Who Owns Girard-Perregaux?

Girard-Perregaux's sustainability practices focus on materials sourcing, manufacturing longevity, and product durability. As a Swiss-made luxury watch brand, the company is subject to Swiss environmental and labor regulations.

• Swiss Made Certification: All Girard-Perregaux watches carry the Swiss Made label, which requires Swiss movement assembly, Swiss casing, and final inspection in Switzerland.
• Responsible Sourcing: The brand uses precious metals including gold and platinum. Sowind Group does not publish detailed supply chain transparency data for raw materials.
• Product Longevity: Luxury mechanical watches are inherently durable goods, often lasting generations. Girard-Perregaux offers repair and restoration services for vintage pieces, extending product lifecycles.
• Animal Materials: Girard-Perregaux watches use leather straps derived from animal sources. The brand does not hold cruelty-free or vegan certifications.

Sowind Group does not publish a standalone sustainability report. Under Kering's ownership, the brand was covered by Kering's comprehensive ESG reporting framework. Since the 2022 management buyout, Sowind Group has not established a comparable public reporting structure.

Girard-Perregaux has received recognition for watchmaking excellence:

• Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG): Girard-Perregaux has won awards at the GPHG, the watch industry's most prestigious annual competition. The brand's Constant Escapement won the GPHG Innovation Prize in 2013.
• Paris International Exhibition (1867): The Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges won a gold medal at the 1867 Paris International Exhibition, establishing the movement architecture as an aesthetic and technical achievement.
• Deloitte Best Managed Companies (2024, 2025, 2026): Sowind Group became the first company in Switzerland's luxury industry to receive this recognition from Deloitte Private, awarded for three consecutive years.
• Swiss Made Certification: All Girard-Perregaux watches meet the legal requirements for the Swiss Made designation, verified by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

Girard-Perregaux has maintained a clean product safety record with no major recalls. The brand's small production volume and in-house quality control contribute to this record.

• Kering Divestment (2022): Kering's sale of Sowind Group in 2022 was widely reported as a strategic decision by the luxury group to shed smaller brands. Some industry analysts interpreted the sale as an acknowledgment that Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin had not achieved the scale Kering expected when it acquired them in 2011. The brands were described as lacking the potential to become sizable assets within the Kering portfolio.
• Vintage Authentication: As with many heritage watch brands, vintage Girard-Perregaux pieces face authentication challenges in the secondary market. The brand works with authorized dealers and auction houses to maintain authentication standards but does not operate a formal vintage certification program comparable to Audemars Piguet's or Vacheron Constantin's.
• Sustainability Reporting Gap: Since the 2022 management buyout from Kering, Sowind Group has not published a standalone sustainability report. Under Kering, the brand was covered by the group's comprehensive ESG framework. The lack of public sustainability reporting is a gap compared to conglomerate-owned competitors.