Hands-On With The Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42mm In 18K Pink Gold
It takes guts to walk around wearing a large, all-gold integrated-bracelet sports watch. This genre is not for the faint of heart. I like to think I’m fairly spunky, so I figured, “Why not?” I reached out to Girard-Perregaux and asked if I could try the latest gold Laureato 42mm models. When a rather weighty box arrived, I knew it was time to take off my comfortable small, subtle, steel GADA watch and lock this big chunk of sparkling 18K pink gold to my forearm. I gazed at my wrist and wondered, “How will these make me feel after the initial jarring experience?” Well, let’s find out!
I am taking a slightly different approach to this review. Rather than going through the specs and history of the watch with a fine-toothed comb, I’ll explore how it makes me feel. Why? Because that is precisely where this watch is most interesting. It is an outlier, and I struggle to pin it down. Join me in an effort to find out who this is for and whether it is any good.
The 18K pink gold Laureato is the odd one out
What I am hinting at is the strange position the Girard-Perregaux Laureato holds in the watch world’s public awareness. Seldom was an entire genre defined by a single watch like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak defines integrated-bracelet sports watches. To some, it is the only “real” one. To others, it is merely the flag bearer of the broad genre of watches that would follow.
However, the Laureato was right there at the heart of it all in the mid-’70s. The original GP Laureato saw the light of day in 1975. Clearly, then, it is one of the OGs. Still, it doesn’t have the same widespread pop-cultural appeal as the Royal Oak and the similarly “not-the-first” Patek Philippe Nautilus. At the same time, the Laureato does share their old-world-chic aura, unlike some of the later additions to the genre and, admittedly, some of the flashier iterations of the OGs.
And then there is the 42mm Laureato in 18K pink gold. It’s too loud and too brash to be old-world chic, but it is still a Girard-Perregaux. So, what is it? Is it a flashy status symbol for the nouveau riche who still struggle to assert character qualities beyond material proxies? Or is it a connoisseur’s choice that happens to be a little more “out there”? It is the odd one out, for sure.
First things first: facts and figures
Before I proceed in trying to answer that question, let’s have a quick look at what the watch on my wrist entails. As I write this, I am wearing the 18K pink gold Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42mm with a Sage Green dial. On the desk in front of me sits its Ultramarine Blue brother. The watch measures just over 49mm in length, but this cannot be compared to a regular round watch with lugs due to the integrated form of the tonneau case and bracelet. The watch is 10.7mm thick, which feels thin due to the rather large top surface area. Water resistance is rated at 50 meters.
Inside ticks the in-house caliber GP01800-0004 at 28,800 beats per hour. This automatic movement comprises 191 parts, 28 of which are jewels. The caliber also has a 54-hour autonomy. There is plenty of beautiful finishing to behold through the sapphire window of the case back. When not obscured by the côtes de Geneve-finished rose gold rotor, the main barrel shows its beautiful sunburst. The keen observer will also note the rather wide anglage all around.
Aesthetically, the dials play second fiddle to the bright pink case and bracelet. Both are immaculately finished. The horizontal brushing doesn’t feel satin-like as on most watches. These are hairlines you can feel with your fingernails, and I love that. Still, the dials hold their own. The hobnail pattern stands in great high-frequency contrast to the rest of the watch. Color-wise, both the green and blue are spot on. As far as I understand, the hands and indices are plated, which surprises me. I cannot see how it would be a cost-saving measure considering the ample amounts of gold elsewhere.
Wearing the 18K pink gold Laureato 42mm
The 18K pink gold Laureato feels fantastic in the hand, offering a pleasing combination of a very well-made, high-end watch and bracelet plus the heft of gold. The resulting supple yet weighty tactile experience is one of sheer opulence. The smoothly threaded crown and precise click of hand-winding the movement confirm that.
Although the 42mm Laureato fits my 17.5cm wrist perfectly, hugging it without overhang, it looks a bit off. The problem, I found, is in the watch-to-bracelet ratio. There isn’t enough visual weight left in the bracelet when sized to my wrist to counterbalance the watch itself. It looks good on larger wrists because of this balance, not because of the wrist itself. I wouldn’t seriously consider this watch until it gets Girard-Perregaux’s 38mm treatment. Maybe that’ll happen next year when the Laureato turns 50…
The Laureato is, unlike some of its competitors, very ergonomic in profile. This means it sits firmly in just the right spot on the wrist, even when the bracelet isn’t perfectly sized. That is a good thing because the butterfly clasp doesn’t allow fine-tuning beyond half links.
So, how did we get along?
I started this review with some questions, and I think it is about time I try to formulate some answers. Let me start with the prickly matter of integrated-bracelet sports watches. I think we treat the genre — and the Laureato as an exponent of it — unfairly. It is as if our minds close as soon as we see one — “Ah, another one jumping on the hype train.” You could say precisely the same thing about every new dive watch or chronograph, yet the integrated-bracelet watch catches all the flack. Rather than look if the watch at hand is good and beautiful in and of itself, we just point out its similarities to other watches within the genre. Yes, the Laureato has an octagonal bezel. Get over it.
To me, the bigger revelation was how the 18K pink gold disappeared on my wrist. The soft contrast between my skin tone and the gold made it look infinitely less brash than it does on its own. What remained was a beautifully made watch that kept me engaged with its subtle details. As such, this watch would suit those who greatly appreciate these qualities and have the wrists and budgets to match. My worries about it being brash and flashy evaporated the moment I walked out the door with it. I mentioned that a 38mm version would look more balanced on my wrist. I think it would also make it — dare I say it about a full-gold sports watch? — subtly elegant…
The Girard-Perregaux Laureato in 18K pink gold surprised me. Wearing it was such a different experience from what I imagined upfront. I had stoked the fire up nicely to roast yet another footballer’s status symbol, but I can’t… I think it is fantastic.
What do you think of the 18K pink gold Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42mm in Sage Green and Ultramarine Blue? Let us know in the comments section below!
