The Gentleman Magazine Issue 15 | June 2019 | Page 14

LAUREATO Skeleton “Earth to Sky”Edition
An alliance of the unscrutable blackness of the cosmos and
the blueness of Earth, of ceramic with the sensuousness of a
skeleton movement, conceived like a sculpture to form a whole
that is resolutely contemporary, masculine, assertive and
distinctive.
In 2019, Girard-Perregaux brings its permanent quest for
perfection to life by engaging in a symbolic dialogue with the
universe. The result is a series of exceptional timepieces whose
nature comes to the fore in a skilful interplay of blue and black
tones – gravitates toward a celestial dimension.
In the spirit of this year's “Earth to Sky” theme, Girard-Perregaux
looks up to infinity – its sparkling lights, its impenetrable
shadows, its beckoning mysteries – and articulates a new
aesthetic expression with the Laureato Skeleton.
The timepiece manifests the science of watch finishing and
that of materials in a new light. The outcome is a resolutely
contemporary aesthetic. An artistic and technical dialogue
between matter and space, as it were.
A contemporary interpretation of one of the brand’s great
classics
Laureato was born under the best auspices: at the confluence of
the two worlds combining tradition and innovation. Designed
by a Milanese architect in the 1970s, it immediately established
itself as an object of art, history and form, a timeless icon of
watchmaking. And today, more than ever before, the spirit
behind this creation remains intact.
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Rigorous yet sensual, the rhythm of Laureato’s curves gives
strength to a skeletonised watch where the contents are in
perfect harmony with the container. By integrating ceramic,
first introduced in 2017, Girard- Perregaux takes one of its
icons through an evolutionary step, combining a genuinely
contemporary material with the ancestral art of skeletonisation.
That is because the art of watchmaking not only manifests
itself through the mastery of the great complications, but also
through the mastery of the “Métiers d'Art”, High Artisanship.
And skeletonisation occupies a special place in this universe
as it shows the mechanical as technically accomplished as it is
aesthetically rewarding, and always stunning. Because this is the
challenge in skeletonising an “Haute Horlogerie” movement: In
order to reveal the inner beauty of the mechanism, the material
is bored through, hollowed out, pared down until only what is
vital remains.
The architecture of the movement is thus magnified, its lines
in their purpose revealed. The result is a true tour de force
in watchmaking style and architecture. The richness of the
essential and the lightness of the void. The straight line and
the arc. The blue interior and the black exterior. That is what
defines the Laureato Skeleton "Earth to Sky" Edition.
The vessel for this creation is a sober black ceramic case with
a diameter of 42mm and a thickness of 10.93mm in thickness
– the lugs forming an integral part of the lines – which is
coordinated with a bracelet whose black ceramic links have an
alternating matte and satin surface finish.
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