The textbook definition of Quasar is an “extremely remote celestial object that emits large amounts of energy”. The theory revolves around the premise that ‘quasars contain massive black holes and may represent a stage in the evolution of some galaxies.’ In the world of watches, Quasar is associated with a beautiful timepiece that made its way into the house of Girard-Perregaux.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first all-sapphire-cased watch to hit the shelves. Makers like Hublot and Greubel Forsey have ventured into this space and made their mark. Thing with sapphire crystal watches are that they are either focused on maximizing transparency or it’s a question of enveloping the existing calibre and dial in the material.
In the case of the 2019 Quasar, we see the focus on the matt black titanium bridges of the movement, as you get a window into the calibers fundamental structure. Perhaps the only reason why this watch needed an update, is the negative spaces and openworked hands, which caused legibility issues.
The 2020 Girard-Perregaux Quasar Light
The Swiss luxury watchmaker Girard-Perregaux have updated the Girard-Perregaux Quasar Light with its movement bridges in sapphire crystal. Designed to be intricately skeletonized, this timepiece boasts of an almost full-sapphire construction, and it adds to the functionality of the watch.
In short, we have the case – front and caseback along with the dial and bridges, constructed out of crystal. The tourbillon is made from 79 different parts and it completes a full rotation every 60 seconds. This makes the watch extremely accurate in telling the time.
Under the dial and more
The 2020 Girard-Perregaux Quasar Light is equipped with the automatic caliber GP09400-1128 movement and provides a 60-hour power reserve. From a design perspective, the rotor is hidden underneath the mainspring barrel at the 12 o’clock position. The Dauphine-shaped sapphire case measures 46 mm.
Putting things into perspective for us, Girard-Perregaux, states that the construction of this watch needed over 200 hours of work and hundreds of operations with techniques that were perfected over two-hundred years.
There are only 18 Quasar Light available, and they will retail at $294,000 each.