The sky above Milan is tinged with blue. On the occasion of Milan Watch Week 2026, Girard-Perregaux has chosen Italy to unveil the new Laureato Chronograph 42 mm Azzurro, a limited edition of just 20 pieces whose dial bears the marks of a relationship that began over fifty years ago.

Italy has been part of the Laureato’s history from its very beginnings. Milan thus becomes the place where past and present come together once again: from Giovanni Sutti’s vision in the 1970s to the era of Luigi Macaluso, right up to the Azzurro and the small Tricolore that distinguish this edition today.

A half-century-long bond, told through one of the Manufacture’s most recognizable watches.

Before the Azzurri, there was already Italy

Let’s go back to 1975. Industrial design, fashion, and the automotive industry were shaping a new concept of modernity, and Italy was one of the most dynamic hubs of this transformation.

It was in this context that Giovanni Sutti, the long-standing Italian distributor for Girard-Perregaux, entered the scene. His vision was for a watch capable of capturing that sensibility: sporty, elegant, sophisticated, and contemporary. Girard-Perregaux embraced the idea and, in 1975, unveiled the first Laureato.

Anche il nome porta con sé una storia italiana. Inizialmente il modello avrebbe dovuto chiamarsi Diplomato. Fu poi un’agenzia italiana a suggerire Laureato, richiamando attraverso la corona d’alloro l’idea di successo e una tradizione profondamente radicata nella cultura italiana.

Today, the Laureato seems almost inevitable—the name has become so inextricably linked to the watch. And yet, behind one of Girard-Perregaux’s most recognizable collections, we find, right from the start, a dialogue between Swiss craftsmanship and Italian sensibility.

From that initial design emerged an elegant sports watch with a strong identity, developed and produced by the Manufacture. Its proportions, mechanics, and variations would change over the decades, but its character would remain instantly recognizable.

From Giovanni Sutti to Luigi Macaluso

The second major chapter in Italy’s history began in 1992, with Luigi Macaluso taking the helm at Girard-Perregaux.

Until 2010, Macaluso guided the Maison through a pivotal period, restoring its manufacturing identity to a central role and investing in the development of movements and Haute Horlogerie. The Three Bridges once again took center stage in the Maison’s design language, alongside tourbillons, perpetual calendars, chronographs, and grand complications.

During those same years, the graduate also took an important step forward in his or her technical development.

In 1995, twenty years after the collection’s debut, the GP3000 was introduced—an automatic movement from the world of Haute Horlogerie that was particularly compact and slim by the standards of the time. Among its innovations were a stem release button in place of the traditional screw and a system that allowed the automatic mechanism to be removed, transforming it into a hand-wound movement. The caliber would later be incorporated into other creations by the Maison.

Sutti and Macaluso belong to two different stages of the same relationship. The first marks the birth of the Laureato; the second is linked to a decisive phase in the modern history of Girard-Perregaux.

Fifty years after 1975, that thread has returned to Italy.

Fifty Years Later, *The Graduate* Speaks in Blue

The Laureato Chronograph 42 mm Azzurro stays true to the collection’s signature style and distills its Italian identity into a few key elements.

The star of the show is, of course, the dial. The Clous de Paris pattern takes on an azure hue that transforms the character of the chronograph while preserving the geometry of the surface—one of the defining features of the contemporary Laureato.

The applied hour markers and baton hands feature white-emitting luminescent material, while the three sub-dials retain the classic chronograph layout. The central hand features the edition’s most exquisite detail: its counterweight reproduces the Italian tricolor.

Three colors contained within just a few millimeters—almost as if they were hidden on the dial. A subtle Italian signature, consistent with a watch that derives its distinctiveness from its proportions and details.

Blue thus takes on a specific meaning. It is the color chosen to reconnect the graduate with a part of their own history.

904L and GP3300 Steel

The case measures 42 mm in diameter and 12.16 mm in thickness and is made of 904L steel. The sapphire crystal features an anti-reflective coating, while the sapphire caseback offers a view of the movement. It is water-resistant to 100 meters, equivalent to 10 ATM.

The bracelet is also crafted from 904L steel and maintains the seamless continuity between the case, lugs, and links that contributes significantly to the Laureato’s identity. Girard-Perregaux pairs the bracelet with a second Azzurro rubber strap featuring a Clous de Paris pattern, echoing the texture and hues of the dial. Both configurations feature a triple folding clasp made of steel.

Inside is the GP3300-2872, a 25.60 mm mechanical self-winding in-house caliber. It features a chronograph, hours, minutes, small seconds, and a date display, along with a minimum power reserve of 46 hours.

This choice keeps this edition firmly rooted in the Maison’s manufacturing tradition. Girard-Perregaux now boasts over 30 in-house calibers and more than 80 patents, in addition to four new calibers developed and manufactured in-house over the past twelve months.

One in twenty, in Milan

The Laureato Chronograph 42 mm Azzurro is limited to 20 pieces. Girard-Perregaux has opted not to include sequential numbering on the case back, instead engraving “ONE OF 20” on each watch . The reference number is 81020-11-3724-1GM, with a retail price of €22,300.

Milan Watch Week 2026 becomes the natural culmination of this story. For a few days, Milan will be one of the hubs of the international watchmaking world, and Girard-Perregaux is bringing a Laureato model that speaks to the Italian public through instantly recognizable details: the blue on the dial, the Italian tricolor on the chronograph hand, and even those two words engraved on the case back.

Behind those symbols lie fifty years of history. Giovanni Sutti’s vision in 1975, a name born in Italy that became part of Girard-Perregaux’s identity, followed by Luigi Macaluso and a pivotal era for the Manufacture. In 2026, Milan will add a new chapter to that relationship.

Here, the connection goes back much further: Italy was already part of the Laureato’s history even before this Laureato brought Italy to the watch face. The blue and the small Italian flag tell the story of the present, while behind them, traces of a history that began half a century ago remain visible.

In 1975, a chapter in the history of the Laureato began in Italy. Fifty years later, Girard-Perregaux has chosen Milan to bring it back home.

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