The Laureato collection reinterprets the great watchmaking classics while remaining faithful to its contemporary and sporty spirit. To tackle the masterful complication represented by the perpetual calendar, Girard-Perregaux has designed a Laureato that revisits all the subtle positional shifts arranged in a dynamic balance. Driven by a unique, purpose-built automatic movement, the Laureato Perpetual Calendar combines the intensity of style with everyday pleasure. Simple to read and easy to adjust, it is the result of an ergonomic approach to operation and wearability pushed to its most extreme limits. With a 42 mm diameter steel case with a polished and satin surface finish, it is fitted with a bracelet of the same nature, finish and quality. Appearing in this unique all-steel configuration, the Laureato Perpetual Calendar asserts itself as a watch that exudes a strong architectural presence. The blue dial adorned with a Clous de Paris motif, against which the white indications stand out in stark contrast, gives the finishing touch to this resolutely modern watch. The Laureato was born under the best auspices. Designed by a Milanese architectural firm in the 1970s, it immediately established itself as an object of art, history and form, an icon of watchmaking. The spirit of this creation is intact and continues to progress in the latest Laureato generation, launched in 2016. The metal bracelet with alternating polished and satin-finished surfaces, the case with lugs perfectly integrated into its design, the polished octagonal bezel set in a circle: everything about this model reveals a careful search for proportions and ergonomics. This approach to watch design has resulted in a uniquely styled shell that protects and contains the 'functional organs'. In the Laureato Perpetual Calendar beats a Haute Horlogerie movement created specifically to equip this watch, namely the GP01800-0033 calibre, entirely developed, manufactured, finished and assembled within the walls of the Girard-Perregaux Manufacture. In addition to the hours and minutes, it indicates the day, the date, the month and the nature of the year (leap year or not). The perpetual calendar is in fact able to follow the irregular cycle that regulates the duration of the months, whether they last 28 or 29 days in the case of February, 30 or 31 days for the other eleven months, and requires manual correction only every 100 years. One of the technical challenges of this complication is how it is displayed. In view of the profoundly architectural inspiration of the Laureato collection, Girard-Perregaux equipped the Laureato Perpetual Calendar with dials arranged in an unusual order. Indeed, the days are located at 9 o'clock. The date hand is positioned between 2 and 3 o'clock, while the month is displayed in a large window at 6 o'clock, indicated by an off-centre pointer at 5 o'clock. Just above it, a circle with a smooth finish divided into four sectors provides an indication of the current year. In this way, the balance of the dial is not based on the canons of symmetry, but on the harmony of off-centres. Through this break with the aesthetic order, Girard-Perregaux emphasises the uniqueness of the Laureato and this new movement. The GP01800-0033 calibre is an exception to the rules generally accepted in watchmaking. With its four indications, a perpetual calendar takes some time to set when the watch to be reset to the current date. Instead of the usual configuration, which provides each calendar indication with a separate corrector, the Laureato Perpetual Calendar uses a single button, located at 8 o'clock, to control the cycle of days. Adjustment of the date, month and type of year (leap year or not) is directly accessible from the crown, which operates in both directions, thus ensuring exceptional ease of use. In terms of finishing, the GP01800-0033 calibre is faithful to tradition. The movement's plate is entirely circular-grained and decorated with the Côtes de Genève drawn by hand at the Girard-Perregaux Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The bridges and the oscillating weight that ensures the automatic winding of the calibre also possess a Côtes de Genève decoration, as well as an entirely hand-drawn bevel. Among the many elegant and refined aspects of this innovative Haute Horlogerie movement is its subtlety. With its height of just 6 mm, it limits the thickness of the case to no more than 11.84 mm.
Data Sheet - Laureato Perpetual Calendar
Case
Material: steel, polished and satin finish
Diameter: 42.00 mm
Thickness: 11.84 mm
Glass: sapphire with double-sided anti-reflective coating
Bottom: sapphire
Dial
Galvanic blue with Clous de Paris motif, applied hour markers in
blued steel and luminescent material
Hands: baton-shaped, luminescent
Water resistance: 100 metres (10 ATM)
Movement
Calibre: GP01800-0033
Charging: automatic
Diameter: 30 mm (131/4'')
Thickness: 6.06 mm
Frequency: 28 800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz)
Rubies: 46
Power reserve: minimum 54 hours
Functions: hours, minutes, central seconds, day at 9 o'clock, date at 2 o'clock, month at 5 o'clock, leap years at 6 o'clock
Bracelet
Steel with polished and satin-finished surfaces
Steel triple-blade folding buckle
Reference: 81035-11-431-11A
