PeterCDE's 10,000 Posts: A GP Moderator's Journey

PeterCDE's reflection on his 10,000th forum post offers a heartfelt look at the WatchProSite community and his journey as a Girard-Perregaux moderator. This piece underscores the value of shared passion, real-world connections, and the deep appreciation for horology that defines the forum.

Dear enthusiasts and GP fans,

i´m a bit speechless and moved about all your warm wishes posted below; that´s truly far and beyond, for just me doing something i enjoy so much.
So first of all, a most heartfelt "thank you" to all of you! All the watch fans i´ve had the pleasure to meet and to correspond with, be it by email or postings, be it collectors or brand staff. That´s about the best in watches; sharing a common passion truly doubles the fun. In this, i´m blessed with an outstanding community of fans here!!!

Well, it seems the 10K post is regarded something special, so i´ve tried to make up my mind and had a look at what others did.
Fortunately, the brand of Girard-Perregaux (and Jeanrichard too) offer a long history of, so one opportunity would have been to go back and share some historical tidbits.
Maybe grab out some "older" stories of the forum or head posts today buried deep down?
Or focus on what the brand does today, with an array of watch pics?

But then, in some way this is supposed to be about what i like best.
That´s not only the fabulous watches we all admire; certainly GP´s and JR´s beautiful products account for much of the fun. But there´s much more; it´s friends, passion and to have a good time.

And particularly the latter was richely supported over the past years.
Going back a bit, some of you may (do you?) recall a new moderatorship on the GP on June 23, 2002. Oh my god, how time flies.... I´ve made my own first post, then in the "old location", only a couple of month before. And it took some time to really get in full swing and "officially involved" on October 8, 2002.
So that´s almost 6 years ago and i have to say, i truly appreciate every day and minute i´ve spent here!

But it´s not just the virtual world, it´s the "real world" happenings in these 6 years to provide equal fun.

So here we go; it´s such a nice chance to look back and aheard.
And that´s what´s this post is going to be.

Admittedly Girard-Perregaux was not completely unknown to me in 2002, having spent some time on off-line research. But it took me a bit of time until i got there for the first time.
Of course i knew the pictures. And the stories, about GP´s famous "blue factory" building and "Villa Marguerite".
Just that being there, in person, with people i´ve read so many stories about, is something completely different.
And the strongest memory to me was the last stage, visiting GP´s Haute Horlogerie department; that´s where all the Three Bridges come from, all made by swiss elves somewhere hidden in the swiss alps. In some sense it turned out to be true, in that the ride from Geneva airport to La Chaux-De-Fonds took almost two hours in the winter and the brand is in fact a little hidden in the mountains.

But then there it was, the place of watchmakers with magic hands:

You may realize the environment to be different; at that point the Haute Horlogerie department was located right under the roof and not in the new beautiful premises GP made for the flagship department roughly two years ago.

And it´s been a chance to meet the people to do such a magically attracting watchers, among which was Magali:

If you´re around the place here, you may recall her from older pre-2000 catalogues!
And some of us had the chance to meet her last year:

Magali is one of the master watchmakers in charge of creating GP´s tourbillons and here picked rather randomly; while i´ve had the chance to visit the brand more than twice, i still get stuck in the Haute Horlogerie department every single time. To me, watching the watchmakers working on the tiny bits always turns out to be so fascinating that all sense for time gets lost. It´s not just because the watches made there are so very cherished and famous. It´s to see these things get to life! So for those lucky guys around to own a GP Three Bridges, my strong recommendation not to miss the chance to see how these watches are made. You probably will wish to buy one (or one more), but it´s an unforgettable impression.

And since we´re into watches already, Girard-Perregaux did proof not only the Three Gold Bridges tourbillons make for a good reason to visit the premises:

This is one of four repeaters hand-made and hand-finished, in order to learn more about the art of chiming watches. And i´ll probably spill no beans if noting it´s not the last of it´s kind, although subsequent movements may not look like this one.

Making a minute repeater is a great challenge and results in a watch which perfectly accompanies the tourbillons.
It´s Haute Horlogerie in it´s finest expression and i´m very proud for the brand to master these finicky beauties!
Which, at the same time, shows a different facet of Girard-Perregaux - not just +200 years of uninterrupted history, but a very bright future with fascinating creations!
So you get the idea; the first repeater hand-made at GP was quite a big thing to see and i still lively remember my own excitement!

And as we touch on history, i´d guess this view is familiar to most of you:

The Museum underwent a hard time last year, which made perfectly clear how much the Museum and the building is a part of GP´s history and traditions. Villa Marguerite is an icon for the brand, so visiting the premises for the first time (and for a lunch with GP´s Museum director Willy Schweizer, not less) was a really big thing to me.
 

Moving around the building, the Villa made for a great location for this scene:

During an exhibition, a rare chance to meet GP´s owner Dr. Luigi "Gino" Macaluso, Stefano and Massimo Macaluso and GP´s head staff.
And what may look like a family picture actually - is one. Being a fan and follower of the brand never decreased when visiting the brand, the staff or the exhibitions and fairs. So no surprise, it´s always like coming home; probably understandable to those who already had a chance to meet the wondeful folks at Girard-Perregaux and Jeanrichard.

But better than coming home is coming home with friends!
And that happened last year; a wonderful time with new and old friends, all sharing the same passion and enthusiasm.

Strolling around the facilities is one of the moments in 2007 i remember best (and that´s been a year of many changes, so there´s plenty of impressions on my side). Two wonderful days in the "watch valley", for which i´m truly thankful to all those who came and all who made it happen!

We´ll not leave the Villa Marguerite, at least as an location, but look at one of the strongest assets of the brand.
Which is, beautiful, unusual, finely designed and executed, stunning watches!

During a recent visit, the staff of Girard-Perregaux agreed on assisting for some watch pictures "in situ".
And where´s a better place than to stand in front of GP´s iconic building?

To me it seems the Lady range of Girard-Perregaux often goes unnoticed in the forums. But this impression is not backed by "real life"; actually the lady models are a pillar of the brand´s portfolio and widely appreciated in many many regions all over the world.
So when thinking of past episodes and happenings with the brand, i thought this might be a good place to share some impressions of GP´s finest:

Stefania

the watch worn, in natural daylight

and Valerié

And since we´re into watch pics, the annual SIHH exhibition always leads to new input for the camera.
This year, it´s been a special honour to have a chance to spend time with two supermodels, Steph and the lady WW.TC:

This year was a very special year for the brand as well.
Not because it´s been a very successfull year so far, but GP officially introduced what i regard the sensation of the year in the watch world!
The new "Constant Escapement" saw the daylights in front of the world watch press, a truly remarkable happening and a presentation i´ll surely remember for a long time:

Dr. "Gino" Macaluso

Nicolas Dehon, GP´s chief watchmaker and R&D leader, explaining the functionality with a card flipping back and forth

And the real thing (with a dear friend)

The new movement shares a glimpse of GP´s future; with such stunning (and functional) creations such can only be bright! Not to speak of the marvels to come...

Looking back at the post, it seems there are pictures from all of the "forum history" too
But to me, it´s not just the pictures. It´s a remarkable time full of fun and pleasure with likely minded friends.

I´m most grateful for the chance to spread my passion.
And i´m most thankful for all the friends i´ve found.

In this, 10.000 big thanks to all of you!

Cheers,
Peter