Girard-Perregaux Presents The Laureato With a Triple Bridge Architecture to Mark Its 50th Anniversary

One hundred and eight years separate two significant creations from the Girard-Perregaux manufacture, which now merge in the Laureato Three Gold Bridges. The typical Laureato case design has been revised and houses a new manufacture calibre with tourbillon and three-bridge architecture. The Laureato Three Gold Bridges is available in two versions. While the stainless-steel and white-gold version is limited to 50 pieces, the non-limited version is adorned with baguette-cut diamonds.

Laureato – Girard-Perregaux’s iconic watch celebrates its birthday

In 1975, Girard-Perregaux, which at that time already looked back on 184 years of history, launched its first wristwatch with an integrated bracelet that was developed, designed, and manufactured entirely in-house. It was called the Quartz Chronometer and was therefore equipped with a quartz movement.

Thanks to its particularly precise calibre, which has been awarded a COSC certificate, it was given the nickname ‘il laureato’. The Italian term means ‘the laureate’ in English. But it was not until the 1990s that Girard-Perregaux introduced the collection name Laureato, along with the addition of an automatic movement.

But as early as 1975, the Quartz Chronometer displayed the typical design features that still characterise a modern Laureato today: a flat stainless steel case with an integrated bracelet and octagonal bezel on a round ring. The Clous de Paris pattern and the alternation of polished and matt surfaces, the first of their kind, are also present in the current collection.

We have reported in detail on the history of Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato here.

Two new Laureato Three Gold Bridges models to mark the 50th anniversary

The Laureato Three Gold Bridges, produced in two versions, was given Girard-Perregaux’s three famous arrow-shaped bridges in openworked white gold to mark the anniversary of the Laureato.

GP9620 – a new manufacture calibre to mark the anniversary of the Laureato

The GP9620 automatic movement with a 55-hour power reserve and three openworked white-gold bridges was designed, developed, and manufactured specifically for the Laureato Three Golden Bridges. The upper bridge secures the barrel, which is positioned beneath the platinum micro-rotor, the middle bridge supports the gear train, and the lower bridge holds the tourbillon with its titanium cage.

And since the sophisticated architecture is fully exposed, Girard-Perregaux has spared no effort in refining the GP9620 with 418 hand-polished chamfers. This creates a play of light that impressively showcases the sculptural mechanics.

The dial that isn’t really a dial

This anniversary edition of the Laureato does not feature much of a dial. Essentially, only the rehaut remains. This raised ring bears the white-gold hour indices coated with luminous material and the minute divisions. The hours and minutes are also indicated by white-gold baton hands coated with luminous material, while the small seconds are located on the tourbillon at 6 o’clock.

The case – new size and revised design

The Laureato Three Golden Bridges comes with a new 41-millimetre stainless steel case. It is equipped with the obligatory octagonal bezel, which is made of white gold in this model. Its edges feature a newly defined, polished bevel that contrasts with the satin-finished surfaces.

Overall, the protective casing features sharper edges, more pronounced chamfers and wider facets. The transition to the stainless steel bracelet with triple folding clasp remains smooth and allows for fine adjustment of four millimetres.

Laureato Three Golden Bridges: limited edition or diamond-set

Girard-Perregaux has created two versions of this anniversary model, which two key features distinguishing them from each other. While the limited edition of 50 pieces comes in a clean design in stainless steel and white gold, the unlimited version sports a bezel with 32 baguette-cut diamonds.

Each bezel is individually adjusted to compensate for minimal differences in the size and height of the gemstones. The bezel, which is slightly higher than the limited-edition model, also enhances the brilliance of the diamonds, which are set invisibly and must be cut precisely for this purpose.

The three bridges of Girard-Perregaux – sculptural mechanics

Girard-Perregaux’s three-bridge design was conceived 108 years before the Laureato, in 1867 by Constant Girard, watchmaker and founder of the Girard & Cie company.

His marriage to Marie Perregaux 1854 gave rise to the Girard-Perregaux company in 1856. After Girard’s death in 1906, the Geneva-based manufacturer was purchased by Jean-François Bautte, who had already begun making watches under his own name in 1791. With this acquisition, Girard-Perregaux integrated Bautte’s watchmaking tradition into its own history.

Let’s return to Girard’s arrow-shaped bridges, which combine design and function to create a sculptural mechanism. In 1867, his first three-bridge tourbillon could be admired through a pocket watch caseback. It was presented as La Esmeralda at the Paris World Exhibition in 1889 and awarded the gold medal.

In 1991, after ten years of development, Girard-Perregaux succeeded in reducing the size of the three-bridge tourbillon to fit a wristwatch. In order to make the technology visible on the top of the watch, the construction was turned upside down. This resulted in the company’s own Bridges collection, which also includes versions with one or two arrow-shaped bridges.

Incidentally, the new Three Golden Bridges models are not the first Laureato versions that Girard-Perregaux has equipped with the three-bridge construction. In the 2000s, for example, there was the Laureato Evo3 with sapphire and spinel bridges.

Price & Availability

The Laureato Three Golden Bridges models from Girard-Perregaux are now available worldwide from the brand’s authorised retailers. Price with Diamonds is 241,000 euros and 178,000 euros without Diamonds.

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