Earlier this year, Girard Perregaux announced their latest partnership with the car manufacturing giant Aston Martin. With the two brands sharing over 330 years of history and amassed know-how they have formed a great partnership. The latest result of this partnership is the all-new Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition.
The two manufacturers worked closely together to ensure that the best of both brands would be showcased in this new timepiece and ultimately would cater to those who appreciate luxury and performance.
The Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition’s dial colour has special significance as it represents Aston Martin’s brand colour. Back in the early 1900s, racing cars had various colours that would set the different nationalities participating apart from each other. The result was that French cars were blue, Italian cars were red (which is their iconic colour), Belgian cars were yellow, German cars were donned in silver, and lastly, British cars dressed in “Racing Green”. Being a British icon, Aston Martin adopted this colour to be their main racing colour. The most iconic example of this colour on an Aston Martin car is the Aston Martin DBR1, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959.
CEO of Girard-Perregaux, Patrick Pruniaux explains this new timepiece by saying “Our Manufacture has a long history of collaborations, beginning with our founder Jean-François Bautte who brought different “établisseurs” together under one roof, effectively creating one of the first Manufactures as we know them today. Not only has our partnership with Aston Martin yielded two exceptional timepieces now, but it is also indeed a meeting of the minds and marks the beginnings of a true friendship between both brands and our teams. The Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin edition is evidence of that mutual understanding and shared philosophy.”
Design:
The Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition comes equipped with a 42mm 904L stainless steel case. Although 904L stainless steel is less common and costlier compared to standard 316L stainless steel, the benefits include superior corrosion resistance, improved scratch resistance, and a brighter and luxurious appearance. Girard Perregaux has used 904L stainless steel for the bracelet as well.
The profile of this timepiece honours the Girard-Perregaux Laureato timepiece from 1975, which includes the octagonal bezel. Keeping with the design philosophy from earlier models, the case of the Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition plays with different shapes, different lines, facets, satin-finished and polished edges to beautifully reflect under different lighting angles.
The dial is certainly eye-catching, which features the Aston Martin Green colour with further automotive influences such as the cross-hatching in the form of diamond-pattern which has been inspired by the quilted seats in Aston Martin’s high-performance sports cars. This cross-hatching may make the dial look busier than it should be, but it does have a certain appeal about it and gives that racing car interior feel.
Three counters are featured on the dial of the Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition, which includes the constant seconds counter at 3 o’clock, the 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, and the 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock. The inside of each counter features just the Aston Martin Green colour to avoid overcrowding the subdials. To complete the functions of the watch, a date window is located between 4 and 5 o’clock.
Movement:
The movement used inside the Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition is Girard-Perregaux’s own CAlibre GP03300-0141 movement. This automatic movement is based on the brand’s own highly regarded in-house Calibre GP03300. The movement operates at a frequency of 4Hz (28, 800 VpH) and gives out a minimum power reserve of 46 hours. The timepiece comes with an open case back in which this movement can be seen.
The movement comes with different finishes, including being endowed with Côtes de Genève, in both circular and straight forms, blued screws and perlage. The movement also has the brand’s eagle-emblem, which is used to signify that it is an in-house calibre.
Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition will surely be a fan favourite for people that love both brands, and with such a beautiful vivid green colour along with the cross-hatching design, the dial is quite unique and eye-catching. The watch will be limited to 188 pieces and is immediately available worldwide in all authorised Girard-Perregaux retailers.
Reference: 81020-11-001-11A
Specification:
- Case: 42mm, 12.1mm thick
- Case material: Steel
- Dial: “Aston Martin Green” with cross-hatching, ‘baton’ type indexes with luminescent material (green emission)
- Crystal: Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
- Water resistance: 100 meters
- Movement: Calibre GP03300-0141
- Power reserve: 46 hours
