Upsized +2mm…

Worth a closer look, Girard-Perrgaux recently announced a refresh of its 1966 Chronograph model.   For those of you not so familiar with the brand, the “1966″ collection has established itself as one of the Girard-Perregaux’s iconic lines, featuring manufacture (in-house) movements and timeless design.    With the new 1966 chonograph, the change starts with a larger case (42mm vs. 40mm prior), which in turn has enabled a few additional changes given the larger dial.  In the comparison below to the 40mm Girard Perregaux 1966 Chronograph from 2010, you can see that the new model now has a small date window at 6 o’clock as well as applied Arabic numerals (pink gold) for each of the hours rather than indices; GP also swapped the sub-dials (30 mins now positioned at 9 o’clock, 60 secs counter at 3 ‘oclock).    The net result here is that we get a larger, more legible dial and the added nicety of a date window — in other words, a nicely executed refresh of the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Chronograph.  Price is $30,900.

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Chronograph (new 42mm)

42mm pink gold case, automatic mechanical manufacture GP 3300-0057 movement, fitted on alligator strap with pink gold buckle

Comparison to previous 1966 Chonograph model:

The 14th of July 1951, Ferrari celebrated its first official triumph when José Froilán González finished the Silverstone circuit in first place at the wheel of the Ferrari 375 — giving Ferrari its first ever F1 World Championship.   Today, the story goes on as Ferrari is the most popular brand in the motorsport world and José Froilán González is known as one of F1′s all time best.  To pay tribute to these performances, Girard-Perregaux launched limited edition “Tribute to Froilán González”, producing just 6o pieces for the 60th Anniversary of that historic race.   The first chronograph, numbered 00/60 , was presented to Gonzalez himself during a ceremony orchestrated for the occasion.  A fitting tribute to one of one of F1′s greatest all-time drivers.  Note that this is not a “Ferrari” branded watch (though GP used to make such watches, this torch has now passed to Hublot).

Girard Perregaux Tribute to José Froilán González and Ferrari

Limited edition 60 pieces

43mm steel case (13.7mm thick), automatic mechanical manufacture movement GP 33CO, rubber strap with folding clasp

Functions: hour, minute, chronograph with inverted push-pieces, internal rotating bezel, date, day/night indicator, small second

Reference: 49930-11-612AFK6A

Case-back is sapphire crystal, secured by 6 screws with the drawing of the Silverstone circuit:h

José Froilán González at tribute ceremony with watch

I love the smooth case lines of the Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 collection, and this new model with the addition of a “big date” window and moon phase module makes the watch especially elegant.  GP really does a good job of staying true to its roots and never going too crazy with its core lineup.  I appreciate that in the brand.

GIRARD-PERREGAUX, VINTAGE 1945 LARGE DATE MOON-PHASE

36.1mm x 35.25mm pink gold or steel case, display back, automatic mechanical GP 03300-0062 movement, black alligator strap with matching folding clasp

References

Pink gold: 25882-52-121-BB6B

Steel: 25882-11-121-BB6B

The new  Girard-Perregaux Laureato Tourbillon with 3 Bridges is a limited edition of 10 pieces that pays homage to its predecessor, the GP tourbillon three gold Bridges which was first introduced in 1889.  The tourbillon and other components are visible on the dial-side behind three translucent blue parallel bridges.  The octagonal platinum bezel alternates satin-brushed and polished finishes for an interesting effect if you examine it for a bit.

  Girard-Perregaux Laureato Tourbillon with 3 Bridges

Numbered, limited edition of 10 pieces

42.6mm titanium case with platinum bezel, automatic mechanical Girard-Perregaux 9600-0004 movement with tourbillon, display back, titanium bracelet

Reference 99071-27-001-21A

Absolutely spenldid!  I am a big fan of Girard-Perregaux’s 1966 collection, but this Minute Repeater just takes the cake.  The simple elegance of this watch belies its inner sophistication.  I hope it sounds as good as it looks.

GIRARD-PERREGAUX 1966 MINUTE REPEATER

Reference 99650-52-711-BK6A

42mm pink gold case, white enamel dial with pink gold applied numerals, striking mechanism with two opposing hammers, hours, quarter hours, minutes

Girard-Perregaux E09-0001 movement
Mechanical manual winding
Power reserve: minimum100 hours
“Rounded” gold balance bridge, half-arrow type

This Ermenegildo Zenga watch is a 20-piece limited edition with rattrapante (split-seconds) + foudroyante (1/8 of second).  It is produced exclusively for the Chinese market.  Like all “Ermengildo Zegna” branded watches, this piece is produced by renowned Swiss-manufacture Girard-Perregaux.  This watch is the fourth model in the “Girard-Perregaux for Ermengildo Zenga” series, following the Zegna Centennial Watch and the Zegna Monterubello watches (chronograph and 3-hander) that I featured earlier this year.  Personally, I like this one the most.

