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Girard-Perregaux

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By Elizabeth Doerr 

As part of the partnership with luxury carmaker Aston Martin since 2021, Girard-Perregaux reveals a second co-creation from its quintessential Bridges collection. This line pays tribute to company cofounder Constant Girard, who was one of the very few watchmakers of the nineteenth century able to make a tourbillon; his special trio of visible bridges continues to be the focal point of the wristwatches in this collection to this day. 

 

The new Girard-Perregaux Neo Bridges Aston Martin Edition.

In 2014, Girard-Perregaux presented a radically modern evolution of the Three Bridges called the Neo Tourbillon with Three Bridges featuring changes that endowed the new sub-line with a much more avant-garde spirit thanks to the shape and material of the bridges, the crystal, and the redesigned caliber. 

The bridges, now made of titanium instead of gold, were redesigned to provide extra three-dimensionality and visually lightened the appearance of what is essentially a rather large watch (45mm x 12.18 mm). They also add sleek modernity. 

For this latest iteration – the fifth co-branded timepiece overall – the team comprising designers from both companies was inspired by the world’s first Super Tourer, the Aston Martin DB12. 

Rather unusually, though, the watch features an inverted movement: the symmetrically designed Caliber GP0840000-2164 therefore visibly relocates components usually found at the rear of the watch to the front, including the micro rotor for automatic winding at 1:30 and the mainspring barrel across from it at 11:30, whose looks are motivated by the brakes found behind the Aston Martin DB12’s spoked wheels. 

Two PVD-coated “neo” bridges in Aston Martin Green not only hold the balance wheel and gear train in place, but, along with the minute markers and strap seams, provide color splashes against the resolutely modern blacks and greys of this watch. The effect is striking.

Girard-Perregaux darkens the new watch’s 45mm titanium case with DLC and builds a skeletonized movement decorated with the green hue associated with Aston Martin. The hands and markers both glow with green SuperLuminova to match the metallic Aston Martin Green bridges that dominate the dial.

Look for additional green tints in the black rubber strap (with a fabric effect), which is enlivened with green stitches and then fitted with a titanium DLC triple folding buckle.

Girard-Perregaux will offer the Neo Bridges Aston Martin Edition as a limited edition of 250 pieces.

Price: $37,700. 

Girard-Perregaux updates its Laureato Absolute collection with the Laureato Absolute 8Tech, a watch built with an unusual, lightweight 44mm carbon-titanium case. 

The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute 8Tech.

The watch, presented during Geneva Watch Days, is the newest in the collection that emphasizes high-tech materials to create contemporary models within the original Laureato line. Laureato is the watchmaker’s pioneering luxury collection that in 1975 was among the first to combine an eight-sided steel case with an integrated steel bracelet.

Since Girard-Perregaux debuted its Laureato Absolute collection (in 2019) we’ve seen models built with materials such as metallized sapphire crystal, carbon glass and a rubber alloy. 

To case the new Absolute 8Tech, the watchmaker starts with carbon fibers and combines them with lightweight titanium powder to form extremely thin (0.05mm) layers.

These layers are then superimposed on one another to form ‘stacks’ that are cut into octagons, a process Girard-Perregaux says is an industry first.

After a period of hand-applied finishing, the case takes on a wavy appearance, which looks a bit like those made from Damascus steel.

As a lightweight yet extremely strong watch, the Laureato Absolute 8Tech is a sporty model with a sandwich-type grey dial built atop a layer of Grade 5 titanium, a metal partially visible through several apertures in the upper portion. Each opening serves as an index, and each lies adjacent to a luminescent marking.

Inside Girard-Perregaux fits its own superb automatic Caliber GP03300-1058, which is visible through a smoky sapphire crystal back. Not surprisingly, the movement is very nicely finished with Côtes de Genève, chamfering and straight graining. 

Price: $27,300. 

For its latest collaboration with Aston Martin, Girard-Perregaux unveils the Laureato Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition, a Laureato with the British Racing Green color favored by Aston Martin front and center.

The watch marks the first time Girard-Perregaux has fashioned its Laureato using a green ceramic case and a green ceramic bracelet.

The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition. The watch will be offered in 38mm and 42mm case sizes.

Girard-Perregaux will make the Laureato Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition in two case sizes: 38mm and 42mm. The 42mm model is fitted with the Caliber GP01800, while the 38mm version is equipped with the Caliber GP03300.

Both are in-house movements that are visible through the watch’s see-through sapphire case-back on which Girard-Perregaux has engraved the Aston Martin logo.

On the back of the movement, Girard-Perregaux has applied straight Côtes de Genève and has embellished the oscillating weight with circular Côtes de Genève. These movements offer a power reserve of at least 46 hours (38mm) and 54 hours (42mm).

In addition to the green coloring, the dial itself marks an homage to Aston Martin. There you’ll see a cross-hatch, diamond-like pattern that the automaker used on its logo in the 1920s. The pattern also matches the look of certain Aston Martin quilted seats.

While Girard-Perregaux famously made the first Laureato collections in steel in 1975, in recent years the manufacture has launched many editions of the octagonal-bezel series using a range of other materials, including precious metals, sapphire and ceramic.

To make the case and bracelet for the new Laureato Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition, Girard-Perregaux employs ultra-modern ceramic, a lightweight material made with zirconium oxide and color-infused metallic oxides.

