At Baselworld 2016, Girard-Perregaux gave its Laureato collection a retro-style facelift, bringing the watches closer to their original 1975 designs. This year, the revamped Laureato family welcomes an all-new model with a skeletonized movement.
The Girard-Perregaux Laureato Skeleton, available in either stainless steel or 18k rose gold, retains the classical Laureato design elements: its 42-mm-diameter, 10.88-mm-thick case features an octagonal bezel framed by a circle and is integrated via the lugs into a bracelet whose links have alternating matte and polished surfaces. A peripheral ring with suspended hour markers replaces a traditional dial, allowing the watch’s skeletonized movement, Caliber GP01800-0006, to be admired in its full, filigreed glory, from the front as well as the back. The movement’s balance is positioned at 12 o’clock, directly beneath the suspended “GP”-logo hour marker, and oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vph. Developed and manufactured entirely in-house by Girard-Perregaux, this is the first in the company’s GP1800 family of calibers equipped with a variable-inertia balance. Baton-shaped, luminous-coated central hands sweep over the openworked face of the dial to indicate hours and minutes, while the small seconds hand is unconventionally placed at 10 o’clock.
Extensively skeletonized and hand decorated, the movement’s metal curves are adorned with chamfering that accentuates their outlines. Traditional bridges and mainplates have been reduced to their essential surfaces, creating an interplay of solid areas and voids. The rotor that winds the mainspring of this self-winding caliber, and amasses a power reserve of 54 hours, is carved from a block of 18k rose gold and skeletonized in order to allow the movement’s other elements — including the matte, satin-brushed, anthracite-treated areas — to shine through. All told, Caliber GP01800-0006 measures 30.6 mm in diameter and a mere 4.16 mm thick, with 173 components, including 25 jewels.
The Girard-Perregaux Laureato Skeleton will retail for $32,000 in steel and $60,700 in rose gold.
