Welcome to Watch Guy Watches, GQ’s monthly presentation of high-end watches for the watch lovers among us. This June, Girard-Perregaux improves Loreto, Vacheron Constantin released a piece with a two-month power reserve, Parmigiani Fleurier transformed an old pocket watch into a wristwatch, and star watchmakers Josh Shapiro and Ming teamed up on a fresh design.
Despite its illustrious multi-century history, Girard-Perregaux does not always receive attention as a prestigious manufacturer of attractive high-end watches. GP’s Loreto certainly has all the makings to shine in a crowded category. This watch was launched in 1975 during the peak of the luxury sports watch craze. This style is best known for the two heavyweights designed by Gerald Genta audemars piguet royal oak And the Patek Philippe Nautilus. However, like Vacheron’s 222, the Loreto is often overlooked. The new version of the watch should force a change in the conversation.
Meet the new Loreto Fifty, a slim 39mm stainless steel case that’s significantly more wearable than the brand’s previous 40mm-plus execution. This watch is a lesson in what it takes to make a watch meet horology standards: the dial is engraved with the Clos de Paris – a hobnail pattern – in blue enamel. The new design is both subtle and beautiful in a way that’s hard to describe until you hold it in your hand or strap it to your wrist. The enamel finishing is highly dynamic, changing color depending on the viewing angle and lighting. Everywhere you look on this watch, there is GP flexing technology. The case is crafted from a mix of brushed and polished surfaces – the former creating a more matte finish while the latter makes it possible to check your reflection on the watch.
Even the movement inside offers a neat historical nod to GP’s most hallowed models. Girard-Perregaux Cal. The GP4800 is inspired by the brand’s famous Three Bridges architecture, which dates back to the 1860s and is exactly what it sounds like: a design that aligns the movement’s three bridges in a vertical stack. The pink gold balance bridge and pink gold oscillating weight are visible from the watch’s sapphire caseback, enhancing the beauty of the watch both inside and out. It’s a cool way to travel for a model that was born as a quartz watch!
If the blue enamel dial is not for you or if you want to save some money, there is also a beautiful 18K pink gold-tone dial, also done in the Clos de Paris motif, but without enamel. Equipped with a date window, you could say this version is a little more utilitarian, although both executions feature 150 meters of water resistance – enough to wear on the beach and at sea on the wrist of the contemporary jet set.
If there was ever a moment to rediscover Giard-Perregaux, it was the arrival of these new Loreto Fifty executions this is.
