Gemstone-set Laureatos from Girard-Perregaux

Famed for its intricate arrangement of shapes, the Laureato is familiar to legions of horophiles who appreciate its distinctive design. Now, Girard-Perregaux unveils a watch that unites the model’s legendary look with the world of Métiers d’Art

Enhancing the octagonal shape of the iconic Laureato’s bezel, Girard-Perregaux presents two new models adorned with a thousand lights. The first star reference is set with 32 custom-made baguette-cut diamonds, along with a second version featuring a gradient of brilliant-cut diamonds and sapphires.

The diamond-set edition features a bezel set with 32 baguette-cut diamonds (~3 cts). Each stone is carefully placed in a channel that accommodates slight variations in size and shape, ensuring perfect alignment, with the bezel’s height meticulously calibrated to enhance the diamonds’ brilliance. This intricate setting is further refined by the uniquely shaped channel of the Laureato’s octagonal bezel, which subtly widens toward each corner to fit the varying sizes of the stones. The baguette-cut diamonds are secured using an invisible-setting technique. The dial is made of white gold and enriched with Clous de Paris, and white gold GP logo and indexes.

The second diamond-set model features a bezel set with 10 brilliant cut-diamonds (~0.177 cts) and 46 brilliant-cut sapphires (~0.798 cts). Diamonds feature adjacent 6 o’clock, with sapphires assuming an increasingly deeper shade of blue as they near 12 o’clock, with the largest stones sitting at each corner of the 8-sided bezel. In addition to the gradient effect on the bezel, the brilliant-cut diamonds have been meticulously selected to enhance the iconic octagonal bezel of the Laureato. The dial is executed in grey and is endowed with a Clous de Paris pattern, enlivened with blue text.

Both timepieces house the Laureato’s bespoke GP03300 calibre, made at the company’s La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacture. Its specification includes a pink gold oscillating weight, adorned with circular Côtes de Genève motif, that harnesses energy from the natural motion of the wrist, obviating the need for winding. Once removed from the wrist, the watch will run autonomously for at least 46 hours. Further highlights include straight Côtes de Genève on the bridges, bevelling, mirror-polished screws, circular graining on the main plate and engraved gilded text.