Vintage 1945 Carrée
At the beginning of the 90s, well before "vintage" swept in to dominate all the trends, Girard-Perregaux was conceiving a collection inspired by the retro shapes of the art deco watches from 1945.
In 2007, the Vintage 1945 Carrée has reinvented this heritage, with both a movement and aesthetics, which come from recent developments at Girard-Perregaux.
For over 10 years, the famous Vintage 1945 has been opening the way for a plethora of new fashions. Far from being simple nostalgic replicas, they interpret in a modern way the unique personality of this rectangular-shaped model. Remaining faithful to the well endowed original model, the Vintage 1945 Carrée has retained the four right angles, while still adapting the square case. This combination results in one of the purest expressions of the line. The elegant silhouette of its doubly curved dial, lifted by the dauphin-style hands, gives it extra depth.
The Vintage 1945 Carrée is the first watch equipped with the GP 4500 mechanical movement with automatic winding. This calibre is one of the latest to emerge from the Manufacture, for which it is a point of honour to continually improve its range. Its 13 1/4 ligne diameter represents a choice reserved for watches of generous dimensions. It presents a number of innovative characteristics including an improved more efficient winding system. 190 elements make up this new movement, which can be seen through the transparent case back.
Technical specifications
Case in pink goldDimensions: 32.00 x 34.20 mmHeight: 11.15 mmAnti-reflection sapphire crystalSee-through case backWater-resistant to 30 metresAlligator strap with folding claspAlso available with a steel case
Estimated tentative world price, in CHF (ex Switzerland, not including taxes):
- rose gold: 15.930 CHF
- steel: 7.330 CHF
Girard-Perregaux caliber 4500
This message has been edited by PeterCDE on 2007-04-03 00:05:08Movement Girard-Perregaux GP 4500
Mechanical with automatic winding
Casing-diameter: 30 mmCalibre: 13 1/4 ligneThickness: 3.95 mmJewels: 27Frequency: 28,800 vibrations/hour (4 Hz.)Power reserve: minimum 56 hoursNumber of components: 190Functions: hour, minute, small seconds, dateOscillating rotor with unidirectional winding with ceramic ball-bearingsThree position winding stem Fine adjustment
The "Vintage Square" carries forth an addition by Girard-Perregaux in 2006; in order to offer a dedicated model for enthusiasts who prefer a more massive, but still highly comfortable and balanced case, the formerly rectangular shape of the "Vintage45" became a square.
The ref. 25810 "Vintage45 Triple Calendar" made the first model to feature this new case, subsequently winning (or breaking, depending on the perspective ) a considerable number of hearts. This model with it´s beautiful proportions is in comparably high demand meanwhile.
Girard-Perregaux reference 25810 "Vintage 45 Triple Calendar"
While the "Triple Calendar" pursuits a classic approach with a touch of Art Deco, the new reference 25820 adds modern elements.
Notably the dial, which is fitted with unusual numerals of different sizes, a practice GP fans and watch enthusiasts already learned to appreciate by it´s use for several models of JeanRichard, the second brand of the SOWIND Group.
The seeming sober dials, which can be had in black and off-white colour, features "dauphine"-style hands, which are polished and chamferred in order to allow for interesting reflections of the light while remaining always perfectly legible.
On a closer view, the ref. 25820 reveals two major differences towards other models within the "Vintage45" line; both unveil the main difference aside the case, which is the completely new manufacture-made caliber GP 4500 introduced in 2006:
The date window is fitted with red numerals; again, a practice already established at JeanRichard to highlight the manufacture-made movement inside. But different from others, in particular the reference 25830 "Kingsize" models, the date disc is located closely underneath the dial itself. This way a "sunken" date window is avoided and subsequently, shadows caused by deeply recessed disc. While other variants of the "Vintage 45" range utilize an ultra-thin GP movement of the caliber family GP3000, which requires a module to indicate the seconds in an non-centric position, the new caliber GP4500 allows to achieve the same appearance without ressorting to the use of modules. The reduced height achieved this way allows for a much closer distance between the dial and the date disc, thus improving legibility.
The other visual difference towards the earlier iterations of the "Vintage 45" family, but probably most other watches as well, is the unusual position of the sub-seconds hand.
Turning it´s circles in a position between 10 and 11, the seconds hand, which is heat-blued steel, indicates something special underneath the dial.
In this, the new reference 25820 is not just visually and aesthetically new, but to achieve the result it required to incorporate some new constructions into the new caliber.Please feel kindly invited to follow the next part, in which we will have a closer look at the new movement and it´s features.
Greetings from Germany,
Peter