Girard-Perregaux Traveller II GMT Alarm: A Complication with Simple Appeal

The Girard-Perregaux Traveller II GMT Alarm is a 38mm all-in-one solution for the connoisseur of complications, traditional style, and rich materials. Its 18-karat lines speak a timeless language of elegance while its alarm function “speaks” to the owner in a more practical sense. The addition of a second time zone, jump date, and automatic winding leave no doubt; this is a seriously versatile luxury watch.

Girard-Perregaux launched the Traveller II GMT Alarm in 1997, when the Chaux-de-Fonds watchmaker was beginning to emerge as a standard of reference for collectors of complicated wristwatches. Girard-Perregaux housed its dual-time alarm watch in a classically styled case with modern dimensions.

38mm is a far cry from the petite (32-34mm!) collectible men’s watches of the 1930s-1950s dress watch heyday, but the proportions of the lugs, bezel, case flanks, and dial read as clear inheritance from those salad days. All elements from the polished lug hoods to the brushed flanks are executed with purpose, precision, and a sedulous eye for coherence.

Within the slim rose gold frame of the bezel, Girard-Perregaux designers composed a face that’s easy to love. The matte silver base acts as a cool backdrop for the warmth and depth of the applied rose gold Arabic numerals. Matching 18-karat dauphine hands impart the strength of strong, thrusting lines at center. Color is employed with a deft eye for detail; the cobalt seconds hand and scattered highlights of red add a playful personality to the Girard-Perregaux Traveller II GMT Alarm.

Complications are integrated pursuant to a a practical and discreet aesthetic sensibility. The second time zone, a jump-hour aperture, is situated beneath the numeral at 12 o’clock. Girard-Perregaux balances the reference hour with a jump-date window that supplants the numeral at six o’clock.

Twin crowns control the Girard-Perregaux caliber 2291 automatic movement. The crown at two o’clock winds and sets the time; its companion at three-thirty winds and sets the alarm. When activated, the alarm is equal parts audible and tactile in its effect; the alert can be felt distinctly on the wrist.

With 31 jewels, a modern 28,800 VpH beat rate, and hacking (stop) seconds, the Cal. 2291 is a rugged and precise companion to the sophisticated and charming exterior. Based on an A. Schild 5008 alarm caliber, the 2291 is adorned with GP-specific perlage, cotes, and blued screw decoration.

See this outstanding 18-karat rose gold Girard-Perregaux Traveller II GMT Alarm in high-resolution images on www.watchuwant.com