THE HOME OF WATCH CULTURE

Absolute power – the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Chronograph  Absolute power – the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Chronograph 

Absolute power – the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Chronograph 

Felix Scholz

Over the last few years the Laureato line has emerged as Girard-Perregaux’s valiant hero — a sporty steel warrior well equipped to win wrists across the world. Earlier this year, at SIHH in Geneva, Girard-Perregaux unleashed their latest expression of the Laureato – the evolved Laureato Absolute. 

This darkly clad watch was offered in a trio: time-only, world time and chronograph — we’re going to focus only on the latter today. The case is the familiar Laureato shape, though the material used is titanium, which has been given a black PVD coating — the finishes are a mix of polished and brushed, elevating the somewhat utiliarian treatment to more refined territory. A rubber strap is a natural choice for this sort of sporty look. 

The chronograph complication is also a natural choice, and it looks good here — the three registers in black, to match the case, but the rest of the dial is realised in a graduated blue sunburst. The pushers on the Laureato Absolute also offer an evolution of the octagonal screw-down numbers of the ‘regular’ version.  Here we’re treated to sporty paddle-shaped numbers with a dashing blue highlight. The movement that you activate by pressing those pushers is the in-house automatic GP03300-1058, an integrated number with a solid 46 hours of power. 

If you love the Laureato look, but have always craved something darker, maybe it’s time to go Absolute.