Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges

The Three Flying Bridges Tourbillon is Girard-Perregaux at its most architecturally honest: three parallel gold bridges suspended over open air, holding the gear train in plain view with nothing above them. It is a movement first, a watch second, and that priority shows in every decision made on this dial.

What it is

Girard-Perregaux introduced the three-gold-bridge pocket watch in 1867, and the layout has appeared in wristwatches since the 1990s. The original bridges rested on a top plate; the Flying Bridges generation removes that plate entirely, leaving each bridge cantilevered and the gear train visually floating. The GP09800 caliber in this reference is a fully in-house manual tourbillon developed to showcase that open architecture at 44mm.

The 84000 series launched in 2022 as the definitive modern expression of a design that has been the brand's structural identity for over 150 years.

Buying notes

The 44mm case reads large on smaller wrists, and the open dial offers no visual anchor points to disguise that size. Steel is correct for this reference but some buyers expect precious metal at this price point; the movement cost is where the money went, not the case material. Flying bridges look robust but they are precisely fitted cantilevered structures, and any impact that displaces a bridge is a serious repair.

Manual winding only with no date or complications beyond the tourbillon means daily interaction is intentional: this is not a set-and-forget watch. Pre-owned examples from gray market sources should be inspected at an authorized service center before purchase, as the movement's open architecture makes any prior damage or amateur work immediately consequential.

Market read

New retail sits in the $70,000 to $80,000 USD range for the steel version, which positions it competitively against comparable in-house tourbillons from brands with larger marketing budgets. The secondary market has been thin given the 2022 introduction date, so price discovery is still settling. Buyers willing to purchase new get the full Girard-Perregaux warranty and a cleaner service history, which matters considerably for a movement this architecturally exposed.

Service expectations

The GP09800 is a manufacture caliber serviced exclusively through Girard-Perregaux authorized centers. Service intervals are typically 5 to 7 years for a manual tourbillon of this type, and the flying bridge architecture requires a technician trained specifically on this movement family. Budget accordingly: tourbillon service on a piece at this level is not inexpensive, and independent watchmakers should not attempt this caliber without manufacturer training.