Why Mom Was Right About Watch Luxury GIRARD PERREGAUX 2017

Girard-Perregaux has positioned the Laureato model at the heart of its plans for 2017 and beyond. The watch was reintroduced as a limited edition last year as part of GP’s 225th anniversary celebration. This year, the family was the biggest launch for the brand at SIHH, signalling the return of Laureato to the core collection for the watchmaker.

All signs point to the Laureato becoming an anchor collection for Girard-Perregaux, much as the Big Bang is for Hublot. A clear design DNA will be used across timepieces whether they feature haute horlogerie complications, self-winding or quartz movements, housed in cases available in four diameters and in versions made of steel, gold, two-tone steel and gold. “The Laureato range has never been this extensive or varied. With nearly 30 references, this watchmaking legend lives up to its true potential,” the company says.

Every Laureato will be instantly recognisable by its polished octagonal bezel, positioned on an integrated case without lugs or loops. Its metal bracelet is a natural extension of the case and an integral design element in its own right. The most sophisticated of a wide range of new models launching in 2017 is the Laureato Tourbillon in a 45mm titanium case studded with gold and housing an inhouse GP09510 calibre. The self-winding GP09510 calibre is offered with a tourbillon bridge in pink gold, which matches the pink gold details or a tourbillon bridge in white gold. Both versions carry through their material and design details into the case and watch faces of the two models. At the affordable luxury end of the line is the Laureato 42mm, positioned as watch for daily life with everyday dimensions and a comfortable depth of just 10.88mm thickness. It comes with a choice of three dials in silver grey, slate grey and blue housed in steel or pink gold cases.

PARMIGIANI BUGATTI AÉROLITHE PERFORMANCE

The origin of Parmigiani’s Bugatti Aérolithe Performance is the drawing of a mystical car designed by Jean Bugatti in 1935. The watch is inspired by the beauty and mystery of that car. The 41mm case is made entirely from titanium, a metal found in meteorites that race through our atmosphere.Underneath the crown and the pushers, the intermediate ring displays an “inverted diamond point” pattern, which is impossible to create by removing material with the usual methods. Its textured central section creates a sense of depth. The ends of the diamond points in the pattern are polished to give the centre a subtle brilliance, while the exterior of the dial is selectively laser sand-blasted.