Few timepieces combine the past and the future of high-end watchmaking as elegantly as Girard-Perregaux’s new Quasar Azure, the latest version of its cutting-edge wristwatch, which comes encased in sapphire crystal.
Introduced in February 2019, the original Quasar was a futuristic take on Girard-Perregaux’s signature Three Bridges movement, first used in a timepiece in 1867. With its skeletonized dial and titanium movement housing, the watch was the product of a collision between history and modernity.
Earlier this year, Girard-Perregaux took the Quasar to the next level when it debuted the Quasar Light, a sapphire crystal-cased watch whose three architecture-inspired bridges (dubbed “Neo Bridges”) are also made of sapphire crystal.
Girard-Perregaux Quasar Azure Courtesy of Girard-Perregaux
The Quasar Azure continues the brand’s quest for transparency; its blue-hued case is machined from a single sapphire disc, a feat of manufacturing that requires more than 200 hours of craftsmanship, including forming, coloring, milling and polishing.
The skeletonized manufacture movement, Calibre GP09400-1035, features a tourbillon inside a lyre-shaped cage, a historical design dating back to the 19th century. The cage itself is propelled by a unidirectional automatic winding system featuring a micro-rotor made of white gold. While the bridges on the blue model are made of Grade 5 titanium, they’ve been hand finished using traditional techniques.
“This model is testament to our mastery of haute horlogerie and is rooted in our design language, albeit in this instance, it is seen through a prism of cutting-edge technology,” CEO Patrick Pruniaux said in a statement. “The Quasar Azure is a brilliantly bold expression of the company’s technical mastery, contemporary design and rich heritage. Indeed, the Quasar Azure embodies the very essence of Girard-Perregaux.”
The watch, which features blue-tingedDauphine-type hours and minutes hands, as well as blue stitching on the strap, is available in a limited edition of eight pieces; each retails for $274,000.
