It’s all about sensations.
Aston Martin and Girard-Perregaux are both synonymous with creations that touch the soul, heighten emotions, and awaken the senses. Now, the British luxury marque and the Swiss Manufacture have designed a watch that will give the owner an experience rich in sensations. The Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition sports an exclusive feature: an iridescent dial created with automotive paint, inspired by the colours of British sports cars, which adorn Aston Martin’s iconic vehicles. Its creation required a brand-new and highly complex process.
The Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition
features a dial executed in an arresting shade of green.
A HISTORY OF – ORCHESTRATING EMOTIONS
Enter the cockpit of a modern DB12 and everything is designed to heighten the intensity of the driving experience. Sight, sound, smell and touch; every facet of an Aston Martin is designed to orchestrate human emotions and deliver an intense, singular ownership experience. Now, with this in mind, Aston Martin and Girard-Perregaux have created a watch designed to arouse emotions and stimulate the
human senses.
The new Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition is optimally designed to thrill onlookers. Each facet of the vibrantly hued dial and lightweight multifaceted titanium bodywork engages with light, evincing a variety of shades.
IT’S GREEN – BUT WITH A TWIST
The Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition features a dial executed in an arresting shade of green. Created using a rare technology and employing much expertise, the dial is enlivened with an iridescent automotive paint, applied using an intricate process. Its fabrication involves 14 manufacturing steps alone, while the eye-catching hue is achieved by applying 15 ultrathin layers of paint to the dial surface and subjecting it to two cooking cycles to achieve the desired look. The tolerances involved in creating the paint for a watch are much smaller than those employed in the automotive sector and involve a protracted filtration method to eradicate any residual grains that could potentially mar the overall aesthetic.
Green has always been synonymous with British sportscars, adorning iconic Aston Martin cars on road and track over the years and being today the most popular colour choice amongst enthusiasts of the British marque. In this instance, Girard-Perregaux has reimagined an iridescent shade of green favoured by the car marque, creating a distinctive hue all of its own. Endowed with a dynamic character, the dial subtly plays with light and appears to transition from green to orange when viewed from different angles. The dial’s appearance makes a bold statement, but then again the Laureato has always stood out from the crowd, captivating horophiles since 1975 with its masterful blend of shapes and finishes.
TITANIUM: LOW MASS AND HIGH PERFORMANCE
With a rich history of making high performance cars, Aston Martin clearly understands the importance of mitigating kerb weight. Over the years, it has created models using tubular fabrication methods as well as lightweight materials. The British marque’s know-how has seen it make strong, stiff (essential for handling) and light sports cars capable of delivering breathtaking performance. Likewise, Girard-Perregaux has also created several timepieces made of lightweight materials, including forged carbon. On this occasion, Grade 5 titanium has been selected for the new Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition. The metal is light, strong, stiff, corrosion resistant, non-magnetic and hypoallergenic; all useful attributes for watchmaking.
Upholding Laureato tradition, the case and bracelet feature brushed and polished surfaces to deliver an alluring contrast. For example, the circular plinth, case facets, chronograph pushers as well as the central links of the bracelet are all presented in gleaming form.
BEHIND – THE WHEEL
When sat behind the wheel of a high performance supercar, the driver should ‘feel at one’ with the vehicle. Ergonomics are important; all controls should fall to hand. The handling should inspire confidence and the instruments should be simple to interpret. Likewise, the dial of the Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition proves intuitive to read. It features skeletonised hands, inspired by the distinctive front grille found on the British marque’s cars, while the indexes and counters have been suffused with grey-toned PVD treatment, echoing the hue of the titanium case. The hour and minute hands are partially openworked and collaborate with faceted applied batons. Both the hands and indexes are lined with white luminescent material and emit a green glow in dim light. Three snailed counters, namely, a 30-minute chronograph register, a 12- hour chronograph register and a small seconds display, punctuate the dial.
The central chronograph seconds hand features a black tip that reaches out to the minute track positioned on a flange fringing the dial. A date display, located between 4 and 5 o’clock, completes the inventory of functions. The GP name is presented in white text near the top of the dial with the brand’s logo positioned adjacent, presented in relief.
AN IMPRESSIVE – POWERPLANT
At the heart of the Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition ticks an in-house Manufacture movement, the GP03300 calibre. Visible via a sapphire caseback, bearing the Aston Martin logo, the movement is crafted at the company’s production facility in La Chauxde-Fonds and is optimally shaped for the Laureato model.
