Breitling Orbiter 3Breitling has recently written a new page in the aviation book by realizing the first non-stop round the world flight in theBreitling Orbiter 3, the balloon flown by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones.The Breitling Orbiter 3, a roziere balloon featuring the most advanced technologies, took off from Château-d'Oex in Switzerland on March 1, 1999, at 08H05 UTC, flew 45'755 km and landed on March 21, 1999 at 05H52 UTC in Egypt completing a non-stop flight of 19 days 21 hours 47 minutes. This extraordinary flight has been made possible thanks to the proficiency of the crew and the efficiency of the entire Breitling team who worked hard during the last 5 years, on what can be considered the last maor aeronautical event of this century.The Breitling presentation case in Bakelite.Bakelite is a synthetic resin invented in 1905 by a Belgian chimist named Léo-Jules Baekeland. In the twenties, this novel material gave rise to a wide range of products featuring new shapes and forms - from the most characteristic decorative objects of the era, such as radio sets, to luxury articles such as necklaces, bracelets and cigarette-holders. The Breitling presentation case with its unique structure and subtle shades is made of Bakelite reinforced by wood-flour.Constant Girard-Perregaux (1825-1903). After a happy childhood, Constant Girard decided to learn the watchmaker's trade, slowly and patiently absorbing its secrets, that were passed on by demanding master craftsmen.The years passed and his talent was confirmed. In 1825, Constant Girard and his mother Numa founded a watch manufacturing company in La Chaux-de-Fonds. They called it Girard & Cie.Barely two years later, at the age of 29, Constant Girard married Marie Perregaux, the daughter of a local watchmaker. In 1856, the name of the company was changed for the last time to Girard-Perregaux and Constant took to using both family names.He was very technically minded, devising finer time-measurement instruments for his customers. A perfectionist, he was at pains to design increasingly sophisticated, meticulously fashioned movements. In time, he came to favour given technical solutions over others, eventually culminating in the three parallel bridge construction.Constant Girard-Perregaux never hesitated to use gold exactly as he would any other functional material to make whatever parts of the movement he thought best.He appeared at a crucial juncture in the history of watchmaking, at the time when portable time instruments were gradually being made available to practically everyone, not just the wealthiest citizens.Performance took ever greater importance spurring the development of progressively more complex watches, more accurate too, providing an increasing variety of indications. This was the heyday of chronometry and observatory contests between the great watchmakers of the period. Time measurement had definitely become a science.Constant Girard-Perregaux was a talented contestant, winning no less than 13 Gold Medals and other distinctions in America and in Europe. As Paris celebrated the inauguration of the Eiffel Tower in 1889, Girard Perregaux received the highest of all awards bestowed by the Universal Exhibition held there that year: a Gold Medal for excellence. It saluted the technical and aesthetic perfection of his masterpiece, the famed three-bridge Tourbillon.Constant Girard-Perregaux often favoured Tourbillons for his own timepieces, the most celebrated being his Tourbillon with three gold bridges. Its technical and aesthetic features, not to mention its impressive finish, soon became an unquestioned reference.Due to its extreme complexity, only a handful of these timepieces were ever produced, the first dating from the middle of the 19th century. Its masterpiece quality was further attested by a variety of prizes and distinctions, including a pair of Gold Medals at the Paris Exhibition of 1867 and 1889.Equally knowlegeable in the commercial aspects of his craft, Constant Girard-Perregaux opened sales offices in the United States, named by his own sons. His company prospered and the Girard-Perregaux name acquired a flattering reputation far beyond the confines of Europe. Its watches were particularly prized in South America where many of the masterpieces featured in the company's own museum were later tracked down and purchased.Constant Girard Perregaux will also be remembered in Neuchâtel as a man of principle and vision. He gained a measure of prominence as a leading spokesman for the Neuchâtel Liberal Party and as an eloquent advocate of Republican ideals and of Neuchâtel's adhesion to the Swiss Confederation.By the middle of the last century, La Chaux-de-Fonds had become one of the major centers of the watch industry.When he died on June 18, 1903, Constant Girard-Perregaux could look back with pride on a rich and full life. His legacy includes a strong sense of duty and discipline and of course complete mastery of a challenging craft. After Girard-Perregaux died, his son Constant Girard-Gallet followed in his footstepsso successfully that by 1905, the Girard-Perregaux companywas appointed a permanent membership of the jury of the Universal Exhibitions held at Liège, in Belgium. The level of quality of its products was judged too great for conclusion in such contests.Literature:Girard-Perregaux, Horloger par vocation, Edition Girard-Perregaux, La Chaux-de-Fonds, 1991.The following collection of 11 Girard-Perregaux Timepieces are from the property of a South American Collector