The origins of the firm can be traced back to Jean-François Bautte, who was famous for his extra-flat watches and founded a manufactory in Geneva in which all the various facets of the trade were housed under one roof. In 1837, Jacques Bautte and Jean Samuel Rossel took over the firm. In 1852, Girard & Cie was founded by Constant Girard, who married Marie Perregaux. The combination of their names resulted in the Girard-Perregaux Company, founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1856. In 1903, Constant Girard-Gallet succeeded his father as director of the firm. In 1906, he acquired the maison Bautte, merging it with Girard-Perregaux et Cie. In the early 20th century, Count von Zeppelin used Girard- Perregaux timepieces during aeronautical experiments. In 1928, the German watchmaker Otto Graef, owner of the MIMO Brand (Manufacture Internationale de Montres Or) took over the capital shares of Girard- Perregaux. In 1998, the firm acquired the Villa Marguerite, a turnof- the century building, which was renovated to house the new Girard-Perregaux Museum. In 1999, Girard-Perregaux presented a self-winding version of its famous Three Gold Bridges Tourbillon, thanks to an ingenious system (patented in 1999) featuring a platinum micro-rotor under the mainspring. "Trois Ponts d'Or" In 1884 patent No. 14919 was filed in the USA patent office for "a new and original Design for a Watch-Movement" with "a bridge having a central annular portion, spreadout ends and bar-like portions between the said annular portions and ends, as shownA..." The design, which proved to be one of the most successful watch movement designs ever, is still used by Girard-Perregaux today. Their most prestigious watch, the 13''' wrist tourbillon, uses the same design. The simple and bold, yet elegant layout of the "three bridge" movement lends itself to the display of the tourbillon regulato