flourishes. It’s carried over to the caseback as well, which can be flipped back hunter style to reveal the movement (that’s the “secret” in the name of the watch), which of course is finished to the nines.
Girard-Perregaux plans to make 18 of these watches at the request of clients. Because they are effectively made to order, there really is a vanishingly small chance you’ll ever see one outside of an industry event, unless you happen to have $447,000 to spare and want to be one of the 18. I’m decidedly not in that category, but it was a privilege just the same to spend a few minutes with a watch like this. Girard-Perregaux
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