SIHH 2017: GIRARD-PERREGAUX LAUREATO
SIHH 2017: GIRARD-PERREGAUX LAUREATO
Connoisseurs and collectors have been awaiting its return for years. 2017 sees the birth of a complete Laureato family, incorporated within the Girard-Perregaux core collection.
In 2016, the Laureato made a comeback onto the watchmaking scene, in the form of a limited edition in tribute to Girard-Perregaux’s 225th Anniversary. Following this highly successful edition, Girard-Perregaux is putting the Laureato in its rightful place: that of a contemporary watch combining a progressive, unique design with a feeling for detail, excellent timing capacity and perfect taste. These attributes are those belonging to a truly iconic watch, which finds its way through time with effortless ease.
Equipped with Haute Horlogerie complication, self-winding or quartz movements, housed in cases available in four diameters and in versions made of steel, gold, two-tone steel & gold or featuring titanium elements, the Laureato range has never been this extensive or varied. With nearly 30 references, this watchmaking legend lives up to its true potential.
Girard-Perregaux infuses all its legitimacy into this character-filled timepiece, designed for men and women who are aficionados of design, technical sophistication and the art of living. They all bear the unmistakable imprint of the age-old skills and innovative ability characterising the Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a major centre of Swiss watchmaking.
Birth of an icon
“Nomen est Omen”
This Latin proverb translates to “the name says it all”. It befits this Laureato model by Girard-Perregaux particularly well, as the following story reveals.
Cast your minds back to the mid-1970s, an era in which the art of design was undergoing profound changes. In watchmaking, for example, an unprecedented demand was becoming ever more pronounced: the need for a watch that was sporty, elegant, could be worn on every occasion and featured striking aesthetics distinguished by the integration of the case and the bracelet that should become as one. It was in Italy that Girard-Perregaux sought the solution. Research for the watch was entrusted to a Milan-based architect. It was clear to him that the element of instant recognition of the watch must be the bezel. Working as a true artist to ensure that the circle and polygon were perfectly matched, he designed an octagonal bezel nested inside a circle. In order to play with light, the eight angles of the octagon were linked not by straight, sharply defined lines, but instead harmonious curves combining fully polished convex or concave surfaces.
Let us dare make a comparison here between architecture and watchmaking design: the element of recognition of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence is its circular dome supporting its octagonal structure, which rises above the nave, the transept and the choir of the church. Did the architect wish to miniaturise this concept to the scale of a wristwatch? An octagonal bezel within a circle topping a perfectly integrated case and bracelet? The answer is certainly yes.
Technically, the 1975 Laureato held another surprise in store: its movement. Barely four years after having presented the first quartz movement produced in Switzerland which was relatively large, Girard-Perregaux’ engineers were ready to offer a new, particularly thin, compact movement. This was the calibre with which the Laureato was endowed. Its chronometric performance was amazing and it sailed with flying colours through official precision tests of legendary severity. It enabled Girard-Perregaux to become the watchmaking Manufacture that earned the most quartz chronometer certificates in the ensuing years. The well-born Laureato proved truly worthy of its name.
Essence and presence
The Laureato has a powerful identity. This exceptional personality draws on a genetic code that enables its appearance to evolve without ever affecting its essence. Thus, the Laureato is defined by its polished octagonal bezel, positioned on an integrated case, meaning without lugs or loops. Its metal bracelet is a natural extension of the case and an integral design element in its own right.
This metal bracelet is characterised by its large H-shaped satin-finished links and by its domed and polished inter-links. The play between polished and satin-finished surfaces creates a pleasing depth effect and enlivens the watch. When it comes to its feel on the wrist, the bracelet is endowed with the most important quality of all: exceptional flexibility. This makes the Laureato perfectly comfortable on any type of wrist.
The Laureato by definition has a Clous de Paris hobnail pattern, a collection of tiny pyramids which fill the entire opening of the watch and capture the light. But over and above this, the Laureato is a mind-set. Sporty because it is tough, chic because it is enriched with meticulous details, it is just as suited to important occasions as it is to everyday wear. This versatility is the result of intense thought around the idea of ergonomics, volume and style, which has given rise to four new lines.
