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HANDS-ON: Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato in steel – is it a steal? HANDS-ON: Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato in steel – is it a steal?

HANDS-ON: Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato in steel – is it a steal?

Felix Scholz

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Let’s get this out of the way early on. Does the Girard-Perregaux Laureato share some visual similarities with other well-known luxury steel sports watches? Sure, but we can easily think of half a dozen watches that fit that particular bill. AP and Patek don’t have a monopoly on ’70s design. And make no mistake, the Laureato is very much a ’70s design. In fact, as far as watch designs go, it’s got a great backstory.

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The first Laureato, released in 1975, was a quartz, arriving as it did six years after the invention of the quartz wristwatches. Not only that, it was (according to GP) the first quartz movement made entirely in-house, and it also determined the frequency standard 32,768 Hz that’s still used today. Quite a feat given the novel and complex technologies involved. The watch – designed by an Italian architect, its octagonal bezel inspired by the footprint of Florence’s famous dome – was a hit, and by the latter part of the decade it had become GP’s best-seller. Even then, the key elements of bezel, hobnail dial pattern and integrated bracelet were key design features.

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And it’s not like the Laureato has suddenly reappeared after a long absence. The collection was given an upgrade in 1984, when modular mechanical complications were piggy-backed off a quartz base. The third evolution occurred in 1996, when Luigi Macaluso transformed it into the automatic luxury sports watch that remains very similar to the one we’re looking at today.

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Last week GP revealed the Laureato’s most recent major overhaul, in the shape of a brand-new, fully formed collection featuring everything from two-tone tourbillons to dainty 34mm quartz models. The sweet spot of the pack is this 42mm steel model, which is available in a few different dial variations, though we have a hunch this blue option will be the real crowd favourite.

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This release takes the limited edition launched in 2016 and improves on it in a few key ways. The case has been bulked up slightly to 42mm, while the bezel has been refined and given a brushed finish that befits its sporty style. Meanwhile, the watch is now powered by the in-house GP1800, which is very nicely finished (apologies for the sticker on the back – it was impossible to remove) and fills out the case – rated to 100m, by the way – nicely. The other great thing is the very competitive pricing – especially compared to other players in the space.

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Yes, the Laureato is a very ‘safe’ release, but that’s just good business sense and very par for the course in 2017. Girard-Perregaux has always been a consistently underrated brand – they’ve got all the elements (history, great movements, solid pricing) you could want, but beyond some of their top-tier releases they never seem to get the reception they deserve. The Laureato could well be the watch that starts to change all that.

Girard-Perregaux Laureato Australian pricing

Girard-Perregaux Laureato, steel on bracelet, $16,000