Just days before the start of the watchmaking world’s most eagerly awaited trade show of the year, Watches and Wonders, Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin announce a new collaboration that dresses the Swiss maison’s iconic model in green.
This is the new Laureato made with a green ceramic case and bracelet that goes to echo the racing spirit of the British automaker.
The partnership between Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin.
Clocks and motors are often two worlds that meet and have inescapable affinities-just think, for example, of the purpose for which some of the most famous early sports chronographs were invented: to time the on-track performance of drivers in cars whizzing by at more than 300 km/h.
No matter how much technology has come to the rescue of the automotive world today, making the purpose of chronographs marginal, the link between watches and engines remains ever alive and can never wane.
That is precisely why in 2021, two of the world’s most famous houses, Girard-Perregaux on the one hand and Aston Martin on the other, have formed a collaboration to create exclusive limited-edition watches inside of which is encapsulated the DNA of the sleek, high-performance British suspercars.
What prompted the making of this partnership is that, according to the two houses, sitting behind the wheel of an Aston Martin or putting a Girard-Perregaux watch on your wrist can elicit the same emotions.
Elegance, sportiness, glamour, and performance are elements that we find encapsulated within each of the British manufacturer’s supercars, and similarly, they have always been encapsulated within the Swiss maison’s watches.
Over the course of these two years, the two companies have created 3 different models, creating completely unique watches.
For their new and fourth collaboration, they decided to reinterpret Girard-Perregaux’s iconic house model, the Laureato, resulting in a, let me say, really cool variant available in two different sizes.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato Green Ceramic
Starting immediately with the first feature that jumps out at you, which is the green ceramic case and bracelet, this is a color that takes inspiration directly from the world of motorsports.
In fact, this green, called “British racing green,” was the one found on the bodywork of British racing cars and is still used by Aston Martin today to make its supercars.
In order to achieve this gorgeous shade of green, the Swiss fashion house decided to make the case and bracelet with an ultra-modern ceramic consisting of zirconium oxide and metal oxides which manage to give the material the typical totality of British racing green.
Unlike steel, which is usually used in the brand’s Laureato line, the ceramic used on this new model is up to seven times harder as well as having great scratch resistance.
In addition to lending lightness to the watch, the ceramic is able to remain unchanged in appearance and color over time. In terms of design we find the classic shapes that have accompanied the Laureato since 1975 with the iconic octagonal bezel resting on a circular base above the angular tonneau-shaped case.
Completing the look of the watch are the well-executed details reminiscent of Aston Martin’s British supercars, chief among them the fantastic dial with its gridded design, a diamond pattern found on the “AM” logo (1921-1926) and on the quilted seats of some of the brand’s vehicles.
Above the dial, encased in a 42 mm or 38 mm case, are skeletonized baton hands that take inspiration from the lines of the British manufacturer’s engines.
Through the sapphire crystal case back, personalized with the Aston Martin logo, it is possible to observe the automatic caliber GP03300-2166 in the 38 mm version and the automatic caliber GP01800-2165 in the 42 mm version.
These are two carefully finished movements that feature a perlage finish in the plate and linear Côtes de Genève decoration on the bridges.
The oscillating mass is impressionistic from the same decoration but with circular pattern.
Price and availability
The new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Green Ceramic, limited to 188 pieces in the 38 mm version and 388 in the 42 mm version, will be on sale from June 2023 at Girard-Perregaux retailers.
The list price for the smaller version will be EUR 25,000 and EUR 25,900 for the larger version.
To learn more about Girard Perregaux visit their website and our dedicated section.
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