...in 1966 and 1967, Girard-Perregaux manufactured approximately 670 wristwatches with the Calibre 32A movement, which became Observatory Chronometers certified by the Neuchatel Observatory and issued Bulletins de Marche for each unit. These Observatory Chronometers were then sold to the public for normal usage as wristwatches, and some examples of this watch may still be found today, although they are very rare. The Girard-Perregaux Calibre 32A movement that went into these Observatory Chronometers heralded a shift in watchmaking technology to higher frequency movements, and thus greater accuracy, that is followed today by watch manufacturers such as Patek Philippe, Zenith (watchmaker), Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Chopard, Vacheron Constantin, Mathey-Tissot and such. The move to higher frequency movements was necessitated by the challenges posed to the Swiss mechanical watch industry by the advent of the quartz watch movement in the late 1960s.
In recognition of a momentous watchmaking achievement, Girard-Perregaux was granted the Centenary Certificate from the Neuchatel Observatory in 1967, the only time any manufacture has ever been awarded such.
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