Girard-Perregaux has gone full 1970s with its latest release. A Laureato 42mm in two-tone rose gold, brown dial and matching rubber strap!
If you look around at the current fashion trends, you may notice that there is a distinct 1970s vibe in many of the designs. Brown and mustard hues, denim, and corduroy are prevalent everywhere. Walking through my local department store, I feel like I’ve stepped back in time a little with the range of clothes that are on offer. And it seems that the watch world has the same idea.
The latest offering from Girard-Perregaux is a prime example of this. A very vintage, retro styled 42mm Laureato, complete with a brown Clou de Paris dial, matching rubber strap and highlighted by a two-tone rose gold and steel case.
And it is not a surprise that Girard-Perregaux has chosen this style for the latest release. After all, the ’70s was the decade the Laureato was born!
A Trip Back To The 1970s
I’ll admit, I missed the 70’s by a whole decade, or by one year, depending on how you look at it. Being born in 1980 meant I missed the disco fever, but I made it just in time to enjoy fluro’s, baggy pants, and see what life would be like today through the eyes of Marty McFly. Spoiler alert: for the most part, it’s nothing like Back to the Future II predicted. But the 1970s were a bit of a turbulent time, a little similar to now, come to think of it – wedged between the flower power of the swinging ’60s and the optimism and excess of the ’80s.
But, among all this, watch brands were, looking back now, creating icons that are still relevant and leaned on today. Girard-Perragaux was one of these, launching the Laureato in 1975. Back then, sports watches were making it big, as was the integrated bracelet design we know and love today. Two-tone watches also bridged the gap between pure sports and luxury. The new Laureato 42 takes both and seamlessly melds them together.
Bold Styling
Housed in a 42 mm x 12.16 mm thick, 904L steel case, retaining the classic tonneau-shaped outer case, the new Laureato is bold in its style choice, primarily via the use of brown tones mixed with the rose gold accents on the bezel, crown, and pushers.
The dial showcases the Clou de Paris hobnail pattern in a chocolate brown colour, which is offset by the rose-gilt hands and indices. The circular-grained sub-dials of the chronograph are inset into the dial, which does two things here. It adds more depth to the dial via multiple levels, and secondly, creates more contrast with the circular pattern in direct contrast to the hobnial dial.
Complementing the dial is the brown integrated rubber strap. Conforming to the case, the detailing on the strap takes the Clou de Paris pattern and extends this down through the centre of the rubber. On the steel bracelet, the Laureato wears on the larger side, as do most integrated bracelet watches. However, the rubber strap brings it back down a little, with less metal to give it a larger frame on the wrist.
The GP03300 Chronograph Calibre
Powering the Laureato is the in-house calibre GP03300-2761. The base calibre GP03300 is a calibre that Girard-Perregaux has been using for quite some time, so we are not covering new ground here. The specific calibre dates back to the late 1990s, but the base from which it is derived is from 1994. As a result, is tried and tested, but it also not the most modern of movements.
It beats at 4Hz / 28,800 VpH, has 419 parts, including 63 jewels and a modest power reserve of 46 hours. Being an older movement, we are consequently looking at spcifications that would suit the time period of development. This is one area I would love to see enhanced with the Laureato, a more modern movement with with a larger power reserve and specs that bring it into 2026.
That being said, Girard-Perregaux has decorated it niceley, with Côtes de Genève on the bridges, perlage on the base plates, all angles bevelled and with blue fired screws and mirror polished screws, with the rotor being sunray brushed and vertically brushed.
Initial Thoughts
Say what you want about the fashion, but looking back now and given the swath of watch designs that are popular now, it was a great time for watch designs. Think about how many watch designs were developed in the ’70s that we still revere today. The Laureato is just one of those many iconic watches that came out of the 1970s. And the new Laureato 42 embodies this.
I love the use of the two-tone rose gold, especially with the brown Clou de Paris dial and matching rubber strap. The colour combination works exceptionall well, and while I’m not generally a fan of brown dials, there is something about this piece that changes that for me.
The one area I would love to see evolved is the movement within. These days, modern watch collectors are wanting a little more from their watches, and this is especially the case when it comes to higher level, older brands, which paradoxically seem to have less innovation than others – generally speaking.
The other point of note I’ll touch on is the 42mm sized case. 42mm is not large, but on an integrated style watch, and the Laureato does have longer lugs, it will feel like a 43mm or 44mm watch which is less true to the vintage asthetics it embodies. That being said, you’ll need to try it on to get a true sense of how it wears, as we always advocate here. Size aside, it is one good looking watch, and is initially offered as a 50 piece limited production run.
Reference & Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Reference | 81020-56-3578-1CX |
| Dimensions | 42mm x 12.16mm thick. |
| Case | 904L steel case with rose gold bezel, crown & pushers |
| Crystal | Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment |
| Dial | Brown, Clou de Paris hobnail pattern, plate bearing rose gold-plated GP logo, rose-gilt baton-type markers with luminescent material (white glow) |
| Caseback | Steel and sapphire crystal |
| Movement | GP03300-2761 Manufacture mechanical self-winding movement, beating at 4Hz |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date. Chronograph with seconds, minutes & hours |
| Power Reserve | 46 hours |
| Water Resistance | 100M (10 Bar) |
| Strap | Brown rubber strap with Clou de Paris hobnail pattern and triple folding steel clasp |
Australian Retail Price: A$46,300
Availability: Available via The Hour Glass. For more information, contact your local Hour Glass boutique, or head to Girard-perregaux.com