At the dawn of the 20th century, Girard-Perregaux enjoyed unparalleled renown. Its predominance at international exhibitions was such that the Firm was judged ineligible for awards, then appointed a permanent jury member of the international watch exhibitions in recognition for its constant quest for precision. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin himself measured his flight tests using Girard-Perregaux timepieces.
When Constant Girard-Perregaux died in 1903, his son Constant Girard-Gallet took over control of the Manufacture. In 1906, he took over the famous Bautte firm, merging it with Girard-Perregaux and Cie. And so two celebrated names in Swiss watchmaking were united forever. In 1928, Otto Graef (1862-1948), a watchmaker of German origin established in La Chaux-de-Fonds since the age of 20 and owner of the MIMO Brand (Manufacture Internationale de Montres Or), took over the capital stock of Girard-Perregaux. His company took on a global dimension.
In 1930, sales of wrist watches exceeded those of pocket watches for the first time, fifty years after Constant Girard had conceived this method of wearing a timepiece.
In the 1940s, the Girard-Perregaux Brand pursued its development both in Europe and the Americas, especially with the Sea Hawk water-resistant model, while the MIMO Brand was primarily distributed on European markets. 1945 saw the creation of a rectangular Art Deco inspired model, which would be revived fifty years later and dubbed the VINTAGE 1945.
