Very nice!

Jan 24, 2010,09:18 AM
 

G'day,

thank for your thoughts (and taking the time to share them)! It´s great to read a piece dedicated to the practical aspects of watches; after all, these are made to be worn and to tell time!

Cheers,
Peter

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Girard-Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar: Vintage Beauty For Modern Times

 
 By: dxboon : January 23rd, 2010-22:54
I watch commercials. I admit it. I own a digital video recorder (DVR) that allows me to record live TV and fast-forward through the commercials, but half of the time I choose to watch them anyway. No, I’m not a glutton for punishment. I just enjoy the art...  

thx for the indepth review Daos

 
 By: lien : January 24th, 2010-07:07
I especially like the beveled windows as they blend in well with the overall classy design. it looks quite tough too with scratches all over cheers, Ed~

Thanks, Ed!

 
 By: dxboon : January 24th, 2010-12:05
I wore the watch as I feel watches are meant to be worn -- with care, but in real life situations. That is why I can confidently say that this GP is not only stylish, but robust. We don't often talk about dress watches being strong and able to withstand t... 

Very nice!

 
 By: PeterCDE : January 24th, 2010-09:18
G'day, thank for your thoughts (and taking the time to share them)! It´s great to read a piece dedicated to the practical aspects of watches; after all, these are made to be worn and to tell time! Cheers, Peter

Hi, Peter!

 
 By: dxboon : January 24th, 2010-12:13
Thank you for reading, and for your nice words. I think this watch is very practical, and well-made. The fit and finish was excellent, and appropriately elegant. It's a watch to be worn, not one to just hide away and admire in the safety of one's study. C... 

It was worth waiting. Thank you!

 
 By: Ares501 - Mr Green : January 24th, 2010-14:46
.... and congratulations for great review with much of personal touch and freshness in reporting about pieces Best Damian

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Damian!

 
 By: dxboon : January 24th, 2010-16:52
I hope you found the article worthwhile. The Full Calendar is a watch that embraces many of the qualities I find desirable in a timepiece -- timeless styling, solid, high-quality construction, and consistent performance. Cheers, Daos

Thanks for the review!

 
 By: DRMW : January 24th, 2010-15:03
Hello Daos, Wonderful review! I always liked Triple Date pieces and this one looks great! -MW

It is a great piece without a doubt

 
 By: dxboon : January 24th, 2010-16:46
Thanks for taking a look, MW! I'm glad we got a chance to review this watch. GP should be very proud of this timepiece. I hope more people will check it out for themselves, and form their own opinion. Cheers, Daos

Lovely watch, lovely review, thanks

 
 By: vlkcheng : January 25th, 2010-04:22
This is one of my favourite watches. I've seen it through an AD shop window but never examine it closely. It's very simple, elegant and ooze lots of class without being too showy. Some other details I like include the simple non-stitch gator and the curve... 

Hi there!

 
 By: dxboon : January 25th, 2010-22:18
Thanks for the nice words. You owe it to yourself to examine the watch more closely. It feels very good in your hand. The case is smooth and the color of the metal is warm, lively. Thanks for reading! Cheers, Daos

Thank You

 
 By: deBalzac : January 25th, 2010-13:06
Thank you for a great review, a really beautiful and classic timepiece from Girard-Perregaux. Best Regards Livius

It is certainly my taste...

 
 By: dxboon : January 25th, 2010-22:43
...and maybe yours, too? You and I often seem to like similar pieces. I prefer these vintage-inspired watches -- all the handsome old world good looks, none of the problems with establishing provenance, and the myriad other pitfalls that one tries to avoi... 

Great review Daos.....

 
 By: MiniCooper : January 25th, 2010-13:20
You already noted my first comment about the German "loss" of 1966..... My second is that 1966 marked the beginning of Star Trek.... On a more serious side though.... A great review of a very classic watch.... Thank you for posting... I would like to poin... 

