Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42 mm Pink Gold & Onyx – Harmony of Contrasts

All the greatest watchmaking brands have at least one model to which they identify and that is the symbol of their history and their excellence. Those of them with a long tradition are often represented by more than one watch, as in the case of Girard-Perregaux, for which two numbers immediately come to mind: three and eight. Three, like the bridges of the Bridges collection, and eight, like the sides of the Laureato bezel, now in the 42 mm Pink Gold & Onyx version.

GIRARD-PERREGAUX, THE LAUREATO, THE 1970s

The Laureato’s story is well known and it is the story of an era, the 70s, in which industrial design became extremely important in defining the product. Watchmaking also experienced that incredible creative unrest, the most evident and still ongoing result of which was the birth of the so-called “luxury sport watches,” to which Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato belongs.

At the beginning, this type of watch’s most obvious features were the steel case and the integrated bracelet, also in steel. An aesthetic postulate that went through the decades while maintaining its appeal unchanged. Indeed, the combination of these lines has become more and more appealing year after year. And this appeal, speaking of Girard-Perregaux, has made the Laureato a central piece in his collections since his birth in 1975.

No promising designer or man who has made watchmaking history hides beneath the lines of the Laureato, but a Girard-Perregaux designer from whose pen came the idea for the timepiece which would become the brand’s sports watch. The watch proved successful, because it was not born to imitate other brands’ watches, but to give the luxury sports watch segment the character that derived from the almost 200-year history of the La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacture.

This character was expressed directly in the design of the Laureato, which matched different shapes and harmonized them in an immediately recognizable look. Starting with the octagonal bezel resting on a circular ring, placed on top of an angular tonneau-shaped case. Despite the clear and geometric lines, the Laureato case has always stood out for its delicate character, which alternates surfaces with polish and satin finishes.

Finishes that also characterize the integrated bracelet, a distinctive feature of “luxury sport watches,” made to ergonomically wrap the wearer’s wrist, providing an excellent fit.

IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS QUARTZ

The first Laureato launched in 1975 was christened the “Quartz Chronometer”. After all, in the 70s took place the so-called “quartz crisis:” the Japanese industry placed on the world market a large quantity of watches, much more precise, cheaper, and produceable on a larger scale than Swiss mechanics. A crisis that brought the Swiss sector to its knees, and that pushed many brands, even famous ones, to combine quartz models with mechanical ones.

In the 1970s, Girard-Perregaux was at the forefront of quartz timekeeping. The brand defined the 32,768 Hz frequency and this technology was then adopted as a universal standard for quartz watches. The ’75 Laureato quartz caliber was a COSC-certified in-house movement: Caliber 705. Even today, the Laureato 34 mm houses a quartz movement enriching the offer of the collection.

In the 1970s, Italy was the most important market for Girard-Perregaux and for the entire Swiss industry. In our country, the watch became famous among enthusiasts as “the Laureato of the Girard-Perregaux school.” A nickname that was then officially chosen by the brand to baptize the timepiece. Moreover, the octagonal bezel above the case is reminiscent of the laurel wreath that graduates traditionally wear (Laureato means “graduate” in Italian).

Over the years, the design of the Laureato has been modified with minor tweaks that have not altered the essence of the original 1975 model. In 2017, Girard-Perregaux presented the fifth generation of the watch with an even more modern design.

THE NEW LAUREATO 42 MM PINK GOLD AND ONYX

The new Laureato 42 mm Pink Gold and Onyx – with a 10.68-mm thick 18-carat rose gold case and black onyx dial – belongs to this generation. A watch designed to carry on the collection’s tradition, alternating surfaces with a polish finish and surfaces with a satin finish.

Case, lugs and bezel have a horizontal satin finish in contrast with the polished ring on which the octagonal bezel lies. The same combination of finishes is found in the matching rose gold bracelet, whose H-links are satin-finished while the central elements are mirror-polished.

What makes the difference in this watch is also, and above all, the hand-made black onyx dial. Onyx is a particular type of very hard rock, difficult to work with, especially to create very thin and tiny parts such as watch dials. That’s why some of the most expert craftsmen worked on the Laureato 42 mm Pink Gold and Onyx, artisans who shape and polish each piece by hand.

To make the dial, these craftsmen perform 15 different operations that lead to a perfect mirror-polished surface. The hands are then positioned on it – the baton indexes and the GP logo at 12 o’clock, all in pink gold. A color that, combined with the intense black of onyx, creates a surprising contrast.

THE WATCH’S MOVEMENT AND GIRARD-PERREGAUX’S CRAFTSMANSHIP

The Laureato 42 mm Pink Gold and Onyx is powered by the GP01800-1404 caliber, an automatic movement crafted by Girard-Perregaux’s master watchmakers. The caliber works at 28,800 vibrations / hour and has a power reserve of 54 hours. It combines high performance with top-level finishes, starting with the oscillating weight in pink gold finished in circular Côtes de Genève.

The base plate is adorned with circular graining, while some components feature bevelling, mirror-polishing, satin finish, sunray finish and various engravings. The bridges are decorated with straight Côtes de Genève.

The movement is visible through the sapphire crystal case back. The glass protecting the dial is made of the same material, but has an anti-reflective treatment. Speaking of the dial, at 3 o’clock there is the date window, whose disc is of the same color as the dial and accentuates the elegance of the watch. The Laureato 42 mm Pink Gold and Onyx is water resistant to 5 atmospheres.

The watch is available not only with the integrated rose gold bracelet, but also with a black alligator strap in the same shade as the dial. The price of the bracelet version is 54,500 euros, while the strap version costs € 34,200.

Girard-Perregaux has chosen not to make a limited edition for this Laureato. However, for the many hours of work that each watch requires and the production process, whose steps are entrusted to highly skilled watchmakers, this model remains limited by virtue of its protracted creation. After all, you don’t boast an icon status lightly…

By Davide Passoni