Girard Perregaux Tip on the Week 42

Until 1870, the world was divided into a host of local times. The situation led to many cases of confusion in a period of tremendous growth in commercial and trade transport.

Until the Canadian engineer Sanford Fleming, after missing his train in Dublin (his watch was indicating time in Cork), proposed dividing the globe into 24 zones, each covering 15 longitude. This concept of universal time was gradually adopted by the majority of countries following a press conference held in Philadelphia in 1876. However, it would not be until 1911 that the countries including France, came round to it. This concept at the very foundation of Girard-Perregaux's ww.tc world time collection is therefore a relatively new one.