Not long-ago, Girard-Perregaux re-introduced a special timepiece that was somewhat forgotten in their history. This new timepiece is a homage to an LED, quartz Girard-Perregaux that dates back to the mid-1970s, it was their first LED wristwatch and followed Girard-Perregaux’s famed quartz Cal. 350.
Girard-Perregaux started its quartz journey with the Cal. 350 in the early 1970s, shortly after the release of the Seiko Astron in 1969. Girard-Perregaux did not join in with the other Swiss brands working on quartz at the time and instead developed its own movement. The Cal. 350’s remarkable accuracy at 1 minute per year made it extremely popular, a great success for the Swiss brand at the time.
A circa 1975 Girard-Perregaux ‘Casquette’ ref. 9931 featuring the Cal. 396 / Credit: Bukowski’s
The original Girard-Perregaux LED watch, however, and its Cal. 395, faced several issues that also pertained to other LED watches of the time. Namely, you needed to push a button to see the time in the first place, which was pretty inconvenient. Early LED watches also consumed a lot of energy, meaning that the battery had to be replaced more frequently than that of its competitors. Despite these issues, the Girard-Perregaux ‘Casquette’ was very popular when it was initially released and sold out quickly. The Casquette was popular for its innovation, as well as for its look, which gave way to its nickname, the ‘Casquette’, for its casquette-shaped case that came in steel, gold, and ‘Makrolon’ - a black composite material. Along with the caliber 395, updated calibers 396 and 397 were made for the Girard-Perregaux Casquette.
The new Girard-Perregaux ‘Casquette 2.0’
A wrist shot of the new Girard-Perregaux ‘Casquette 2.0’
Thus, this is the inheritance of the ‘Casquette 2.0’, as it’s been dubbed, the newly released homage to the original LED stunner! Today, the new iteration of this mid-1970s classic has many updated features on the display that the original one did not, as the original model only allowed you to see the time after pressing the button once, and the date after pressing the button a second time. These updated features on the Casquette 2.0’s display include the month, year, a chronograph, a second time zone display, and a reminder function that allows you to save a particular date like a birthday.
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
Berlow, Aaron. “The Restoration Of The Girard-Perregaux Caliber 350, The Most Important Quartz Watch You've Never Heard Of.” Hodinkee, June 22, 2015, https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-restoration-of-the-girard-perregaux-caliber-350.
McArthur-Christie, Mark. “The Return Of The Girard-Perregaux Casquette.” Worn & Wound, https://wornandwound.com/the-return-of-the-girard-perregaux-casquette/.
Foskett, Stephen. “1975 Girard Perregaux Casquette LED.” Grail Watch, May 28th, 2014, https://grail-watch.com/2014/05/28/1975-girard-perregaux-casquette-led/.
A Longines Conquest Quartz Chronograph ref. L3.700.4.96.6 with box and papers, for sale on Toronto Vintage Watches