Girard-Perregaux 1966 Dual Time Review

Girard-Perregaux had a strong impact on visitors' minds thanks to the impressive horological contents on some watches which were released during the 2014 Baselworld fair. I obviosuly think about the Tourbillon Tri-Axial or about the Neo-Tourbillon with three bridges. But it would be a shame to forget the other watches of the 2014 collection because they are considered as more modest watches. Actually, they play an as important role in the catalogue and they also contribute a lot to the improvement of the credibility and of the visibility of the Manufacture. The 1966 Dual Time belongs to this category of watches and its contribution to the catalogue is key since it hads a new complication to the 1966 collection: a second timezone display.



Girard-Perregaux has a strong knowledge and practice on multi timezones displays since the worldtimer, available now in the Traveller collection, is one of its fav complications. However, this complication makes the dial busy and complex and the legibility of the time of a specific timezone is not that easy, at least it may take time to get used with it. Handy to use and more legible, and of course dedicated only to a second time zone, the dual time watches attract a lot of customers who look for a practical complication while staying in an affordable and simple context. It was a bit surprising but the current catalogue, to my knowledge, was not offering this complication. The 1966 Dual Time has the purpose to fill this gap but it doesn't forget to embody a nice aesthetic ambition.



There are a lot of different ways to display a second timezone: we can think about (this list is not comprehensive!) a window, a dedicated subdial or a central hand. Girard-Perregaux decided to use the later thanks to a large red central in order to avoid any confusion with the main hour hand. But, by closely observing the watch, I can notice that Girard-Perregaux carefuly designed the lay-out of the dial and finished its details. The scale of the second timezone creates a kind of inner grey ring which breaks the monotony of the dial and which highlights the applied indexes. These indexes are very welcome because they improve the perceived quality. They bring a touch of refinement and a touch of relief. I appreciate their angled shape which make them converge towards the center of the dial.



The date subdial slightly stands out  thanks to its lighter colour. The date legibility is a bit complicated, actually I have never been a great fan of this system which uses a small hand with a scale with odd numbers. Anyway, there is a small detail which gives the proof that the dial was designed with care. A part of the  inner ring is appended on the subdial what creates a continuity. The two displays seem interlocked together and I find the aesthetic result pretty convincing. It was very important for Girard-Perregaux to be able to define a dial with character. Because if not, the whole of the watch would have been boring: the flange is quite hight and I can imagine the impact of a flat dial in that case.

The 1966 Dual Time is powered by the GP03300-0094 movement. It is made of a caliber 3300 base which powers the second timezone display module. It is the reason why the performances of this movement are similar to the ones of the watches which use the same base: a 4hz frequency and a power reserve of 46 hours. The movement decoration is simple and refined and hoepfully, the gold  winding rotor brightens it up. The diameter of the movement is 26,2mm so it looks a bit lost inside the 40mm case: it is an issue Girard-Perregaux faces regularly when it uses this movement.



The big assest of the 1966 case is its comfort on the wrist thanks to the lugs shape which is very curved. The 1966 Dual Time finds itself in the same context and it is a true pleasure to wear it while enjoying the details of the dial. The legibility of the second timezone is fine and the central second hand nicely animates the dial. The watch is very easy to use: the crown is dedicated to the time and date setting while the two pushers allow to move the second timezone hand with an one hour step. Sadly, the watch can't be used for the timezones which have half-hours or quarters gaps like for countries like India or Nepal. In addition of the mechanical complexity, It is a constrainst due to the choice of a central hand.






Despite this reproach in a practical point of view, the 1966 Dual Time remains a seducing watch. Girard-Perregaux managed to define a classic watch with a well-known (and spread) complication without being boring. The dial finishings and lay-out are its main positive point and I could also appreciate some details like the applied indexes which improve the perceived quality.

Thanks a lot to the Girard-Perregaux team for the warm welcome at Baselworld.

Pros:
+ a new useful complication for the 1966 collection
+ the finishings and lay-out of the dial
+ a handy watch
+ the comfort on the wrist

Cons:
- the movement is a bit too small for the case
- the watch doesn't handle timezones of countries like India

Fr.Xavier