Phaedrus29
63
Considering my first GP purchase...advice/reassurances?
Sep 05, 2020,10:05 AM
I'm seriously considering picking up my first GP, one of the Laureato models. I have some reservations, and was wondering what people think and what experiences they've had.
The first is that when I've showed people pics of the watch the response is often "Oh that's a RO copy". They usually don't realize that the watch model line has been around since 1975, when it was arguably influenced by the RO. If I understand correctly, the Laureato came out before the Nautilus and the Overseas (222), but for whatever reason seems to be disparaged more than those models. For those who own a Laureato, is this a common reaction to the watch? Perhaps it doesn't really matter...I own a RO and feel that the Laureato styling is different enough that it is "its own watch", but I'm wondering what others think and how often this issue comes up.
My second concern is about the "1791" on the dial. From my limited research, it seems that "Girard-Perregaux" itself was founded in the 1850s, and then retroactively set their founding date to 1791 when they acquired Bautte. I don't see any issue with that, but I feel a little awkward having "1791" placed so prominently on the dial when it's a bit of a questionable topic. And with the new GP releases, it seems like they may be replacing the "1791" with the bridges logo...I wonder if that will make it's way to new Laureato models too. Thoughts on this "issue"? Is it just widely understood and accepted that GP's founding date is truly 1791 because they absorbed Bautte?
Thanks for your thoughts.