This Sports Watch Icon Just Reached Its Final Form

The Girard-Perregaux Laureato has had quite an impressive history. The watch debuted in 1975 as arguably the first true competitor to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, hitting the market before fellow integrated luxury sports watch rivals like the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Vacheron Constantin 222 and IWC Ingenieur SL.

Last year, to commemorate the watch’s 50th anniversary, GP launched arguably the most perfect version of the Laureato with the aptly named Laureato Fifty.

The Fifty debuted a new 39mm case size that was also thinner, better finished and more water-resistant. It introduced a brand-new bracelet featuring shorter, flatter lugs that give the watch a sharper edge and features a hidden microadjustable clasp. And it even housed a new movement in the Calibre GP400 automatic, which boasts ten types of finishing and a silicon hairspring.

Girard-Perregaux

The only thing preventing the Laureato Fifty from being the perfect sports watch, in my opinion, was the two-tone styling. It was designed to look like the original model from the ’70s, but some things are best left in the past.

However, Girard-Perregaux has now remedied this issue by launching four much more attractive new references of the Laureato in plain stainless steel, with one model in particular getting my vote for the most perfect expression of the watch yet.

Blue steel

Of the four new Laureato Fifty models, the one that stands out the most to me, by far, is the blue version. Not only because it features a gorgeous blue dial, which is the dial color for an integrated steel sports watch, but because of how that dial was made.

For the first time in the Laureato’s history, Girard-Perregaux has created an enamel dial. The dial is produced in-house, with the enamel being applied over the base dial’s traditional Clous de Paris pattern.

Girard-Perregaux

The result is a blue with greater depth and dynamism than a non-enamel dial, adding another layer of luxury and artisanal craftsmanship to a watch that was already overflowing with both.

Outside of the dial treatment and the full stainless steel 39mm case and integrated bracelet, this is the same watch as last year’s Laureato Fifty, with the same updates (including the micro-adjustable clasp), same specs and mostly the same movement.

I say “mostly” because GP has actually given this calibre an upgrade, as the balance bridge is now executed in solid 18K pink gold. The rotor is also now in pink gold, rather than yellow gold. What’s more, it ditches the date from the dial for a more aesthetically pleasing look, another win in my book.

Girard-Perregaux

While it’s my pick of the bunch, the blue version is just one-quarter of the new Luareato Fifty models on offer. There’s also another 39mm version featuring a pink gold-coated dial, along with two versions that introduce a smaller 36mm case size. One has the same pink gold dial as the 39, while the other has a silver dial and a diamond-set bezel.

All three boast all the same specs as the blue dial, including the pink gold rotor and balance bridge on the movement. The only difference specs-wise is that all three of these other versions feature a date window at 3:00, like on the original two-tone Laureato Fifty.

Girard-Perregaux

Availability and pricing

Since these four new models contain a lot less gold than the original two-tone Laureato Fifty, all of them come in at a lower price than that watch’s $28,300 SRP.

The two pink gold-dial models in 39mm and 36mm have the same price of $23,100, while the 36mm diamond-set version turns the price up to $24,200. I would’ve guessed the diamond version was the priciest, but it’s actually the blue model, which tops out the quartet at $24,500.

That elevated price just speaks to the complexities required to produce its beautiful enamel dial, and it’s the one I’d go for. What can I say? I’ve got expensive tastes.

Girard-Perregaux

Girard-Perregaux Laureato Fifty 39mm

Specs

Case Size	39mm
Movement	Girard-Perregaux Cal. GP4800 automatic
Water Resistance	150m

• $24,500 at Girard-Perregaux

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