To Infinity and Beyond
What I’ve always liked and admired about Patrick Pruniaux the CEO of Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin is his honesty and openness. Helming not one but two significant watch manufactures, and ably guiding them both through the precarious shoals of 2020, means understanding where the consumer mindset is.
“Mechanical watchmaking will survive this challenging period. It has already survived the Great Depression, two World Wars and the Quartz Crisis in the 20th century. But I think the COVID pandemic will change our patterns as consumers,” says Pruniaux. “You already see that the underlying ethics and authenticity of companies are more important than ever. Collectors will still want beautiful executions of mechanical timekeeping; perhaps now more than ever, we want objects that inspire us and make us dream, but at the same time, I think there will be a return to discretion, understatement and internal content. Because in the context of society today, where many people are experiencing economic challenges, the message related to wearing something very extravagant or overtly opulent might not be the right one.”
That having been said, in many ways, Girard-Perregaux’s latest Infinity collection of watches — comprising the spectacular Cosmos in a limited edition of eight pieces, a new model named the Free Bridge that capitalises on the merger of form and function that is the Three Bridges movement, a Vintage 1945, a 1966, and a Laureato in both 38mm and 42mm, all in onyx dials — brings an added layer of significance and emotional resonance.
“Of course we didn’t know what the world would be like today when we planned it, but there is something very relevant about the use