“A self-winding movement,
it features an oscillating weight adorned
with circular Côtes de Genève motif.”
Additional movement refinements include straight Côtes de Genève on the bridges, bevelling, mirror-polished screws, circular graining on the main plate and engraved gilded text, all executed to the company’s nocompromise standards.
THE MOVEMENT
Reference: GP03300-2451
Self-winding mechanical movement
Diameter: 25,95 mm (111/2’’’)
Height: 6.50 mm
Frequency: 28,800 Vib/h – (4 Hz)
Number of components: 419
Number of jewels: 63
Power reserve: min. 46 hours
Functions: Chronograph, hours, minutes, small seconds, date
THE LAUREATO – STORY
In the 70s, a number of companies synonymous with Haute Horlogerie released elegant steel watches fitted with integrated steel bracelets. However, Girard-Perregaux was the only Manufacture to design and develop its elegant steel watch fully in-house.
From the outset, the Laureato has always been equipped with an in-house movement, affording the Manufacture the creative freedom to design a watch devoid of compromise. Indeed, Girard-Perregaux differentiates itself from most watch companies by adopting a holistic approach to the design of the dial, case and movement, a rare approach that it has followed since 1867 when Constant Girard conceived the legendary Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges.
Now, the Manufacture, working in close cooperation with Aston Martin, has crafted a neoteric expression of the Laureato that’s made to perform and born to race.
The Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition will go on sale on the 19th of February 2025 and will be available worldwide.
“Over the years, the Laureato has evolved,
embracing an array of dial colours, case materials and complications. “
About Aston Martin Lagonda
Aston Martin’s vision is to be the world’s most desirable, ultra-luxury British brand, creating the most exquisitely addictive performance cars.
Founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin is acknowledged as an iconic global brand synonymous with style, luxury, performance, and exclusivity. Aston Martin fuses the latest technology, time honoured craftsmanship and beautiful styling to produce a range of critically acclaimed luxury models including the Vantage, DB12, Vanquish, DBX707 and its first hypercar, the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Aligned with its Racing. Green. sustainability strategy, Aston Martin is developing alternatives to the Internal Combustion Engine with a blended drivetrain approach between 2025 and 2030, including PHEV and BEV, with a clear plan to have
a line-up of electric sports cars and SUVs.
Based in Gaydon, England, Aston Martin Lagonda designs, creates, and exports cars which are sold in more than 50 countries around the world. Its sports cars are manufactured in Gaydon with its luxury DBX SUV range proudly manufactured in St Athan, Wales. The company is on track to deliver net-zero manufacturing facilities by 2030.
Lagonda was founded in 1899 and came together with Aston Martin in 1947 when both were purchased by the late Sir David Brown, and the company is now listed on the London Stock Exchange as Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc.
2020 saw Lawrence Stroll become the company’s Executive Chairman, alongside significant new investment. This coincided with Aston Martin’s return to the pinnacle of motorsport with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team andcommenced a new era for the iconic British marque.
About Girard-Perregaux
Since 1791, Girard-Perregaux has been embracing the rhythm of ever-elusive time. Cradled in the Jura mountains in the heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds, it is a pioneer in the world of Haute Horlogerie: an independent Manufacture which has retained this status for over two centuries, successfully keeping all production in-house and passing down exceptional horological skills throughout the generations. The preservation of this savoir-faire, along with a sincere passion for beauty and for the art itself, has remained the key to Girard-Perregaux’s ability to continuously innovate.
Always seeking the perfect balance of beauty and functionality, fans of fine watchmaking will instantly recognise the house signatures, such as the iconic octagonal bezel of the Laureato and the legendary Tourbillon with ‘Three Gold Bridges’. From seeking to create industry references in timepieces to making the invisible visible through the art of precision engineering, Girard-Perregaux never ceases to change the course of time via pieces that are the first of their kind. This place at the vanguard of horological innovation is solidified
by over one hundred recorded patents for original designs, like the movement of three arrow-shaped bridges, registered in 1884, as well as prizes like the ’Aiguille d’Or’ in 2013 and distinctions like the Gold Medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889.
Rooted in its heritage, Girard-Perregaux is driven by the instinct to always look ahead, embracing new technologies, utilising state-of-the-art materials, and finding inventive ways to bring joy by reimagining iconic shapes. To this end, Girard-Perregaux has remained a humansized Manufacture, and in 2022 became part of an independent collective of Haute Horlogerie Manufactures alongside sister Maison Ulysse Nardin.
