Girard Perregaux Gyromatic

DESCRIPTION & SIGNIFICANCE

This Girard-Perregaux Gyromatic started out as two separate parts on two continents. The movement, a 17 jewel caliber 31.09 with serial number 3109229, was made in Switzerland and shipped to the United States uncased. Here it was fitted to a 10k gold filled dress case, catalog number B2168, stamped with production number 030260. The B marks a case made for the North American market, most likely by Star Watch Case Co. or Wadsworth. Swiss makers did this routinely in the postwar decades, because American duty on a finished watch ran far higher than on a bare movement, so the case was made here and the two were married on this side of the Atlantic. That is how this watch was sold new, and that is how it has stayed.

The Gyromatic was Girard-Perregaux's answer to a problem every early automatic had. A rotor that winds in only one direction wastes half your wrist's movement, and the early bidirectional systems paid for it in friction and wear. The Gyromatic winding train runs through a pair of jeweled clutch wheels, so the rotor winds the mainspring whichever way it turns.

The dial is marked T Swiss T at 6 o'clock, the declaration that the lume is tritium, which came into use around 1964. Together with the reference, that places this watch at circa 1964 to 1967. The look is the plain round dress watch that Patek Philippe made famous with the Calatrava: a clean white to silver dial, baton indices and nothing else competing for attention, at a small fraction of the price.

CONDITION & COMPONENTS

• Overall Grade: Very good pre-owned condition for its age. The photographs show the watch exactly as it is.

• Originality: The Swiss movement and the American case were paired when the watch was new, which is correct for an imported Girard-Perregaux of this period.

• Key Wear Notes: The gold fill is in very good condition for a case of this age. A previous watchmaker markings. Case back is engraved with "GEORGE W. BIEBER 47 YRS. LOYAL SERVICE BUFFALO FORGE COMPANY 8-29-72" (Pictured). The case back carries a presentation engraving to an employee of the Buffalo Forge Company, given in recognition of 47 years of service. Buffalo Forge was founded in Buffalo, New York in 1878 by William F. Wendt, first making portable blacksmith forges and later fans, blowers and heating equipment for factories across the country. It was there, in 1902, that a young Buffalo Forge engineer named Willis Carrier designed the first modern air conditioning system. A gold watch for nearly half a century at one company was how American industry said thank you in this period, and this one has stayed with its story.
  

MOVEMENT & PERFORMANCE

• Caliber: Girard-Perregaux Gyromatic caliber 31.09, automatic, 17 jewels, serial number 3109229.

• Service History: Unserviced, sold as is.

• Metrics: Dial up, as received: rate of 0 seconds per day, amplitude of 250 degrees, beat error of 0.1 ms.

• Functionality: Bidirectional automatic winding through the Gyromatic clutch wheels. Those readings are strong for a movement we have not serviced. Its earlier service history is unknown beyond the 1975 mark.
  

DIAL & HANDS

• Variant & Condition: Minimal white to silver dial with baton indices and a lume dot at each index.

• Lume & Aging: Tritium lume on the hands and on the dot plots beside the baton indices, confirmed by the T Swiss T marking at 6 o'clock.

• UV Reaction: The hands and dot plots glow under UV light and fade immediately once the light is removed.

• Hand Set: Luminous hands with tritium lume. See photographs.
  

CASE, BEZEL & CRYSTAL

• Dimensions: 33 mm diameter excluding crown | 35 mm including crown

• Case & Lugs: 10k gold filled dress case, made in the United States for the imported movement. The gold fill is in very good condition for its age.

• Components: Case marked with catalog number B2168 and production number 030260. No maker's mark is visible.

• Bezel & Crystal: See photographs.

• Case Back: See photographs.
  

STRAP & ACCESSORIES

• Lug Width: 18 mm

• Hardware: Supplied with a new strap and buckle.

• Fit & Wear: Supplied on a new strap. At 33 mm this wears as a classic dress watch, small by modern standards and correct for the period.
  

COLLECTOR NOTES

• Provenance & Box/Papers: No box or papers.

• Vintage Disclaimer: This is a vintage, pre-owned watch made roughly sixty years ago. It is a used object and is not cosmetically perfect, and it shows marks and aging consistent with its age. It is sold unserviced. Treat every vintage watch as not water resistant. Please look closely at every photograph and ask us for any close up you need before you buy.

Timegrapher reading (view)

• Rate: 0 sec/day
• Amplitude: 250°
• Beat error: 0.1ms

Measured September 30, 2026, Dial up, fully wound.

Vintage movements typically run 200 to 280° amplitude; the rate matters most for daily wear. A reading is a snapshot on the date shown.