According to Antonio Calce, CEO of Girard-Perregaux since 2014, “the most significant investment has been made on the Laureato family. Issued in a limited series to mark the brand’s 225th anniversary, the Laureato is now a full-fledged collection that was launched with an ambitious attitude at the SIHH 2017. It comprises 34 references, with four different movements and four sizes. Two newcomers have been added in May, with the Laureato Skeleton model in stainless steel and pink gold versions. They elicited highly favorable reactions among connoisseurs, who compared them to haute couture. The Laureato, born in 1975, further reinforces the Girard-Perregaux identity.”
Designed by a Milanese architect in the mid-1970s, the Laureato met demand for a sporty and elegant watch to be won in all circumstances. The model with its integrated bracelet and no lugs or loops drew the essence of its personality from the original shape of its bezel : an octagon with rounded lines housed in a circle. It is apparently inspired by the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence. Revisited in a particularly restrained style last year for a limited series marking the brand’s 225th anniversary, the Laureato now takes center-stage, appearing in both men’s and women’s interpretations as never before and interpreted in a broad variety of sizes, materials, colors and movements. The chief characteristics of the original are all there, along with evolved features that have been added over the years, without ever distorting its true nature. The octagonal bezel is inevitably based on a circle, and the case continues to extend smoothly into a tapering strap or bracelet. The latter metal version combines wide H-shaped links with domed intermediate links, while playing with the contrast between polished and satin-brushed surfaces. It is endowed with a supple feel that makes the watch extremely comfortable to wear on any type of wrist. Meanwhile, the dial picks up the design of the original with a Clous de Paris hobnail motif, composed of tiny pyramids that set the perfect finishing touch to the light effects. In addition, Girard-Perregaux is giving a special nod to the 1975 Laureato with the quartz movement of the small-sized ladies’ model.
LAUREATO 34 MM
The Laureato measuring 34mm in diameter and only 7.75mm thick houses an extremely slim in-house-made quartz movement. Through this choice, Girard-Perregaux is reminding observers that the original model was created to accommodate a quartz movement that its engineers had succeeded in miniaturizing, four years after presenting the world’s first movement operating at 32,768 Hertz. They had thus established the chronometry norm that would be adopted internationally and is still in force today. In achieving this degree of precision, Girard-Perregaux was the watch manufacturer that earned the largest number of quartz chronometer certificates during the following years. Presented in a pink gold, stainless steel or pink gold and steel case, the dainty contemporary Laureato is lit up with 56 diamonds set on the bezel, featuring various cuts designed to mold the subtle curves of the octagon’s multiple edges.
LAUREATO 38 MM
This model blurs boundaries between different watch genres, with a classic-size case housing a self-winding movement visible through a sapphire caseback. Both men and women’s models are available in stainless steel or pink gold, while ladies are treated to a steel version set with 56 diamonds on the bezel.
LAUREATO 42 MM
Despite a more distinctive presence, it remains extremely elegant : at just 10.88mm thick, it easily slips under shirt or pullover sleeves. Intended for daily wear by men of discerning taste, it is equipped with Caliber GP01800-0008 adorned with refined traditional finishing, the signature touch of the Manufacture Girard-Perregaux. Alongside classic versions in stainless steel or pink gold, it also comes in a two-tone titanium and pink gold edition reminiscent of the 1970s.
Thanks to its Manufacture with its age-old expertise, Girard-Perregaux is also capable of innovating rapidly, creatively and with great quality.
NEO BRIDGES : THE ICON REPOSITIONED
As CEO Antonio Calce stated right after Baselworld 2017, “This Three Bridges collection, which is also celebrating its 150th anniversary, surprised a lot of people with the Neo Bridges, the first in the contemporary range. The new ultra-modern design of the Neo Bridges has had a huge impact and brought a breath of fresh air to the brand.” Famed for its movements with Bridges inherited from Constant Girard who, at the end of the 19th century, brought an extraordinary aesthetic dimension to its construction, Girard-Perregaux has revisited the architectural codes of the past in giving rise to the automatic winding Neo Bridges. This fundamentally retrofuturistic model features delicately curved openworked bridges on a movement that is perfectly symmetrical, notably thanks to the positioning of the micro-rotor on the same line as the barrel drum. The balance-wheel oscillating at 6 o’clock features a generous 10.15mm diameter. It catches the eye while ensuring greater stability and thus heightened precision. A minimalist dial composed of a simple ring with suspended hour-markers, along with cutout hands, ensure a pleasingly clear view of the resolutely contemporary black and gray composition. Finishing operations such as sandblasting, the NAC treatment of the mainplate and the PVD coating of the bridges, are all part of the stage-setting. This new expression of the mechanical vision inherent to Girard-Perregaux forms an inseparable whole with its imposing 45mm-diameter case fitted with a “Box” sapphire crystal. Crafted in titanium with alternating polished and satinbrushed surfaces, it is teamed with a dark gray alligator leather strap. Harmony is the keynote of this creation representing one of the highlights of Girard-Perregaux’s new image. It prefigures the future while preserving the revolutionary concept of the 27 Tourbillon with Three Bridges pocket watches submitted to Neuchâtel Observatory between 1865 and 1911.
Innovative by its very nature, Girard-Perregaux has a range of 100 patents including one for the Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges.
