Luxury Swiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux launched the Le Corbusier trilogy collection which pays tribute to the architect, urban planner and designer. Le Corbusier was an architect, designer, urban planner and writer, known for being one of the pioneers of modern architecture. Based on le Corbusier’s work, Girard-Perregaux is launching a collection to pay tribute to one of the geniuses of modern architecture.
The collection of three watches has been designed to represent cities related to Le Corbusier, Le Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Paris and Marseille.
The first in the series represents Le Chaux-de-Fonds, the town where the architect was born and where Girard-Perregaux is based. Launched this week, the watch is being sold for 50’000 CHF (RM164,513). The design features one of the architect’s early works reproduced through a bas-relief of a mother-of-pearl dial.
The second piece represents Paris, the city the architect moved to in 1914. The watch pays tribute to his time as a furniture maker by pairing a steel case with a cowhide strap, a reference to the iconic chaise lounge.
Le Corbusier applied his theories about shape to the decorative art as well, presenting his furniture collection at Paris’s Salon D’Automne in 1929. The watch is 20’000 CHF.
The last watch represents Marseille and the construction of the Cité Radieuse, arguably one of the most important works by the architect. Built between 1947-1952, the modernist residential housing comprises 337 apartments, a bookshop as well as sports, educational and medical facilities, a hotel and a restaurant. The watch is available for 30’000 CHF.
The Girard-Perregaux trilogy collection is one of several collaborations between watchmakers and the architectural world.
In 2009, the Canadian post-modern architect Frank Gehry teamed up with Fossil to design a digital model for the brand. The watch, released in 2009, show a negative screen during daylight hours and a positive screen at night.