Thanks for your comments

 
 By: dxboon : January 25th, 2010-23:20
I appreciate that you don't like my author's note at the end of the article. Unfortunately, there are some bad apples out in the world who have taken advantage of people looking for informative arms-length reviews, and instead gotten words bought and paid... 

I do....

 
 By: MiniCooper : January 26th, 2010-11:16
see your point but I disagree..... Besides moderators are there to protect our community from "agents" Cheers ps thanks again for your great review..

:-) [nt]

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-22:59
No message body

Thanks for this review!

 
 By: Dje : January 25th, 2010-13:50
Hi, I love this watch. I don't know how to tell you about the palladium version! Cheers Dje

Don't tease!

 
 By: dxboon : January 25th, 2010-23:24
Dje! You are bad! I am so jealous that you got to play with the new palladium version! It looks gorgeous! *heart thumping* Daos

Thanks for this wonderful review, Daos!

 
 By: AlexSunrise : January 25th, 2010-15:16
Extremely well written and you did excellent in highligthing the charm and vintage appeal of the watch. Patience is a virtue with many rewards . Reading your post filled with lovely photograhs is certainly one of them. Thanks! Take care, Alex

:-)

 
 By: dxboon : January 25th, 2010-23:28
I'm glad you enjoyed it after the long wait! Of course, we have had lots of beautiful watches to look at in the meantime! This GP is charming and so very, very pretty. I do miss it. :-( Thank you for reading! Cheers, Daos

A wonderful review Daos !!

 
 By: bimbeano : January 25th, 2010-15:32
And i fully agree on your favorite one ... the LE small seconds ... for me SS would be ok ... palladium offcourse would be best choice ... (if i could afford it .. ). Sooo, instead of sending this lovely "Full Calendar" back to GP , you could always send ... 

Evil Bim!

 
 By: dxboon : January 25th, 2010-23:50
Between you and Dje talking about these palladium GPs, I'm slobbering at the mouth! They are very attractive! For my pocketbook SS would be preferable too, BTW! I think I would be a happier girl if I had a million dollar watch budget per annum! LOL! Thank... 

Fabulous report, Daos

 
 By: Frederick : January 25th, 2010-21:45
You did an excellent job on reporting one of my favorite watch brands. Very informative, with technical data, and interesting reading. Kudos to you. And here I thought you were just any pretty face LOL LOL. Cheers, Frederick

LOL! You are a charmer, Frederick!

 
 By: dxboon : January 26th, 2010-00:00
Your wife must keep both eyes on you at all times! (Teasing, teasing!) GP is a great brand. To be honest, I am much more enamored of these 1966 watches than I am of the more expensive tourbies that they also offer. I love the look of the Full Calendar and... 

A superb review on the timeless watch, Daos.

 
 By: amanico : January 25th, 2010-23:28
Let me first congratulate you for your awesome work, Sister. It was a pleasure to read it and to view your pics. Back to this watch, I love a lot the red writing on the day and month. the suêrb moonphase, and the overall look of this 66. To make it short,... 

Thanks!

 
 By: dxboon : January 26th, 2010-00:27
Hi Nicolas, Thanks for your nice words. I really enjoyed reviewing the watch. It was a joy to wear. GP has done such a wonderful job with the 1966 Collection. The vintage styling speaks volumes to me! I can't wait to see the new 66 Chrono in person! Yay f... 

What a great comprehensive review!

 
 By: respo : January 26th, 2010-06:35
Thanks for posting this, Daos. It is a great review of a very elegant watch. I think you are right in that the opaline dial is the starring feature. It is amazing the details you notice on such a sober and "simple" dial. Your photos are awesome. I also re... 

Hi, Respo!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-00:24
Thanks for reading the review. The Full Calendar is a fantastic piece. I really enjoyed my time with it. These "nouveau vintage" watches tap into my psyche in a very basic way. I find that I almost always respond with, at minimum, strong curiosity toward ... 

