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The watchmaker’s dream:
the myth of the Tourbillon

The Beyer Clock and Watch Museum pays homage to the Tourbillon
with a special exhibition of Girard-Perregaux timepieces.
by Raymond Langley
It is far from unusual to find oneself in the presence of a quality Swiss watch in this country. No surprise that watch retailers can be found at every corner of every street of every town and city of the Confederation. But the purchase of a quality timepiece is but the first step in the long-term relationship between customer and retailer, especially when doing business with Chronometrie Beyer, established in 1760 and located on Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse since 1877. The company’s whole philosophy is rooted in a time-honoured tradition passed down through the family’s generations to today’s manager, René Beyer.

 

Watchmaking’s greatest challenge
The company’s obsession with timepieces is even more apparent when one descends to their own their horological museum, the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum, in the shop’s lower floors, which houses some 500 chronological instruments dating from 1400 BC to the present day. The museum is now hosting a special exhibition—and one close to René Beyer’s heart—“The History of the Three Bridged Tourbillon”, featuring the ingenious masterpieces produced by world renowned Swiss watchmakers Girard-Perregaux. “At the beginning of the ‘80s at the Technical College in La Chaux-de-Fonds,” says Beyer, explaining his personal affection for the venerable brand, “where I completed my watchmaking training, I had the opportunity to serve an apprenticeship in a watchmaking company. My decision was made firmly and without hesitation: to do this, if possible, with Girard-Perregaux, one of the few real manufacturers that produce its own mechanical as well as electronic watch movements—and which has been developing the three bridges Tourbillon for over a century.”


“Thanks to its technical compli-cations and also its use of aesthetics,” Beyer added, “the Tourbillon is watchmaking’s greatest challenge and represents the watchmaker’s dream. Therefore it is high time that we dedicate our watch museum to this theme and pay our homage to the myth of the Tourbillon.”
A selection of unique timepieces
The Tourbillon has always been considered as one of the most interesting and delicate complications to emerge from the art of watchmaking. When, in 1867, after many years of research, Constant Girard introduced his Tourbillon with three gold bridges, it was hailed as a veritable synthesis of aesthetics, technique and probably of symbolism.
In welcoming Girard-Perregaux into its private museum, the House of Beyer is providing the world-renowned watchmaker with the opportunity to present a selection of unique watches, tracing the history of its Tourbillon with three gold bridges.
Girard-Perregaux’s renowned
“Three Bridged Tourbillon”
– an ingenious masterpiece
 
The special Girard-Perregaux exhibition at the Beyeand Watch Museum is open to the public from 8 November to 16 December at Chronometrie Beyer, Bahnhofstrasse 31, Zurich.r Clock