ReviewThe Green Machine: Presenting The New Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition

Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin join forces once again to create a new timepiece that perfectly embodies both brands’ reputation for refinement and performance—the Laureato Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition. This stunning watch marks the watchmaking brand’s foray into fully-green ceramic, and is a tribute to the legendary British racing green of Aston Martin.

The Aston Martin Partnership

Since its introduction in 1975, the Laureato range has earned a well-deserved reputation for being one of Girard-Perregaux’s most iconic and successful collections, designed to appeal to those in search of a comfortable and sturdy sports watch that can be worn every day. The original model featured an octagonal bezel on a round case, a distinctive design that has remained a hallmark of the Laureato line, including the three iterations created in partnership with Aston Martin since their collaboration began in 2021.

Today, we are presented with the outcome of their combined efforts with the Laureato Aston Martin, now in the luxury carmaker’s unmistakable British racing green. This hue has been the hallmark of British racing cars—including Aston Martin’s—for almost 125 years. The tradition dates back to the 1900 Gordon Bennett Cup, where each car was assigned a colour based on the driver’s nationality, and British cars were painted green. And it is this tradition that has inspired the latest collaborative efforts between the watchmaker and Aston Martin.

Durable Ceramic

Crafting coloured ceramic watches is a daunting task due to the high temperatures that tend to burn up the colour pigments. Girard-Perregaux, however, have successfully overcome this obstacle, creating the stunning Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition over a meticulous 18-month process that involved achieving the perfect hue, and replicating it consistently across each component. The lightweight material comprises zirconium oxide and metallic oxides, producing a captivating green tint. The ceramic components’ homogenous appearance is achieved with the use of an extremely fine powder of micro-beads, each measuring mere fractions of a micron in diameter. This also allowed the craftsmen to enhance the components with polished and satin-finished surfaces, a characteristic shared by all Laureato models.

The green ceramic used in the watch is incredibly durable, boasting scratch resistance that is up to seven times stronger than steel. Not only will this keep the watch looking like new for years to come, but the ceramic components will also never fade or age over time. Additionally, the material is lightweight, hypoallergenic, and exceptionally smooth, ensuring that the wearer will experience an unparalleled level of comfort. Its ability to remain unaffected by changes in temperature further solidifies ceramic as an excellent choice for luxury watches.

Luxurious Like An Aston Martin

The Aston Martin influence on the Laureato extends beyond the green colour and can be seen in details like the cross-hatch pattern on the dial, which resembles the diamond-like pattern found on the automaker’s logo from 1921 to 1926, as well as on the quilted seats in some of their high-performance vehicles. Both the 42mm and 38mm versions of the Laureato embody the essence of both brands, with the main difference being the movement: the larger model is equipped with the Calibre GP01800, while the smaller features the Calibre GP03300, both of which are self-winding and visible through an exhibition caseback, personalised with the Aston Martin logo. The 42mm model has a 54-hour power reserve and a 4Hz frequency, while the 38mm version features a 46-hour power reserve and the same frequency.

With limited production runs of just 388 and 188 pieces for the 42mm and 38mm variants respectively, the timepiece is a true collector’s item. While the partnership between Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin is sure to inspire more collaborations in the future, what sets this watch apart is its understated elegance and the absence of any obvious branding. Even though the Aston Martin logo is featured on the exhibition caseback, the watch’s appeal extends beyond fans of the luxury automaker, making it a must-have timepiece for anyone who appreciates quality crafts and timeless design.