Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Girard-Perregaux · Free Bridge
Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge 39 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
Reference 70492OR.55
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Girard-Perregaux
- Collection
- Free Bridge
- Model
- Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge 39 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
- Reference number
- 70492OR.55
- Year / era
- 1974 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Time and date
- Movement
- In-house automatic chronograph
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 100 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 39 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Bezel
- Emerald-set
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 63E — In-house automatic chronograph
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Time and date
- Functions
- Flying tourbillon, power reserve
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1974 – 1983
- Limited-edition quantity
- 100 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Gérald Genta
Gérald Genta (1931–2011) trained as a goldsmith in Geneva and became the most influential watch designer of the 20th century. Working freelance, he sketched the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak overnight in 1970, followed by the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur SL and the Bulgari Bulgari — defining the integrated-bracelet luxury sports watch as a category.
Historical significance
Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge 39 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k sits within Girard-Perregaux's Free Bridge line, introduced in 1974. It carries the house codes established since 1791 — 18k rose gold case, mother-of-pearl dial and in-house automatic chronograph — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
The House
Girard-Perregaux
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1791
- Founder
- Jean-François Bautte
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Laureato, Three Bridges, Free Bridge, Vintage 1945, Casquette
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Anti-magnetic silicon escapement · Certified chronometer regulation
- Famous movements
- In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house automatic, chronometer certified · In-house automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Girard-Perregaux Laureato 39 mm Green Carbon (1964) · Girard-Perregaux Laureato 39 mm Green Stainless (1985) · Girard-Perregaux Laureato 43 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k (1956) · Girard-Perregaux Laureato 37 mm Meteorite Quartz (1987)
Brand history
Girard-Perregaux has spent more than 235 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Laureato, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Jean-François Bautte established Girard-Perregaux in 1791, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Girard-Perregaux calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1791
Jean-François Bautte founds Girard-Perregaux in Switzerland.
1831
Girard-Perregaux earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Girard-Perregaux to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Girard-Perregaux enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Girard-Perregaux continues to produce Laureato, Three Bridges, Free Bridge and other icons in limited numbers.
More Free Bridge
Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge 43 mm Slate Carbon
Ref. 33190OR.64
Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge 41 mm Meteorite Platinum
Ref. 84008OR.45
Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge 37 mm Green Carbon
Ref. 60373OR.98
Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge 44 mm Salmon Ceramic
Ref. 54120OR.67
Girard-Perregaux Free Bridge 39 mm Silvered Stainless
Ref. 76819ST.46