The watchmaker explains that its ceramic mixture is particularly hard (up to seven times harder than steel), making the watch highly scratch resistant. The material will also never fade as ceramic is unaffected by changes in ambient temperature.

Price: $25,000 (38mm, limited to 188 pieces) and $25,800 (42mm, limited to 388 pieces). 

Bucherer adds watches from Girard-Perregaux, H. Moser & Cie and L’Epée to its Bucherer Blue series of customized, limited edition models.

All are finished in the Bucherer Blue color, meant to reflect its place in the watch retailer’s collection of custom-made, similarly hued watches made in partnership with a wide range of Swiss watchmakers. Each watch will be available as a limited edition of eighteen pieces.

The new Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges Bucherer Blue.

Girard-Perregaux

The new Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges Bucherer Blue builds on this watchmakers’s Neo series, a contemporary version of its famed Tourbillon with Three Bridges.

The watch is cased in titanium and features a trio of blued bridges also made from titanium. The three bridges not only support the geartrain, barrel and tourbillon, but also act as the mainplate. This design creates the impression that the bridges are floating.

Girard-Perregaux fits the 44mm case between two sapphire crystal glass boxes, which enhances the transparency – and the modernity – of the piece. Price: $167,000.

The H. Moser Streamliner Tourbillon Bucherer Blue.

H. Moser & Cie. 

Independent watchmaker H. Moser sets its Deco-styled Streamliner Tourbillon with sixty baguette-cut blue sapphires (2.90 carats), apparently the first gemstone setting for this award-winning series.

Fit with the superb HMC 804 caliber, which features a flying tourbillon with double hairspring and a three-day power reserve, the watch also features a Moser fumé dial, set within the Streamliner’s 40mm steel case with integrated steel bracelet with articulated links.

The watch is the first Streamliner limited edition H. Moser has created for a partner. Price: $119,000.

The new L’Epée Time Fast Bucherer Blue.

L’Epée 1839 

The new L’Epée Time Fast Bucherer Blue combines the independent Swiss clockmaker’s existing Time Fast series with Bucherer’s blue hue. L’Epée’s design is meant to evoke memories of a 1950s-era single-seater race car.

Under the hood L’Epee builds a tiered movement with an eight-day power reserve shaped to the bodywork.

The user winds the 15-inch-long clock the same way a mechanical motor is wound in a pull-back toy car. The hours and minutes are displayed on the side through an aperture resembling a typical competition number, via two engraved stainless steel disks. Price: $34,000. 

The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Chronograph AM F1 Edition, the third model in partnership with Aston Martin and its Formula 1 team, once again is a winner right at the starting line. The watchmaker mixes racing carbon with titanium powder and rubber to premiere a watch with a very sharp-looking lightweight case and an ultra-strong high-tech Racing Green strap.

The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Chronograph AM F1 Edition.

As noted, the new watch, a very sporty black and green chronograph with an unusual carbon case, is the third collaboration from Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin. The companies have previously collaborated on two watches: the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges Aston Martin Edition and the Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition.

Carbon case

In keeping with its partner’s racing lineage, Girard-Perregaux’s case makers mixed various carbon components used in two 2021 F1 race cars with titanium powder to forge the new watch’s case.

When combined with a green-tinted resin, the resulting 44mm octagonal Laureato case is as tough as steel, according to the watchmaker. In addition, this mixing of materials means each watch will display a slightly different green and black pattern on its case, bezel and crown protector.

The dial on the watch is presented in sunray ‘Aston Martin Racing Green’ and is adorned with a cross-hatching motif that can be traced back to the Aston Martin ‘AM’ badge of 1921.

Girard-Perregaux also extends its technical innovation to the watch’s strap to create another first for the watchmaker: The strap is made of rubber and carbon elements taken from two 2021-season Formula One racecars. The strap is then combined with Aston Martin Racing Green fabric covering and linked to the wrist with a micro adjustment system.

Inside Girard-Perregaux fits its excellent Caliber GP03300-1058, which is visible via a sapphire caseback­. That visibility is a first for any Laureato Absolute Chronograph.

Girard-Perregaux is limiting its Laureato Absolute Chronograph AM F1 Edition to 306 pieces, which represents the total distance in miles drivers Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel will aim to cover on race day at the 2022 British Grand Prix.

Price: $27,800.

 

Specifications: Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Chronograph AM F1 Edition (Reference: 81060-41-3071-1CX
, a limited edition of 306 pieces).

Case: 44mm by 15.15mm titanium and carbon case, with carbon extracted from two Formula One racecars. Sapphire crystal and back. Back with white Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team decal.


Dial: Sunray ‘Aston Martin Racing Green’ with cross-hatching, indexes with luminescent green emission. 
Hands: skeletonized baton type with luminescent green emission. Chronograph hands in yellow. Water resistance to 100 meters.

Movement: GP03300-1058 automatic, frequency of 28,800 Vph, power reserve of 46 hours. 
Functions: Chronograph, hours, minutes, small seconds, date.

Strap: GP Rubber Alloy in Aston Martin Racing Green – a mix of rubber and carbon extracted from two Formula One race cars used during the 2021 season, fabric effect and green stitches. Buckle: Folding with micro adjustment system, titanium with black PVD treatment.

Price: $27,780