Four decades after the launch of its first quartz wristwatch, Girard-Perregaux celebrates the occasion with an anniversary edition, along with three novelties in the brand's 1966 collection and a tourbillon model in its haute horlogerie collection.
With the release of the new Laureato GP Quartz 40th Anniversary model, Girard-Perregaux commemorates two significant events in the brand's history - the 40th anniversary of its first quartz wristwatch and the 35th anniversary of the Laureato collection.
In the 1960s, the Japanese, Americans and Swiss were in a race to develop quartz technology and apply it to wristwatches. Most Swiss watchmakers at the time participated in a joint research programme, but Girard-Perregaux established its independence from the rest of the industry and in 1966 set up an internal electronics department with the aim to launch a quartz master clock, a small quartz clock and a wristwatch.
Girard-Perregaux launched its first quartz wristwatch, the Elcron, at the Basel watch fair in April 1970, the same year the Swiss joint research laboratory and electronics centre released watches equipped with the Beta 21 quartz movement.
The launch of the Elcron, equipped with a 8,192 Hz quartz oscillator, was quickly followed by the brand's second generation quartz watches the next year. The margin of error on the new movement was reduced to a minute per year, with the quartz oscillating at 32,768 Hz, and this frequency has since been adopted as a universal standard.
The Laureato collection, designed to house Girard-Perregaux's latest breakthroughs in electronic technology, was introduced in 1975, and this year's anniversary edition is inspired by the design elements of its predecessor.
The 42.6mm case and bracelet are made with steel, and the bracelet sports the octagonal relief featured by the first model 35 years ago. The dial, decorated in a checkerboard motif, features a date window at three o'clock and an inscription of '32,768 Hz' at six o'clock. The model is limited to 40 pieces and houses the quartz Girard-Perregaux GP13500 movement, which oscillates at 32,768 Hz.