Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges

Description

In 1867, Girard-Perregaux introduced the Three Bridges to the world. Transcending mere functionality by revealing the beauty of the movement, it became one of the oldest and most enduring design signatures in watchmaking. In 1975, the Maison launched the Laureato — the first and only fully in-house developed, designed, and crafted integrated-bracelet watch — an octagonal icon that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Yesterday, today and tomorrow now converge in a new icon – the Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges, a masterpiece uniting two legends, where craftsmanship and innovation become one. Two timeless signatures reunited.

For over 234 years, Girard-Perregaux has been shaping the history of design in watchmaking. Long before the word “design” entered the horological vocabulary, the Maison was already defining it. In 1867, Constant Girard revolutionized watch aesthetics by refusing to hide beauty behind a dial, proving that every technical element could also express emotion. He drew the arrow-shaped Three Bridges—a visionary composition where form and function became one.

Unlike the skeleton watches of the time, whose movements were adapted, the architecture of the Three Bridges was conceived as integral to the design itself, where structure became art, revealing what others chose to conceal. Over time, the design has evolved, but Constant Girard’s spirit still endures. Today, one of the oldest signatures in watchmaking takes on a contemporary expression while celebrating another icon: the Laureato.

Launched in 1975, the Laureato remains a fully in-house creation. Its harmonious play of geometric contrasts — an octagonal bezel, a circular ring, and a tonneau-shaped case — gives it a unique yet perfectly balanced identity.

Now, Girard-Perregaux unites two of its most enduring symbols in a single masterpiece: the Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges — where two legends converge into one timeless icon.

Technical mastery / Engineering in motion

The Girard-Perregaux philosophy allows the brand to achieve both visual openness and mechanical coherence, delivering remarkable torsional rigidity and impeccable symmetry.The Calibre GP9620, designed, developed and crafted in house specifically for the Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges, is structured around three white gold openworked bridges that form its visual and functional backbone. The upper bridge secures the barrel, beneath which the platinum micro-rotor is ingeniously positioned, the central bridge supports the gear train and motion works, and the lower one anchors the tourbillon. This alignment – barrel, gear train, and tourbillon on a single axis – remains a rare technical feat, both rational and poetic. This inverted construction – bringing components usually hidden at the back to the front – transforms the calibre into a living, mechanical sculpture.

At the base of the composition lies the tourbillon, a feature deeply rooted in Girard-Perregaux’s identity since Constant Girard’s pioneering 19th-century creations. Crafted in titanium, its iconic lyre-shaped cage combines lightness and strength to counter the effects of gravity on timekeeping accuracy, while a small seconds hand enhances functionality and rhythm. Every element of the Calibre GP9620 is designed for harmony: the gear train, bridges, and cage form a meticulously balanced geometry, ensuring visual equilibrium as well as optimal mechanical performance.

The platinum micro-rotor, placed behind the barrel, ensures automatic winding without interrupting the transparency of the design, silently converting the wearer’s natural wrist motion into stored energy. True to its architectural conception, the movement makes no compromise between form and function, delivering a power reserve of at least 55 hours. The baton-shaped hands, lined with luminescent material, glide above this technical landscape with serene clarity, guided by a minute track affixed to the inner case — a detail that enhances legibility without disturbing the purity of the skeletonised layout.

Aesthetic refinement / Beauty That Stops Time

In every creation, Girard-Perregaux turns technique into emotion, and the Laureato Three Gold Bridges is no exception. If the movement’s architecture defines its function, its finishing defines its soul. It reveals 418 hand-polished bevels, including 362 inward angles — a breathtaking technical and artistic achievement. Each internal corner, among the most challenging to polish, captures and reflects light in endlessly shifting ways, making the movement appear alive, breathing with brilliance. The arrow-shaped ends of the six bridges epitomize this mastery: their sharp, mirror-polished edges require hours of meticulous hand-finishing, expressing over two centuries of craftsmanship at the Manufacture.

The Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges breaks with convention by forgoing a traditional dial to reveal its full mechanical architecture. Suspended white-gold indexes float above the movement, glowing with a soft blue luminescence in low light — a modern touch that enhances both legibility and allure. At the base, a small arrow-shaped plate in white gold discreetly bears the initials of the master watchmaker who assembled and finished the piece — a quiet tribute to human expertise and the artistry behind each creation.

Visual harmony extends across the case and bracelet. White gold and steel compose a refined palette of light, each surface designed to reflect and sculpt it with precision. The 41 mm case, just 10.85 mm thick (11.25 mm for the diamond-set version), strikes a perfect balance between presence and elegance offering an optimal fit on the wrist — a testament to Girard-Perregaux’s mastery of proportions, even in a tourbillon timepiece. The edge of the octagonal white-gold bezel now features a newly defined polished bevel contrasting with a circular satin finish, creating a dynamic play of shapes that unites the octagon and circle — the essence of the Laureato.

The reworked case displays sharper lines, deeper bevels, and broader polished facets that catch light from every angle. The integrated steel bracelet flows seamlessly, its domed links adding movement and depth, while the triple folding clasp with octagonal pushers not only ensures comfort and aesthetic balance, but also integrates a ingenious tool-free fine-adjustment system that lets the bracelet extend by up to 4 mm in an instant. — a discreet yet thoughtful touch for perfect wearability.

Here, the geometry of the Laureato and the architecture of the Three Bridges speak the same language — precision, proportion, and timeless beauty. Sculpted from light itself, the Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges transcends time, expressing balance, heritage, and innovation in perfect harmony.

The Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges is limited to 50 pieces.

About Girard-Perregaux […]

Supplied by the brand to the GPHG for its entry.