In 2019, Girard-Perregaux brings its permanent quest for perfection to life by engaging in a symbolic dialogue with the universe. The result is a series of exceptional timepieces whose nature comes to the fore in a skilful interplay of blue and black tones – gravitates toward a celestial dimension.
In the spirit of this year’s “Earth to Sky” theme, Girard-Perregaux looks up to infinity – its sparkling lights, its impenetrable shadows, its beckoning mysteries – and articulates a new aesthetic expression with the Laureato Skeleton.
The timepiece manifests the science of watch finishing and that of materials in a new light. The outcome is a resolutely contemporary aesthetic. An artistic and technical dialogue between matter and space, as it were.
A contemporary interpretation of one of the brand’s great classics
Laureato was born under the best auspices: at the confluence of the two worlds combining tradition and innovation. Designed by a Milanese architect in the 1970s, it immediately established itself as an object of art, history and form, a timeless icon of watchmaking. And today, more than ever before, the spirit behind this creation remains intact.
Rigorous yet sensual, the rhythm of Laureato’s curves gives strength to a skeletonised watch where the contents are in perfect harmony with the container. By integrating ceramic, first introduced in 2017, Girard-Perregaux takes one of its icons through an evolutionary step, combining a genuinely contemporary material with the ancestral art of skeletonisation.
The vessel for this creation is a sober black ceramic case with a diameter of 42mm and a thickness of 10.93mm in thickness – the lugs forming an integral part of the lines – which is coordinated with a bracelet whose black ceramic links have an alternating matte and satin surface finish.
Impeccably proportioned, the watch lets sensuous curves play with restrained, clearly defined lines. To complete the whole, the famous octagonal bezel is polished and inscribed in a circle. Everything in it reveals a search for pleasing proportions and ergonomics.
As to the content, the watch reveals the GP01800-1041 calibre, developed, manufactured and assembled in the Girard-Perregaux workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is entirely skeletonised and finished by hand with an angling to augment profiles and inner angles. A mechanical lacework whose texture, enhanced by an entirely skeletonised rose gold oscillating mass, catches the faintest light. Within this elegant blue filigree, the heart beats at noon. The balance wheel reminds us that the Laureato Skeleton “Earth to Sky” is a living creation, its variable inertia fulfilling the promise of superb precision.
Ceramic, reaching for material perfection in watchmaking
An exterior that is intensely solid, yet surprisingly supple. An interior that is visibly sensuous, yet structurally uncompromising. Dark outside, bright inside. The Laureato Skeleton “Earth to sky” is a vehicle of both emotionality and functionality.
Crafted from black ceramic, the Laureato Skeleton directly benefits from the qualities of what is probably one of the best materials in watchmaking. The most current, too. Non-allergenic, lighter than steel yet extremely strong, resistant to high temperatures, virtually unalterable, highly resistant to abrasion and therefore to scratches, it also offers a degree of ergonomic and aesthetic comfort that is highly appreciated. Soft to the touch, heat-dissipating, its colour does not change, neither in the face of adversity nor over time.
