In 2025, Girard-Perregaux celebrates one of its most emblematic creations: the Laureato. After fifty years, this timepiece remains an absolute benchmark in the universe of luxury sports watches and in the hearts of collectors.
With the new Laureato Fifty, the Swiss Maison masterfully celebrates its heritage, combining the purity of the original design with a technical evolution that propels the icon into the future.
Origins
Founded in 1791 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the heart of the Swiss Jura, Girard-Perregaux is one of the oldest Haute Horlogerie manufactures still in business today. Its history is intertwined with that of the very evolution of the modern watch. At a time when most watchmakers depended on the “établissage” system (a network of independent craftsmen who produced components to be assembled elsewhere) Girard-Perregaux chose a radically different path: to bring together all stages of creation in one place.
This vision, a forerunner of the “integrated manufacturing” concept, allowed the Maison to exercise absolute control over quality, from movement conception to aesthetic design, and to establish a consistent technical and stylistic identity over time. It is an approach that still defines the brand’s philosophy today.
Over the centuries, Girard-Perregaux’s pioneering spirit has generated some of the most important milestones in watchmaking. In 1867, Constant Girard created the Tourbillon with Three Golden Bridges, a masterpiece that won an award at the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris: a movement as precise as it was harmonious, in which the mechanical function was transformed into an architectural and decorative element.
In 1965, the Maison was among the first to introduce a high-frequency 36,000 vibrations per hour movement, anticipating contemporary research on chronometry. A few years later, in 1971, it introduced the first Swiss quartz caliber with a frequency standardized at 32,768 Hz (an innovation that was destined to become the universal industry standard and enshrined Girard-Perregaux’s role as a leading player in the technological revolution of the time).
This balance between tradition and innovation, between craftsmanship savoir-faire and engineering vision, has been the indelible signature of the Maison for more than two centuries. Every Girard-Perregaux creation is born from the encounter between technical rigor, aesthetic research and the culture of time, understood not as mere measurement but as an expression of continuity and style.
The “Laureato”: a timeless icon
When the Laureato was born in 1975, watchmaking was undergoing a profound transformation. After the release of Gérald Genta’s Royal Oak (1972) and Patek Philippe’s Nautilus (1976), the concept of the “luxury sports watch” was emerging as a new design frontier. Girard-Perregaux took up the challenge, but with a different approach.
The project was entrusted to the young architect and designer Adolfo Natalini, a leading figure in the radical architecture collective Superstudio, known for his reflections on the relationship between form, function and modernity. His intervention gave rise to a timepiece with an architectural personality: an octagonal bezel resting on a circular base, a slightly tonneau case with harmonious proportions, and an integrated tapered bracelet that naturally continued the lines of the watch.
The result was a perfect balance between geometry and fluidity, rigor and smoothness. Unlike the coeval Royal Oak, with its exposed screws and angular lines, or the Nautilus, inspired by the profile of a porthole, the Laureato expressed a new idea of prestige based on precision, balance and measure.
The name itself, “Laureato,” inspired by the famous 1967 film The Graduate, evoked the appeal of an educated, curious and modern generation. The first model mounted a chronometer-certified quartz movement, the result of research conducted by the Maison’s R&D department and the GP350 caliber, the forerunner of Swiss electronic precision.
Since then, the Laureato has known countless declinations while remaining true to its identity: a watch that is elegant but not formal, technical but never ostentatious, capable of embodying the sophisticated essentiality of Swiss design and the innovative spirit of Girard-Perregaux.
The new Laureato Fifty: tradition and innovation in perfect balance
Today, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this icon, Girard-Perregaux presents the Laureato Fifty, a limited edition of 200 pieces that reinterprets the original 1975 codes.
The 39 x 9.8 mm case alternates between steel and 3N yellow gold, an elegant nod to early “two-tone” models. The lines have been slightly redrawn, the profiles more pronounced, and the octagonal gold bezel “plays” with satin-finished and polished surfaces, a detail that immediately catches the attention of the most observant.
The dial, gray with Clous de Paris pattern and soleil finish (with a larger texture than in the past), is complemented by gold indexes and hands. The former, thinner than the model’s originals, are applied and made of rose gold with 3N gold plating and with the inner part covered with luminescent material.
The hands, on the other hand, are the traditional Laureato baton hands; the hour and minute hands have the same finish as the hour markers while the central seconds hand is 3N gold-plated and the counterweight is arrow-shaped, an undisputed homage to Girard-Perregaux’s three bridges. Another noteworthy detail is the date window, at 3 o’clock. In addition to being enhanced by an elegant flared frame, the date disc features the same color as the dial. A ton sur ton that does not interrupt the stylistic continuity of the watch.
The integrated bracelet, an authentic signature of the Laureato, has been redesigned for maximum ergonomics: shorter, tapered links, slightly domed gold center elements, and a new folding clasp with a 4 mm micro-adjustment.
The GP4800 caliber
Through the sapphire crystal case back, the Laureato Fifty reveals the new caliber GP4800, an in-house automatic movement with a 3N yellow gold oscillating weight. Composed of 163 elements and endowed with a 55-hour power reserve, it is distinguished by a silicon escapement and variable-inertia balance, which ensure optimal efficiency and precision.
This caliber marks a significant milestone: it is in fact the first movement (hours, minutes, seconds, date) whose architecture is inspired by the legendary Three Bridges (symbol par excellence of Girard-Perregaux savoir-faire). A common thread between mechanical tradition and the Maison’s contemporary vision.
Conclusions
In fifty years, the Laureato has never betrayed its DNA. Each generation has refined its proportions, updated its mechanics and renewed its details, but always in the direction of an iconic and consistent design. The Laureato Fifty is a demonstration of how Girard-Perregaux knows how to combine heritage and innovation, technical precision and aesthetic sobriety, with that discretion that distinguishes true classics.
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