Laureato 2016 - Love at First Sight

From Girard-Perregaux

Courtesy of Girard-Perregaux

Love is sort of a quirky thing.  You might be walking down the street with a different watch on your wrist and think to yourself, this is it.  I've found the ONE.  And then WHAM!  Love hits you over the head.  That is what happened to me this morning when I woke up and saw the new Laureato in blue.

A very sensible 41 mm in stainless steel houses GP's calibre GP03300-0030 - self-winding with a frequency of 28,800 VPH and a power reserve of 46 hours.

Love is funny, but sometimes it is useless to fight it!

Here are the details -

Laureato

Technical Specifications

Case: steel

Diameter: 41.00 mm

Thickness: 10.10 mm

Crystal: anti-reflective sapphire

Dial: Silvered or blue with “Clous de Paris” pattern

Hands: baton-shaped luminescent hands

Case-back: anti-reflective sapphire crystal

Water-resistance: 30 meters (3 ATM)

Girard-Perregaux movement GP03300-0030

Mechanical with automatic winding

Diameter: 25.60 mm (11 1/2 ’’’)

Height: 3.20 mm

Frequency: 28,800 vph - (4 Hz)

Power reserve: min. 46 hours

Jewels: 27

Functions: hour, minute, central second, date

Strap

Material: steel

Silvered dial reference: 81000-11-131-11A Blue dial reference: 81000-11-431-11A

Pulling Me Back

While I have not always been enamored of absolutely everything that Girard-Perregaux has offered ups these past few years, I have to say that when they stick to their grammar, that is when they offer the sort of things that make them (at least in my eyes) Girard-Perregaux, there is no finer watch out there.  And the stainless steel 1966 ticks all of those boxes.

Courtesy of Girard Perregaux

It is beautiful in its simplicity.  12 indices, a legible date window, and an understated elegance that is beguiling.

Other brands have made their stainless interpretations of dress watches, and in all honesty I can't say that I "get them".  This watch, however, is "another piece of toast".  It is special.


Here are the specs -

Material : Steel
Diameter : 40.00 mm
Height : 8.90 mm
Case-back : Sapphire crystal
Water resistance : 30 metres (3 ATM)
Movement : GP03300-0030, self-winding mechanical movement
Calibre : 11 ½’’’
Jewels : 27
Power reserve : min. 46 hours
Functions : Hour, minute, second, date

NOW - when this watch first launched I said some things that you might feel contradictory to the comments above.  In fact, I still stand by what I said then.  This is not a retraction, rebuttal or re-framing.  And if I do have an issue, it is about pricing.  But - and this is a big but - I do not see ANY of the "manufacturers" coming to any clear sense of reality in terms of what things really should be priced at, and the great stocks of unsold watches no longer being soaked up by the Chinese market bear that out.  So to that extent, GP is in the same company as the others.

And sometimes it is safe to say that we love watches despite the price.  And for me, this is one of them.

And this watch is beautiful.  At 40 mm it is a welcome return to rationality in terms of proportion.  It is a watch that will be worn - not hidden in a vault.  And it is the type of watch that will be proudly handed down to the next generation.

At times I have to remind myself why I REALLY write about this stuff.  It is not to do market analysis, deconstruct celebrity endorsements or crow about how much I know.  Truth be told, I write about watches because I love watches.  And when viewed on its own merits - as a watch, this is one that I appreciate.

It's hard not to be romantic about watches.