Girard-Perregaux unveils the 34 mm High Jewellery

Girard-Perregaux (GP), the La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland based prestigious watchmaker, has unveiled the Laureato 34 mm High Jewellery, a dazzling gem set Pièce Unique timepiece.

History:

Girard-Perregaux was founded in 1791 and is one of the oldest Swiss watchmakers. The Laureato 34 mm High Jewellery celebrates the founding of Girard-Perregaux. It is adorned with 1791 brilliant cut diamonds, exactly the same number as the year of Girard-Perregaux’s founding.

In Girard-Perregaux’s own words:

“The history of Girard-Perregaux can be traced back to 1791 when Jean-François Bautte, just 19 years of age, signed his first watches in Geneva. Keen to mark this significant milestone, the Maison has created a pièce unique housed in a pink gold case and adorned with 1791 brilliant cut diamonds, a number that celebrates the year in which the Maison was founded.”

Design:

Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato design was chosen for this dazzling timepiece. Its most eye-catching feature is its octagonal bezel.

“The octagonal bezel sits atop a circular plinth which in turn rests upon a tonneau-shaped case.”

Launched in 1975, the Laureato is an iconic design, and a popular family of timepieces for Girard-Perregaux. It serves as a versatile platform for horological functions and also for case and dial styles. For the former, time-only pieces, chronographs, and grand-complications, to name a few. For the latter, steel, precious metals, ceramic, and skeleton, to name a few. Girard-Perregaux has performed a remarkable job of interpreting the Laureato as a high-end gem set timepiece in a pink gold case.

“The elaborate profile of the case freely engages with light, courtesy of its many facets and angles, producing pockets of brilliance and shade. In this instance, the addition of diamonds serves to accentuate this extraordinary interplay with light.”

The functions of this timepiece are hours and minutes, and it is powered by a “groundbreaking quartz movement.”

The hour and minute hands, 12-hour markers, with “GP” as the 12 o’clock hour marker – are all crafted in gold. Between the centre of the dial and 12 o’clock, “Girard-Perregaux” and its horizontal logo are present. “Swiss Made” is discreetly present below the 6 o’clock hour marker.

The entire timepiece – its dial, bezel, case, and bracelet – is clothed in 1791 diamonds.

Gem-Setting:

The diamonds are set in the dial, bezel, case, and bracelet using traditional grain setting. Holes are drilled in the pink gold exterior “to accommodate each diamond, making small adjustments by hand to ensure the optimal fit.”  The artisan carved the gold to “form four grains of metal around each diamond, holding it securely in place.”  The artisan then smoothed out the hollows around the diamonds “to create a sublime beading effect.”  Various sized stones were used in this process, a task which is both meticulous and time-consuming. In total, it took 86 hours of gem setting, all done by hand, to create this beautiful timepiece.

Its crown is set with a “cabochon in amethyst, a semiprecious stone synonymous with purity, protection and tranquillity.”  The amethyst contrasts well with the 1791 diamonds set throughout the timepiece.

Availability and Pricing:

Name: Laureato 34 mm High Jewellery

Reference: Pièce Unique

Price: On Request

On Sale in February at the Girard-Perregaux boutique, which is operated in partnership with Bucherer.

Website: https://www.girard-perregaux.com/