Laureato Tourbillon: the prestige of a Gold Bridge
At the top of the range of the new Laureato models, the Laureato Tourbillon single-handedly embodies all the historic expertise of the Manufacture Girard-Perregaux. Its 45 mm case, made of titanium and studded with gold, houses the GP09510 calibre. This Fine Watchmaking movement is entirely produced by the craftsmen, mechanical engineers, gemsetters and polishers of the Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It emulates the emblematic structure and design of the tourbillons by Girard-Perregaux, which has made an unmistakable signature of the arrow-shaped Gold Bridge, skilfully polished and rounded off by hand.
Produced according to the highest standards of finishing quality, this movement is also one of the very rare tourbillons to feature a self-winding mechanism and almost the only one to offer it in the form of a micro-rotor – which is made of gold into the bargain. The GP09510 calibre exists in two variations. The first is endowed with a tourbillon bridge in pink gold, which matches the pink gold details of the case of the Laureato Tourbillon: bezel, crown, hour-markers, and first inter-link. The second offers a tourbillon bridge in white gold, which extends the subtly graded shades of the case in titanium and white gold.
Laureato 42 mm: masculine elegance
The Laureato 42 mm is a watch for daily life. It aims to offer the most useful indications to a man of taste, every day and under any circumstances. Its distinctive and versatile diameter is matched by carefully thought-out proportions, notably featuring a moderate 10.88 mm thickness that enables it to fit under any shirt sleeve or pullover with ease. It comes with a choice of three dials adorned with a Clou de Paris hobnail motif: silver grey, slate grey and blue.
The case is available in a choice of steel or pink gold, teamed with a matching metal bracelet or an alligator leather strap. These classics are completed by an option in titanium and pink gold, which are perfectly aligned with the 1970s spirit of the original Laureato. Every 42 mm Laureato is equipped with a GP01800 movement. Entirely designed, produced, assembled and adjusted by Girard-Perregaux, while endowed with traditional and meticulous finishes, this calibre is the spearhead of the Manufacture.
Laureato 38 mm: the flexibility of an icon
The power of an iconic watch is revealed when it frees itself from gender-related boundaries. The Laureato 38 mm is a character-filled timepiece, available in men’s and ladies’ versions. With a choice of dials in three colours, the Laureato 38 mm comes in steel, in steel with a bezel set with 56 diamonds, and in 18K pink gold. Each of these executions is available with an alligator leather strap or a bracelet in the same metal as the case.
Whether worn by a man or a woman, the Laureato 38 mm is equipped with a single movement, the GP03300. This mechanical self-winding calibre is entirely manufactured by Girard-Perregaux. Precise, reliable and driving indications of the hours, minutes, seconds and date, it adds even more to the versatility and prestige of the Laureato 38 mm.
Laureato 34 mm: graceful femininity
The Laureato 34 mm is a new wasp-waisted size. It is clothed in light and adorned with precious stones. In steel, gold or a combination of both, this Girard-Perregaux icon is interpreted in a dainty shape rimmed by a halo of 56 diamonds whose dimensions vary according to their position.
With a 34 mm diameter and just 7.75 mm thick, the Laureato 34 mm features a perfectly proportioned design made possible by its very thin quartz movement manufactured by Girard-Perregaux. While a choice of this nature may appear surprising, one must recall that the Laureato was created to house a quartz movement. And that Girard-Perregaux, a pioneer in this field, was the first brand to offer a quartz movement intended for ladies’ watches.
Shaping the future
True to the spirit of this watchmaking legend, the Laureato Tourbillon, Laureato 42 mm, Laureato 38 mm and Laureato 34 mm are writing a new chapter in the story of casual chic and contemporary Girard-Perregaux watches. In steel, gold, precious or simply elegant and consistently on-trend, it draws its strengths from the values that shape all Girard-Perregaux creations.
