ReviewThe Eternal Cosmos: The Girard-Perregaux Bridges Cosmos

If any watch has pushed the boundaries of traditional watchmaking in 2019, it is definitely the new Bridges Cosmos by Girard-Perregaux. Two complete celestial and terrestrial globes represent the eternal Cosmos. Revealing the unknown world, as the earth rotates every day, the signs of the zodiac pass through this miniature expression. And the watch, quite like the sky, has two faces—day and night—revealing the hidden portions of the night sky, and it even glows with a black light.

A striking feature of this watch, driven by the brand new manufacture calibre GP09320-1098, is the absence of the traditional crown. The time and other indications are manually adjusted on the back of the watch, via four tiny keys, which flatten when not in use, allowing the watch to sit comfortably on the wrist.

The time and other indications are manually adjusted on the back of the watch, via four tiny keys, which flatten when not in use, allowing the watch to sit comfortably on the wrist

The level of detail that goes into the creation of individual parts this watch is truly a sight to behold

The manual-winding mechanical movement is created from 362 components—a number considerably higher than in a conventional watch, which this certainly is not

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Earth And Sky

The technical features of this exceptional timepiece include a tourbillon, a sky chart and a world time complication. Along the horizontal and vertical axes, its complications are arranged at all four cardinal points. Hours and minutes appear at 12 o’clock, while a tourbillon spins under a black titanium bridge at six. At three, a terrestrial globe serves as a day/night indicator, while a sky chart is exhibited at nine o’clock, completing the drama. Invisible in broad daylight, and dotted with luminescent hydro-ceramic particles, the tinted sapphire crystal glass offers a view of the sky by night.

The Bridges Cosmos' technical features include a tourbillon, a sky chart and a world time complication

With hours and minutes at 12 o’clock, the tourbillon is seen at six. At three, a terrestrial globe serves as a day/night indicator, while a sky chart is exhibited at nine o’clock

At 22mm, the Bridges Cosmos is thicker than most watches, but that isn't all that thick if you consider the depth in its presentation and the functions the watch performs

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At nine o’clock, laser-engraved on a blue-tinted titanium globe, is the sky chart, which endows the Cosmos with its sidereal dimension. It rotates every 23 hours, 58 minutes and four seconds, representing the exact duration of a sidereal day. This sphere focuses on the 12 zodiacs, with dozens of stars connected to them. The globe at three o’clock indicates day and night, and the time in a second zone, on a 24-hour scale.

Depth In Details

Also made of titanium, the laser-engraving on the globe is thoroughly detailed to even depict the terrain on land. The Bridges Cosmos is no ordinary timepiece. It’s a great meeting point of heavenly art and complex technology. We certainly haven’t seen anything more avant-garde than this in 2019.