Thanks and well written! [nt]

 
 By: arthurS : January 26th, 2010-07:10
No message body

Thank you, Arthur!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-00:26
Are you a GP fan, in general? I love their 1966 Collection. The line look is so elegant! Cheers, Daos

Ohh I like them!

 
 By: arthurS : January 27th, 2010-06:08
But I only own carbon fibre dial GP's, for the sporty fella' in me ;-) I like GP since they produce high quality timepieces in small series. As they state it "Watches for the few", I am comfortable wearing a watch that only a few people really know anythi... 

I agree...

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-22:53
...they are sometimes overlooked as a brand, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I'm definitely a fan of the brand. Cheers, Daos

Your sacrifice paid off!

 
 By: anaesdoc : January 26th, 2010-07:11
Hi Daos, wearing this watch a month without interruption - meaning no LD, MO, Habring or Seiko 5 - must have given you a pretty hard time ! But I think your report was really worth every day of this time: a well-executed and animating preamble to the watc...  

Very nice observation, Anaesdoc!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-00:36
I enjoyed reading your post, and you may very well be right about the alignment and sizing of the moonphase window and day/month display. I still would've preferred a slightly larger window, and would've sacrificed the symmetry for an expanded moonphase. ... 

I second...

 
 By: vlkcheng : January 27th, 2010-03:43
I would prefer a slightly larger moonphase window. Even just 1mm extension on either side would be nice.

I think it may have been...

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-22:56
...beneficial from a design standpoint to make the display just a tad bigger. This is only my opinion, of course! Thanks for reading the article! Cheers, Daos

Well, well, well....

 
 By: pplater : January 26th, 2010-07:29
About -- bloody -- time! You 'did good' DB - thanks. Cheers, pplater.

Glad you were able to enjoy it!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-00:47
Sorry for the wait! Of course, we had plenty of treats from SIHH to occupy our time! Hope you are having a fun-filled week thus far! Cheers, Daos

Good read!

 
 By: DaMctosh : January 26th, 2010-07:36
Daos, although this watch has been around for some time, I enjoyed your refreshing and balanced review. It's indeed a handsome timepiece. I'm undecided on this but in the spirit of the original (and also to avoid seeing the bit-too-small-for-the-case-size... 

For me personally...

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-00:56
...I almost always prefer a transparent caseback. For example, my Seiko 5 has a true workhorse movement with "toolwatch" finishing, but I still enjoy looking at it. I simply love to see the gears and screws and mechanics at work! I enjoyed the view though... 

Great review on a great watch!

 
 By: Z3 : January 26th, 2010-08:17
Thanks Daos. It was a fantastic read. Jon (Z3)

Thanks, Jon!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-00:58
It's the least I can do for you, considering all your great reporting from SIHH this year! Great work, my friend. Cheers, Daos

A-1

 
 By: tee530 : January 26th, 2010-08:35
Daos, Great read. Your background research set the stage perfectly. Reading that Fleming excerpt, I'm reminded of a reviewer who once pointed out the stylistic similarities between him and Bret Easton Ellis: an almost obsessively detailed recounting of lu... 

Hi, Tom!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-01:37
That's so interesting about Ian Fleming and Bret Easton Ellis. I never made the jump, but the comment rings true. We are creatures who love our comforts. According to our friends at GP the stamp you inquired after, "33MO.AL," is an internal reference code... 

Daos, nicely done.

 
 By: CaliforniaJed : January 26th, 2010-09:20
I think you and I saw this watch in the metal together for the first time on another of our lunch excursions. Like you, I am impressed with the dial and case, maybe a little less so with the movement finishing. I do believe this watch embodieswhat I consi... 

Another lunch break find

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-01:44
Yep, I definitely saw it in the metal for the first time during one of our lunch excursions. It's the kind of piece that really speaks to those timeless aesthetics that I think both you and I like. I might hazard to say that you appreciate classical lines... 

I always like to have a look at the innards! :-) [nt]

 
 By: CaliforniaJed : January 27th, 2010-06:56
No message body

Me too! :-) [nt]

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-22:46
No message body

"Vintage Beauty for Modern Times", indeed . . .

