In the crisp light of a spring morning in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Laureato’s distinctive octagonal bezel seems to catch the sun in a thousand dazzling ways. For 2025, Girard-Perregaux has taken this signature silhouette and given it a luminous new chapter, unveiling two exquisite Laureato 38mm models that merge the precision of fine watchmaking with the artistry of high jewellery.
The first is a study in restrained brilliance: 32 custom baguette-cut diamonds, perfectly aligned within a bespoke white gold bezel, their facets reflecting light like ice on a clear alpine lake. Achieving this level of harmony is no simple feat—each diamond has been cut to exacting specifications, set using an invisible technique that ensures the metal remains unseen, leaving only the uninterrupted sparkle of stones in motion. Beneath this crown of light, the white gold dial is patterned with Clous de Paris, its minimalism enhanced by the absence of text between four and eight o’clock, allowing subtle tonal variations to play across its surface.
For those drawn to colour, Girard-Perregaux offers a second interpretation, replacing uniform brilliance with a painter’s gradient. Here, the Laureato’s bezel blooms with a spectrum of 46 brilliant-cut sapphires, deepening in blue as they ascend toward noon, punctuated by ten icy diamonds near six o’clock. The effect is reminiscent of the sky shifting from dawn to midday—a fluid, living palette rendered in precious stones. This model’s grey Clous de Paris dial carries accents of blue, drawing the gaze back to the bezel’s chromatic rhythm.
Both watches house the GP03300 calibre, an in-house automatic movement emblematic of the maison’s 230-year history. Visible through a sapphire caseback, it reveals a pink gold oscillating weight adorned with Côtes de Genève, mirror-polished screws, and delicate bevelling—a quiet reminder that the Laureato’s beauty runs far deeper than its gem-set façade. Comfort is assured by the steel case’s fluid interplay of satin and polished finishes, its integrated bracelet hugging the wrist with a fit that has made the Laureato a cult favourite since its debut in the 1970s.
These new diamond- and sapphire-set creations are more than ornamental variations; they are a celebration of how Girard-Perregaux continues to reinterpret an icon without diluting its character. In an era when sports-luxe watches have become ubiquitous, the Laureato remains distinctly itself—bold yet refined, contemporary yet steeped in heritage. And now, whether in the icy gleam of baguette diamonds or the serene blues of sapphires, it offers collectors a fresh reason to let light dance on their wrist.
