WATCH TO WATCH

Girard-Perregaux Adds to its Firmament With 1966 Blue Moon Edition


When Girard-Perregaux won the chronometry prize at the Neuchâtel Observatory in 1966, it would still be three years before mankind would set foot on the moon. Nevertheless, the introduction of the 1966 Blue Moon, the newest addition to the manufacture’s vintage-inspired 1966 collection, in this, the 50th anniversary year of the 1969 moon landing, seems apt indeed. Here is a closer look at the new model.

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Moon - soldier
Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Moon

The watch continues the “From Earth to Sky” theme that Girard-Perregaux has established as the unifying element for its 2019 collection, which encompasses not only an entirely new family, the Laureato Absolute (covered in detail here), but also newly reimagined versions of existing models, like the Vintage 1945 Earth to Sky Edition that I review here. Like all the aforementioned, the 1966 Blue Moon has a case constructed in black DLC-treated microblasted steel and a dark blue dial evocative of the night sky. The round case measures 40 mm in diameter and is water-resistant to 30 meters, with a glareproofed sapphire crystal over the dial. Said dial is subtly curved and features a gradient effect, with the blue center deepening to black at the edges; it is designed in the style of other dials in the 1966 collection, with curved, leaf-shaped hands and thin baton hour markers. What’s new here is the pointer-type date display at 6 o’clock, with a red “31” denoting the end of the month, which surrounds the elegantly rendered moon-phase display.

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Moon - Dial CU
The moon-phase aperture is surrounded by a pointer-style date display.

The movement is Girard-Perregaux’s self-winding Caliber GP03300-0115, which peeks out from behind a metallized sapphire caseback, another element common to the Swiss brand’s Earth to Sky models. A variant of the base GP03300 movement, it is comprised of 276 parts and boasts no less than six different haute horologerie finishes, including circular graining, chamfering, and mirror-polishing on the mainplate and bridges, thermal bluing on the screws, and côtes de Genève on the rotor. The movement beats at a frequency of 28,800 vph and stores a power reserve of 46 hours when fully wound. The Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Moon is delivered on a  black alligator leather strap, with the matte black rubber effect characteristic of the other timepieces in the From Earth to Sky series, and retails for $9,600.

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Moon - front
The leaf-shaped hands and baton indices are characteristic of the vintage-inspired 1966 collection.
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