Girard-Perregaux Takes The Laureato Full Throttle With Aston Martin In Two Ceramic Green Editions With 42 mm And 38 mm Cases
by Martin Green
Ceramic is an unusual material. It is light, strong, and heats up to body temperature very fast. This makes it very comfortable to wear and perfect for sports watches. There is one catch, however, as you need high temperatures to make the ceramic, color pigments tend to burn up, so making colorful ceramic watches is actually quite difficult. Rado, and especially Hublot, have found ways around this, and now it is Girard-Perregaux who astounded the world with a ceramic green version of their famed Laureato in collaboration with Aston Martin.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42MM Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition on the wrist
The name is Laureato, Girard-Perregaux Laureato
The Laureato is one of those stainless steel high-end sports watches that entered the scene in 1975. It was the time when steel became an acceptable material for such watches, earning equal to even more prestige over its precious metal counterparts. In recent times, this seems to happen again, as carbon and ceramic become increasingly popular.
Both materials have a lot to offer but still remain much more difficult to make and process than stainless steel. The main benefit, other than the previously mentioned, is that ceramic is also five times harder than 316L stainless steel, most commonly used in watches. Especially for a sports watch, that is quite a desirable characteristic to have.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38MM Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition
The material is, therefore, also a natural match for this version of the Laureato, which Girard-Perregaux made in collaboration with Aston Martin. The British producer of sports cars is best known as the supplier of four-wheeled weapons and means of escape to Her Majesty’s Secret Service’s most well-known agent, James Bond. It joined forces with Girard-Perregaux in 2021 to make a number of limited-edition, co-branded products.
Usually, you lost me here, as where is the synergy other than trying to leverage two brand names at the same time? While Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin haven’t really made a case for a convincing reason to partner other than the usual comments like the companies have the same dedication to craftmanship and such, this Laureato makes you actually think that they don’t need one.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38MM Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition lume shot
Design through the decades
Girard-Perregaux let the Laureato evolve over the decades but never too far from its original shape and purpose. It still features an octagonal bezel and a tonneau-shaped case with an integrated bracelet. The design has a timeless touch to it, which makes it look contemporary. The green is an ode to British Racing Green, a color favored by Aston Martin. It comes from the early days of racing when it was countries that raced against each other rather than teams. Italian cars were red, French were blue, Belgium was represented by yellow cars, Germany by silver, and British cars by green.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38MM Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition
The hue of the Girard-Perregaux Aston Martin Laureato is not what I would call your typical racing green, but rather Aston Martin’s own version of the color, which DuPont developed for the Le Mans-winning Aston Martin Racing DBR9 from Prodrive in 2007. As this watch is made from ceramic, the play of light is quite spectacular. Girard-Perregaux’s craftspeople have put in a lot of work to get the finish just right, which gives the watch a very expressive look.
The dial has an expressive cross-hatching, which makes it look like how Aston Martin stitches the leather interior of their cars. They even made the background of the date window the same color as the ceramic, which really brings this watch together.
Two sizes fit all
Girard-Perregaux is offering the Laureato Aston Martin Edition in green ceramic in two different sizes; 42mm and 38mm. They kept the case quite slender for a sports watch, measuring 11.08mm for the 42mm edition and 10.27mm for the 38mm version.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42MM and 38MM Green Ceramic Aston Martin Editions
Both also have different movements with caliber GP1800 for the first, and caliber GP3300 for the latter. This gives the 42mm model a slight edge, as it has a 54-hour power reserve as opposed to 46 hours for the 38mm model. Both movements have finely decorated movement, as one expects from a watch in this price range, and the Aston Martin logo is printed on the sapphire insert of the exhibition back.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38MM Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition on the wrist
Both are water resistant up to 10 ATM/ 100 meters, underscoring their qualities as a sports watch. One thing that I am disappointed about, is that although the watches are limited to 188 pieces for the 38mm model and 388 for the 42mm model, they don’t get an individual number. This is quite disappointing from a brand that used to put a plate in each car with the name of the person that made the engine.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42MM Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition
How cool would it be if they did the same with these Laureato’s? Just an engraving with an exact number and the name of the watchmaker that put the movement together? That would have been the cherry on top of what is still a very cool and desirable watch.
For more information, please vist www.girard-perregaux.com/row_eur_en/aston-martin
Quick Facts Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42MM Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition
Case: 42 x 11.08 mm, green ceramic, water-resistant 10atm/100 meters
Movement: GP automatic Caliber GP01800-2165, 4Hz/28.800 VpH, 28 jewels, 54-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date
Limitation: 388 pieces
Price: $25,800
Quick Facts Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38MM Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition
Case: 38 x 10.27 mm, green ceramic, water-resistant 10atm/100 meters
Movement: GP automatic Caliber GP03300-2166, 4Hz/28.800 VpH, 28 jewels, 46-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date
Limitation: 188 pieces
Price: $25,000
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GP and AM’s collaboration is provided by GP being AM’s official watch partner in F1. Every team has a watch partner and only AM have GP as theirs. Most teams are partnered with Richard Mille.
Previous to this partnership, AM collaborated with JLC on a small range of watches.
I thought Patek was the last mfg to put sub 60 hour power reserves in its $$ watches.
It’s shameful to see this still being done. IMO it’s a basic manufacture’s competency to develop movements with good rate stability AND 3-day reserves.
Sad because this is a good looking watch.
Tshark Dallas TX USA