Girard-Perregaux is announcing today the launch of the Laureato Absolute Light Bucherer Blue, created, of course, exclusively for their long time retail partner Bucherer.

Form carbon to titanium and other classical precious metals, the Laureato has taken on a plethora of metals for its outer shell. It took on sapphire most recently with the launch of the Laureato Absolute Light, at Watches & Wonders 2020.

Now the 44mm sapphire Laureato has been reimagined to form the Laureato Absolute Light Bucherer Blue. Here is a case that according to Girard-Perregaux takes no less than 300 hours to “grow, mill and polish.” The resulting structure formed is the same familiar case of the Laureato, but one which offers an extravagant view into its inner workings.

Here now on the inside we can see the octagonal movement of the watch, mirroring that bezel on its case. The baseplate here is PVD treated to take on Bucherer’s signature blue. Owing to the amount of skeletonization on the mainplate, you’d imagine it wouldn’t be able to provide the sort of support that a chronometrically sensitive mechanism requires. Girard-Perregaux, however, reassures that the structure is plenty rigid and strong for all of its purposes.

The bridges that you see in grey on dial and movement side are of that color as they are N-acetylcysteine treated (NAC treated), to provide for a contrast without taking away from the attention that the brilliant blue of the mainplate. Speaking of the movement, it is the self-winding calibre GP01800-1652 with 54 hours of power reserve.

Says Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Girard-Perregaux, “Girard-Perregaux is a brand whose origins are rooted in the spirit of collaboration, for instance by uniting établisseurs in the 18th century under one roof to form one of the earliest Manufactures. The Laureato Absolute Light Bucherer Blue is a perfect example of how this ethos persists today, as our priority is to work closely with key retail partners and provide such exciting exclusives. We are thrilled to unveil the result of this collaboration, dressed in blue, in keeping with Bucherer’s well-known theme.”

Tech Specs

Ref: 81071-43-431-FC6A

Movement: Self-winding calibre GP01800-1652; hours, minutes and small seconds; 54-hour power reserve

Case & Dial: 44mm sapphire case with titanium lugs; height: 11.56mm; dial: 3D ring with polished trapezoid indexes; rhodium-plated hands, skeletonised with luminescent material; water resistant to 30m

Strap: Grey FKM rubber allow (injected titanium on rubber) with a fabric effect; titanium folding buckle with micro-adjustment system

Price & Availability: 18-piece limited edition, exclusively available to Bucherer; price: CHF 80,780

More information: bucherer.com | girard-perregaux.com