Girard-Perregaux

Swiss Watch Fair 1971 BF 304
Presented for the first time at the 1971 Basle Fair, here is a new quartz electronic watch model. The quartz vibrates 32,768 times per second, a frequency which is reduced to one impulse per second and transmitted to the hands by means of a stepping motor. A single, ultra-advanced integrated circuit performs all functions : entertainment of the quartz s vibrations, frequency division and monitoring of the motor. It comprises the equivalent of 300 transistors lodged on a surface of less than 3 square millimetres. A 1 .3 V battery provides the necessary power. Energy consumption is of the order of 5 microamperes. The movement is of very compact design. The price of this new, very high precision timepiece, now still in the prototype stage, should not exceed 700 Swiss francs. (GIRARD-PERREGAUX)