Arrived just in time for the 70's: Girard-Perregaux Gyromatic

[Rdenney]

It has arrived, but I haven't (I'm traveling).

Girard-Perregaux of the years between WWII and the Quartz Crisis wasn't the upper luxury brand that it has since become. But it was still a brand of quality on a par with Rolex and Longines (as it was then--Longines has been on an opposite trajectory in the last 3-1/2 decades and Rolex has split the difference).



The Gyromatic was so named because early examples used "gyrotrones", which were reverser clutches that used jewel or steel balls in wedge-shaped tracks. These were used instead of clocks in the autowinder reverser wheels, and when jeweled the inflated the jewel count to 39.

But by the 70's, the gyrotrones were really unnecessary and costly, and GP abandoned them. They kept the "Gyromatic" name, however.

This one uses a caliber 461, which is a nicely finished gold-plated FHF 905 ebauche that has been modified with a micro-regulator and KIF shock protection.





I love the 70's cushion case and the looong square-cut hands. And this is one of the great blue dials of the period.

I've been looking for a wearably large vintage GP for a while, and this one is 38mm wide. I'm thinking a blue strap sounds about right. If my arm was a bit less hirsute, I might consider mesh, but I think I'll stick with something reptilian.

But despite the 70's chunkiness, the case isn't really thick, and the back is domed sufficiently to nestle on the wrist.





(Seller's pics)

Coming up in a few days: Rick gets his birth-year watch, a Bulova with a made-in-USA movement.

Rick "more retro than vintage" Denney

[KennethRSloan]

Nice one. Mine says "Howdy".

[skywatch]

Beautiful watches from the era when I became transfixed with timepieces. I love the movement shots - thank you for sharing those. I developed a fondness for vintage Longines after realizing the old ones were more interesting. GP seems to be an interesting variation on that theme, as many of the modern haut-brands became high end from humble roots (Ulysse Nardin, I'm looking at you). Yet I still like the era when companies made their own movements, or at least made something resembling their own from A. Schild or similar quality ebauche providers. Love those cushion cases.

[BlackNomad]

Beautiful watches!

[watchdaddy1]

In GREAT condition too. Congratulations

Sent from Galaxy S6 Edge via Tapacrap

[popoki nui]

Beautiful!

[Rdenney]

Thanks.

In person, it's even better. In the seller's pics, the hands look brown in the middle, like aged lume, but in fact they are black-polished silver. I need a better strap, and have ordered a Rios navy-blue alligator print with matching stitching. I may also invest in a bracelet if I can find one of appropriate quality for a reasonable price.

The dial is black in some light and blue in other light, and its pristine.



Today, it's been running a very tight pattern (+/- 1 s/d), but the regulation is a little fast. Need to get it on the timing machine.

The FHF movement is interesting. The first detent sets the time, and the outer detent quicksets the date, similar to a Zenith El Primero, except that the date quickset can be set in both directions.

Rick "came up trumps on this one" Denney

[geoffbot]

That's really nice, Rick! I love that blue dial.