This latest addition to the Laureato family extends the appeal of the
octagonal-bezel collection as Girard-Perregaux reaches out to collectors
who enjoy their mechanical movements skeletonized and fully decorated.
You may recall that last year Girard-Perregaux celebrated its 225th
anniversary in part by re-introducing its Laureato, the brand’s ground-
breaking 1970s steel watch, with an updated steel-cased design featuring
a 41mm round case with Laureato’s familiar octagonal bezel, hobnail dial
and integrated bracelet. The firm then expanded the collection this past
January with a selection of smaller sizes for women, automatic examples
in several sizes and even a tourbillon model.
Now Girard-Perregaux releases this new skeletonized Laureato in
42mm steel or pink gold case, with each case metal matching the bracelet.
While the bracelet is interesting in itself, with alternating matte and
polished links, the focus of any skeleton watch is the movement.
Girard-Perregaux starts with its own GP-1800 automatic caliber, seen
last year inside the 1966 Skeleton. This Laureato Skeleton also features
the lacy open work seen on that model, but now that it’s couched inside a
more angular frame (the eight-sided Laureato bezel) it makes the visual
effect bit more architectural. The Laureato’s brushed bezel above a
rounded ring foundation also heightens the multi-level appearance, in
contrast to the single polished bezel of the 1966 skeleton.
Within the caliber itself, light plays with the satin-finished surfaces
and their polished chamfered edges when viewed from the front. The
wider Laureato hands negate concerns of readability that often arise with
skeletonized watches. On the back a sapphire caseback reveals an open-
work rotor.
LAUREATO
SKELETON
GIRARD-PERREGAUX
PRICES: $60,700 FOR PINK GOLD AND $32,000 IN STEEL.
SUMMER 2017 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 41