With the majority of the Richemont brands having already filed their teaser novelties ahead of SIHH 2017, we’re now mere weeks away from the doors of Palexpo. A handful of names remain, but it’s safe to say we’re going to hear about, whatever remains to be heard, before Christmas week and before everyone turns loopy when the clock strikes 12 and ushers in 2017 proper.
Today we hear from Girard-Perregaux, who will be making a return to the floors of SIHH come January 2017. The last time the maison formed part of the Geneva fair’s roster was in 2012. But mind you now that, up until then, Girard-Perregaux had been a staple exhibitor at the fair since 1999.
Enough history, let’s get to the watches.
First up, the headliner is the maison’s World Wide Time Control complication, or WW.TC as it is listed on today’s press release, brought into Girard-Perregaux’s 1966 collection for the very first time.
The watch features a 40mm case (pink gold/steel), and comes fitted with the Manufacture automatic movement, caliber GP0330. As this is a world-time type, the watch features a rotating disc listing 24 cities, which represent 24 GMT timezones, followed by the central hour and minute hands to hold your local time and lastly the small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock.
The crowns on either side of the 1966 WW.TC make for easy operability — the 9 o’clock crown controls the city ring, so that the user can set a preferred city as reference relative to local time. The second crown, thereafter, is used to operate the central hour and minute hands.
Both options of case metals will be offered with leather straps with the additional option for a steel bracelet for the steel cased version of the 1966 WW.TC.
Next up, is the Laureato, which the maison reintroduced earlier this year at Basel. For SIHH 2017, Girard-Perregaux is bringing a more feminine rendition of the timepiece to the table at a case dimension of 34mm. The watch retains the pure and elegant silhouette of the Laureato, and is packed with simple pragmatic functions: hours, minutes, date — set atop the watch’s hobnail motif dial.
This one’s fitted with a Girard-Perregaux quartz movement and will be offered in steel, or pink gold and steel, or 18K pink gold cases with gem-set bezels (56 brilliant-cut diamonds).
That’s all for now from Girard-Perregaux ahead of January. We’ll just have to wait and see what else is in store from the brand as it makes its grand comeback to Palexpo.
Technical Specifications: 1966 WW.TC
Case
Material: steel or 18K pink gold
Diameter: 40.00 mm
Crystal: sapphire glass
Case-back: sapphire
Dial: opaline silver-toned
Hands: leaf-type
Water resistance. 30 metres (3 ATM, 3 bar)
Movement
Reference: GP03300-0022/0027 (pink gold/steel model), automatic
Frequency: 28,800 Vib/h – (4 Hz)
Number of components: 248
Jewels: 32
Power reserve: min. 46 hours
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, world time with day/night indicator
Strap/Bracelet
Leather strap: alligator leather with topstitching
Metal bracelet: steel
Clasp: folding type in steel or 18K pink gold
Reference: 49557-52-131-BB6C (pink gold model, alligator leather strap)
Reference: 49557-11-132-BB6C (steel model, alligator leather strap)
Reference: 49557-11-132-11A (steel model, steel bracelet)
Technical Specifications: Laureato 34
Case
Material: steel, or pink gold and steel, or 18K pink gold
Gemsetting: bezel set with 56 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 0.82 cts
Diameter: 34.00 mm
Crystal: sapphire glass
Case-back: solid
Dial: silver-toned or slate grey or blue, with “Clou de Paris” hobnail motif
Hands: baton-type, enhanced with a luminescent substance
Water resistance: 30 metres (3 ATM, 3 bar)
Movement
References: GP013100-0002/0003/0004 (silver-toned/grey/blue dial versions), quartz,
Diameter: 20.80 mm (9 ¼’’’)
Frequency: 32,768 Hz
Jewels: 7
Functions: hours, minutes, date
Strap/Bracelet
Leather strap: white or anthracite grey or black alligator leather, with topstitching
Metal bracelet: steel, or pink gold and steel, or 18K pink gold, with alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces
Clasp: triple folding type, in steel or 18K pink gold
The timepiece is fitted with an alligator leather strap are delivered with an additional rubber strap.
