Pre SIHH 2019: Girard-Perregaux Laureato Perpetual Calendar

Faithful to its contemporary spirit and sporty Girard-Perregaux presents the new Laureato Perpetual Calendar.

Driven by the new Calibre GP01800-0033, entirely developed and produced in-house, this movement in addition to hours and minutes, indicates the day, date, month and nature of the current year, whether leap or not. The perpetual calendar is indeed able to follow the irregular cycle that governs the length of months, whether they last 28 or 29 days in the case of February, 30 or 31 days for the other eleven months. It requires only one manual correction every 100 years.

One of the technical challenges of this complication lies in its display mode. Girard-Perregaux has equipped the Laureato Perpetual Calendar with subdials arranged in an unusual order. The days are thus shown at 9 o’clock and the pointer-type date display between 2 and 3 o’clock, while the month appears through a large window at 6 o’clock, marked by an off-centred pointer at 5 o’clock. Just above it, a smooth textured area divided into four sections reveals the nature of the current year. The balance prevailing on this dial is not determined by symmetry, but instead by a layout based on harmoniously offset indications.

Calibre GP01800-0033 is an exception to generally accepted watch industry rules. With its four indications, a perpetual calendar naturally takes a while to set when the watch has stopped and must be reset to the current date. Instead of the usual configuration, which provides each calendar indication with a separate corrector, the Laureato Perpetual Calendar uses a single pushbutton, located at 8 o’clock, which controls the day cycle. The setting of the date, month and type of year (leap or non-leap year) is directly accessible by the crown and operates in both directions, thereby ensuring exceptional user friendliness.

Calibre GP01800-0033 does not however deviate from tradition as far as its finishes are concerned. The movement’s baseplate is entirely circular-grained and decorated with Côtes de Genève. The bridges and the oscillating weight, which ensures the automatic winding of the calibre, also feature a Côtes de Genève motif, as well as entirely hand-crafted bevelling. Among the many aspects, is its also finesse. At only 6 mm high, it helps confine the steel case to an overall thickness of 11.84 mm. (Price CHF 34.500)