If there were a special Academy (or whomever) Award for most underappreciated watch brand, at least in the U.S., I am pretty sure that Girard-Perregaux would be on the list. At least on paper, they tick all the boxes – great in-house movements (that have been found, over the years, in one form or another, in a lot of other brands’ watches) and a fantastic history, as well as some very iconic designs. Part of the problem is that one of their most recognized, and recognizable, watches is very much at the high end: the Three Golden Bridges Tourbillon, and its variations; another part of the problem is that they’ve never really had a breakout, long-lived modern success that’s become ubiquitous in the same way as, say, the Submariner, or the Tudor Black Bay, or the Royal Oak. And yet, they do have a watch in their history that could very easily become that watch for the brand: the Laureato, which they've relaunched this year, in near-exact reproduction of the first mechanical Laureato, in celebration of the company's 225th anniversary.
For a possible future classic, for a watch that really could become one that’s as much of a must-have as the (insert your favorite icon here), the Laureato has had a somewhat convoluted history. The design goes all the way back to 1975, and as such it really was one of the first integrated case and bracelet steel timepieces. The thing that sets it apart from other early designs of this type (like the Royal Oak, Nautilus, and even the IWC Ingenieur SL, which debuted over a period from 1972-76) was that the first Laureato was actually a quartz watch. Girard-Perregaux was not only an important early innovator in quartz technology, it was also actually the very first company to create a movement (built around a Motorola chip) that had a quartz crystal vibrating at 32,768 Hz, which ultimately became the industry standard.
That movement was the GP-350 and it was brought out in 1971, only one year after the Beta-21 (the first Swiss commercial quartz movement) and two years after the Seiko Astron went on sale, on Christmas in 1969. This historic movement – which ran at the then-miraculous accuracy of just one minute’s error per year – was the subject of a recent restoration by HODINKEE contributor and watchmaker Aaron Berlow, and you can read all about it here. (The very first GP quartz movement was the Elcron, which the company showed at Baselworld in 1970; that had a frequency of 8,192 Hz.)
Things moved fast and by the time the first Laureato was sold in 1975, quartz movements had gotten much thinner and more energy efficient. The movement used in the original Laureato was the caliber 705.
This was a high quality, seven-jewel movement, 25.6 mm in diameter, and you can easily identify the battery bridge for the motor and gear train, and the dull grey cylinder that contains the quartz timing package. As was often the case with Girard-Perregaux accuracy was a major goal, the the first Laureato proudly said “Quartz Chronometer” on the dial. The name “Laureato” was supposedly suggested by an Italian importer, from the Italian name for the Dustin Hoffman film The Graduate.
As the years went by, a number of incremental changes were made in the original basic design. The center links visually joining the bezel to the bracelet were added in 1984, which was also when GP began offering the Laureato with astronomical indications. Eleven years later, in 1995, Girard-Perregaux installed a mechanical movement in the Laureato: the caliber GP 3100. Since then, the Laureato case has been used for complicated watches such as the EVO3 and even a variation of the Tourbillon with Three Bridges, in both sapphire and blue spinel.
What’s been less present, however, is a manifestation of the original first Laureato mechanical watch from 1995, which itself harkens back to the 1975 launch. GP is celebrating its 225th anniversary this year and a big part of the celebration is return of the “classic” mechanical Laureato. he Vintage 1945 and GP 1996 watches have some serious competition; both those product lines have their own compelling value propositions, but the 1966 is sufficiently conventionally classic that it makes for a tough watch to have as an instantly identifiable brand icon, and while I happen to think the Vintage 1945 design is one of the best out there in rectangular watches, they’re probably always going to be something of a niche proposition.
The new Laureato, however, has everything going for it that the 1975 and 1995 models did: a distinctive yet versatile design, a terrific in-house movement, the caliber 3300 (which is an industry classic in its own right) and a couple of great dial executions that, thank heavens, are an if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix it take on the originals as well. The one thing I'm a little sad about is that this is a limited edition: 225 pieces in each of the two dial variations; I feel that for certain watches, it's important for a company with a real history to offer its clients a real, tangible connection to that history, and not just on a limited edition basis. That's what, I suspect, is really behind a lot of the enthusiast frustration with newer versions of classics. It's not so much that there are thousands of people out there who think every watch should be 36mm in diameter; it's that you actually want what brands say they're offering, and so seldom do: a link to the past, and to tradition and history, that you can actually strap on your wrist. I hope that the Laureato continues on to not just be a limited edition, but a permanent member of the family – both because it's just a plain great watch, and also because it really could be the symbolic foundation Girard-Perregaux really needs.
That caveat aside, though, this is a very welcome release, and we’re pretty excited to go hands on with these at Baselworld.
The Laureato 2016 is available in steel, 41 mm x 10.10 mm, water resistance 30 meters; sapphire display back. Dial, silvered or blue hobnail pattern (Clous de Paris). Movement, GP caliber 3300-0030, self-winding, 25.60 mm x 3.20 mm, 46-hour power reserve, running in 27 jewels, 28,800 vph. Hours, minutes, center seconds, with date. Visit GP online to see all the models. Limited edition, 225 pieces world wide in each dial variation.
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