Girard Perregaux

LAUREATO SKELETON WINTERACE EDITION

Girard-Perregaux returns to Cortina d’Ampezzo, located in the heart of the Dolomites, where it will participate in the 12th edition of WinteRace Cortina. Since 2017, the Manufacture has sponsored the annual regularity race and has chosen to mark the occasion with the release of a special edition watch, the Laureato Skeleton WinteRace Edition.

A FASCINATING JUXTAPOSITION

Spectators of the WinteRace Cortina will notice that most of the participating cars are historic models, but 20 vehicles will compete in the ‘icon section’, a category covering cars from 2000 to the present day. This juxtaposition of heritage and innovation is very familiar to Girard-Perregaux. Indeed, when the Manufacture unveiled the Laureato in 1975, the inaugural model was considered groundbreaking, courtesy of its intricately shaped case and its then cutting-edge quartz movement.

Throughout its history, Girard-Perregaux has juxtaposed tradition and modernity as well as beauty and function. The Laureato Skeleton WinteRace Edition is infused with each of these characteristics, all distilled to a pure conclusion.

Eschewing a conventional dial, the wearer is indulged with views of the openworked GP01800 calibre. Drawing on the Manufacture’s expertise, the design of the watch reveals numerous movement components usually hidden from view. For example, the barrel cover is openworked, revealing the mainspring in various states of tension. Moreover, the balance can be seen oscillating to and fro, the hairspring pulses with life and the pallet lever repeatedly engages with the escape wheel. All aspects of the design are optimised to deliver a memorable visual performance.

Hours and minutes are indicated with skeletonised hands and suspended indexes, all executed in sumptuous golden tones that bestow a green emission in dim light conditions. Everything is carefully considered to ensure peerless readability while simultaneously maximising the transparency of the movement. The model offers the convenience of an automatic movement and features a skeletonized oscillating weight ensuring the maximum amount of light passes through the intricately shaped, openworked GP01800 calibre. The oscillating weight is made of solid pink gold, wonderfully complementing hands and indexes and contributing to the overall sense of luxury.

The movement features 55 internal angles. Both technically challenging and time-consuming to perform, interior angles must be executed by hand. Comprising two bevels, each at 45°, they precisely meet on an inside corner to form a continuous line. Furthermore, the black PVD-treated mainplate and bridges encompass four different finishes, namely, bevelling, sandblasting, traits-tirés and circular satin finishes.

The case and bracelet of this new timepiece subscribe to the iconic design of the inaugural Laureato of 1975 but are executed in cutting-edge ceramic.

YOU SAY ‘REGULARITY’,
WE SAY ‘REGULATION’"

The GP01800 calibre is equipped with a variable inertia balance. Unlike a regular watch fitted with an ‘index-adjuster’, the effective length of the hairspring remains fixed. The watchmaker alters the rate of the balance by adjusting inertia weights positioned on the rim of the balance wheel. This superior form of regulation enhances shock resistance and, by default, precision. The inertia weights sit in small recesses within the rim of the balance, mitigating air turbulence, thereby, once again, aiding precision. It is this close attention to detail that serves to demonstrate the mechanical virtue underpinning the Laureato Skeleton WinteRace Edition.

A FUTURE CLASSIC,
BORN TO RACE

Many of the historic cars competing at WinteRace Cortina were once considered state of the art, using materials that conferred strength, lightness, torsional rigidity, etc. When creating this watch, Girard-Perregaux chose cutting-edge ceramic, a material that is seven times harder than steel and very resistant to scratching. Moreover, ceramic is lightweight, hypo allergenic and supremely smooth. The process of making a ceramic case, bracelet and bezel is both complex and protracted. The finest quality ceramic micro-beads are subjected to both pressure and high temperatures, a process termed ‘sintering’, to create a solid material. During the sintering process, an allowance has to be made for shrinkage. Thereafter, the material is milled to the desired shape and polished to a deep black lustrous conclusion that will never fade with the onset of years.

A LASTING PARTNERSHIP UNDER THE COMMON VALUES OF TRADITION AND INNOVATION

A LONG-LASTING PARTNERSHIP

Since 2017, the first year in which Girard-Perregaux was the Platinum Sponsor of WinteRace, the Swiss watch Manufacture has had the pleasure of paying homage to the winners of the series of races carried out along the route of approximately 460 kilometers on the Dolomite roads, rewarding the precision and excellence of the driving team with a Laureato, the icon of the Manufacture. The choice of the Laureato as the model with which to reward the winners of the series of races is not a coincidence: when the timepiece was launched in 1975 under the name Quartz Chronometer, it was in fact a particularly accurate watch, which is why it earned it the affectionate nickname by the Italian press of ‘Laureato of the Maison Girard-Perregaux’, giving it the title of the highest certificate in education (graduate) because of its precision.

Also in 2025, Girard-Perregaux will be happy to award a special prize to the crew that stands out for its precision in regularity races, as a celebration of the passion and quality of the driving.

TRADITION AND INNOVATION

Since the beginning, Girard-Perregaux always aimed to bring joy though its watches thanks to tradition and innovation, beauty and function, the pillars on which the magic of the WinteRace Cortina is based: a competition where the history of the elegant cars – avant-gardist from their time, driving ability, precision in measuring time, charm of the places, respect for traditions and the pleasure of an elegant conviviality.

WinteRace Cortina is also innovation, thanks to the visions of the organizers who love challenges by creating routes not only linked to the driving experience but aimed at enhancing the WinteRace lifestyle. A style that overcomes the volatility of fashion which instead has authentic roots in the hearts of those who identify with it and make it their own not only in Cortina once a year.

About Girard-Perregaux

Since 1791, Girard-Perregaux has been embracing the rhythm of ever-elusive time. Cradled in the Jura mountains in the heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds, it is a pioneer in the world of Haute Horlogerie: an independent Manufacture which has retained this status for over two centuries, successfully keeping all production in-house and passing down exceptional horological skills throughout the generations.

The preservation of this savoirfaire, along with a sincere passion for beauty and for the art itself, has remained the key to Girard- Perregaux’s ability to continuously innovate. Always seeking the perfect balance of beauty and functionality, fans of fine watchmaking will instantly recognise the house signatures, such as the iconic octagonal bezel of the Laureato and the legendary Tourbillon with ‘Three Gold Bridges’. From seeking to create industry references in timepieces to making the invisible visible through the art of precision engineering, Girard-Perregaux never ceases to change the course of time via pieces that are the first of their kind. This place at the vanguard of horological innovation is solidified by over one hundred recorded patents for original designs, like the movement of three arrow-shaped bridges, registered in 1884, as well as prizes like the ’Aiguille d’Or’ in 2013 and distinctions like the Gold Medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889.

Rooted in its heritage, Girard-Perregaux is driven by the instinct to always look ahead, embracing new technologies, utilising state-ofthe-art materials, and finding inventive ways to bring joy by reimagining iconic shapes. To this end, Girard-Perregaux has remained a humansized Manufacture, and in 2022 became part of an independent collective of Haute Horlogerie Manufactures alongside sister Maison Ulysse Nardin.