This watch is part of a special series of “Ermengildo Zegna” branded/co-branded luxury items created to celebrate the 20th year of Ermengildo Zegna in China — there is also a Zegna/Vertu phone, Zegna/Tateoissian cufflinks, and specially created Zegna fabrics.  See them all here.

Ermengildo Zegna Watch (China Limited Edition)

40mm rose gold case (15.15mm thick), automatic mechanical Girard-Perregaux GP04C0 movement, rattrapante and foudroyante (1/8th of a second), Alligator strap with pin of buckle adorned with the Ermenegildo Zegna logo

VIDEO:

SIHH 2012 is just three months away, and the early previews (“pre-SIHH”) continue to roll-out.  Here’s one from Girard-Perregaux, the 1966 Small Second, a limited numbered edition of 100 pieces.  I really like the new models that Girard-Perregaux has released the past couple years (scope them all here), and this new LE piece that will be available in 2012 is no exception.  Remaining faithful to its philosophy of innovation yet conscious of its heritage, there are a couple elements that I really appreciate about this watch:  first, the very modest/traditional case size of 38mm, and second, I like how the small second subdial and the date aperture at 3 o’clock balance nicely on the dial despite their different dimensions.  More thoughts below, but all in all, another elegant piece from Girard-Perregaux.

More SIHH 2012 Previews:  Panerai PAM 422

SIHH 2012:  Girard-Perregaux 1966 Small Second

38mm pink gold case (8.69mm thick), automatic mechanical GP Caliber 3300, alligator strap with pink gold pin buckle

GP Calibre 3300

The “Maison fondée en 1791″ (Founded in 1791) signature is a nod the origins of Girard-Perregaux.  Note the “railyway” style track around both the small seconds subdial and the main dial — this design consistency works very well with the overall aesthetic:

The slightly curved case-back is adorned with delicate engraving commemorating two important dates: In 1889, Girard-Perregaux won the Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris for its pocket watch later known as “La Esmeralda”, the most famous example of Tourbillon with three gold Bridges.  In 1900, this technical masterpiece with its highly original architecture was judged to be without equal. Thus Girard-Perregaux did not participate in the contest and was nominated as member of the jury at the Universal Exhibition.

Ref 49526-52-111-BK6A

The slightly curved case-back is adorned with delicate engraving commemorating two important dates: In 1889, Girard-Perregaux won the Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris for its pocket watch later known as “La Esmeralda”, the most famous example of Tourbillon with three gold Bridges. In 1900, this technical masterpiece with its highly original architecture was judged to be without equal. Thus Girard-Perregaux did not participate in the contest and was nominated as member of the jury at the Universal Exhibition.

In 2010, in celebration of its 100th anniversary, Ermenegildo Zegna announced a very special collaboration with Girard-Perregaux whereby GP would produce Ermengildo Zegna branded watches offered for sale exclusively in  Zegna boutiques.   The combination of the renowned Italian fashion house and the prestigious Swiss watch manufacture delivered an impressive first watch — the limited edition Ermenegildo Zegna Centennial watch (only 100 pieces made).  Based on this success, Zegna and GP decided to extend their partnership.  At the time, I somewhat caustically opined that this was a mistake on the basis that the Girard-Perregaux brand would not benefit from this deal (much as the GP/Ferrari watches were a big flop; though, the Centennial watch was solely branded as “Ermenegildo Zegna” I was still skeptical).  However, I am now beginning to rethink my assessment, largely due to this week’s announcement of the new Ermenegildo Zegna Monterubello Watch Collection.  It’s hard not to say that these watches look great — because they really do look great!  But I still have mixed feelings on the long-term viability of this collaboration, mostly as it pertains to GP serving as a private-label manufacture for Zegna.  If you have any thoughts on this matter please feel free to share your thoughts (anonymous or otherwise) below.

Anyway — let’s look at the Zegna Monterubello watches — there are two models — the Monterubello Solo Tempo, a 3-handed watch with date function, and the Monterubello Chronograph.  The Solo Tempo is available in white or rose gold, whereas the Chronograph is available only in Rose Gold.  Available exclusively at Zegna boutiques. 

Ermenegildo Zegna Monterubello Solo Tempo (by Girard- Perregaux)

Price:  $14,800

38mm white or rose gold case, automatic mechanical Girard-Perregaux GP03300-0030 movement

Ermenegildo Zegna Monterubello Solo Tempo (by Girard- Perregaux)

Price:  $28,300

40 mm rose gold case, automatic mechanical Girard-Perregaux GP03300-0032 chronograph movement

Courtesy of Monochrome…

Recommended Reading: Monochrome Editor Frank Geelen recently reviewed the Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk Pro 1000m dive watch.   This watch was first announced in April 2011 (I wrote about it here), and to my knowledge this is the first “hands on” experience with the watch.  “The new Sea Hawk 1000m wears excellent, looks great and runs and performs perfectly” according to Frank, but you’ll have click through to the Monochrome blog to check out the complete and excellent review, including some great pics!

Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk Pro 1000m Review

click image to see full review