Girard-Perregaux Laureato
When Girard-Perregaux debuted its sporty-chic Laureato in 1975, Jaws was packing movie theaters and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” was blanketing the radio waves. And in Switzerland, traditional mechanical watchmakers were struggling to survive with the advent of inexpensive, high-precision quartz movements.
Distinguished by sleek lines, raised octagonal bezel, hobnail-patterned Clous de Paris dial and integrated metal bracelet, the Laureato reflected the horological zeitgeist of the era, bearing influences from Gérald Genta, the design visionary behind Patek Philippe’s Nautilus and Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak. The first Laureato fashionably combined steel and gold and was powered by a slim, ultra-precise COSC-certified quartz movement, the Calibre 705, GP’s superlative answer to the quartz craze.
The inaugural model was simply named Quartz Chronometer, but in Italy, it became known as Laureato, Italian for “graduate.” While watch lore often attributes the name to the 1967 film of the same name, brand historians have debunked the myth, saying the title was a laudatory reference to the watch’s next-level precision paired with water resistance and shock resistance.
As stainless steel sportwatches have completely dominated the market for several years, Laureato has been perfectly poised to capitalize on that momentum, further expanding the collection with mechanical skeletons, chronographs and other iterations in an array of sizes, materials and colors. And, unlike highly-coveted Rolexes, Royal Oaks and Nautiluses, they are actually attainable without paying multiples above sticker price.
Last fall, GP released three new variations of its flagship sportwatch. Following recent special-edition chronographs with green dials co-branded with its partner Aston Martin, the new Laureato 42 mm Green ($14,300) introduces the trendy shade to the best-selling 42-mm, three-hand automatic with date. Another new 42-mm Laureato, also powered by the automatic GP01800 with a 54-hour power reserve, goes for the gold in radiant 18K pink gold ($54,300) that flaunts Laureato’s signature combination of polished and satin finishes. A gleaming hand-polished onyx stone dial further ups the glamour quotient.
And scaling back a bit, the Laureato 38-mm Copper ($14,900) offers a twist on the vintage-tinged “salmon” dial in a popular unisex dimension. This distinctive color combo will be the only 38mm in Laureato’s permanent collection. The Clous de Paris dial’s pyramidal structures enhance light play, color-shifting from tawny brown to pink-toned gold as the wrist moves. Groovy!