 
 By: Dr No : January 27th, 2010-09:06
. . . is it just a coincidence that the obvious paradigm and Daos' topic . . . . . . share initials? Cordially, Art...  

Gwyneth fan, Art?

 
 By: dxboon : January 28th, 2010-01:14
I think she's a wonderful actress. In the looks department she's like a modern day Grace Kelly. Nobody can top Grace though! Cheers, Daos

Jean Simmons is . . .

 
 By: Dr No : January 28th, 2010-10:19
. . . or should I say, was, the object of my unrequited affection . . ....  

Another great actress! :-)

 
 By: dxboon : January 29th, 2010-21:11
I was just watching Spartacus, in fact! Cheers, Daos

Thanks for the wonderful review Daos

 
 By: AnthonyTsai : January 26th, 2010-09:47
I've always loved the vintage look of the triple date display. GP also did a fabulous job of making the dial super crisp and clean where the wearer looks at the dial and doesn't get distracted by any superfluous copy or scales on the dial. The wearer gets... 

I'm a sucker for the triple calendar too!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-02:19
Although, I have set limits on my collecting to modern pieces -- or as I like to think of them, future vintage watches, I love to encounter triple calendars from the 50s and 60s. Those pieces are so stylish and practical. The GP 1966 Full Calendar feeds m... 

That was a good personalized review. Daos. There is a gold arrow and "slider"..

 
 By: Ronald Held : January 26th, 2010-09:47
on the movement side. What does that adjustment do?

There are two arrows...

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-02:46
...on the bridge in question, and our friends at GP have advised that these markers indicate the mechanisms for removing the crown and unwinding the barrel (Apparently, one should grasp the crown during this process to ensure that the barrel unwinds smoot... 

Daos, do the “not-blue” slots of the blued screws mean...

 
 By: marcelo : January 26th, 2010-10:35
... their blue is the result of chemical painting, not heating?

usually...

 
 By: tee530 : January 26th, 2010-10:57
...it means than the nickel plating on the screw slots has not been removed. As I understand it, only clean polished steel will blue under heat. Since watch screws come with nickel plating, they won't blue unless the plating is polished off. It is common ... 

Thanks for the info, Tom!

 
 By: marcelo : January 27th, 2010-12:05

Marcelo, I think...

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-02:52
...the screws are traditionally heat blued, and not chemically blued, but the slots remain silver-colored due to deposits of nickel which cause that portion of the screw to retain the same color it holds in an unheated state (awaiting confirmation from GP... 

Kind of you, Daos.

 
 By: marcelo : January 27th, 2010-12:06
Thanks!

Our friends at GP...

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-21:30
...confirmed my initial thoughts. The screws in the Full Calendar's movement are indeed heat blued. I asked about the slots, and was told GP made the aesthetic decision to leave them unblued for contrast. Cheers, Daos

A beautiful watch and an excellent review

 
 By: Ginger : January 26th, 2010-11:08
One thing I like about this watch is that it seems easy to read. All the GP 1966 models have a lot of white space - a very clean design element and probably the reason for the small moonphase display. I personally would prefer a 38mm version with all of t... 

Ginger, I totally thought of you...

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-03:07
...and your hi-beats when I started writing this review. I love the clean look of the watches in the 1966 Collection! 40/41 mm is my wrist's sweet spot so I can't complain about the size! Thanks for taking a look! Cheers, Daos

thanks Daos

 
 By: Quan : January 26th, 2010-22:34
your description just so simple and yet very informative

Glad you found it interesting!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-21:10
I really enjoyed reviewing this watch! I love that GP is issuing these vintage-inspired timepieces. They are super classy! Cheers, Daos

A couple of additions to this watch ...

 
 By: AndrewD : January 27th, 2010-00:36
Thanks for the review, Daos. Very well done and I was particularly interested in reading your observations on the extended wrist time. I am drawn to classic watches and this model is no exception. Sensibly proportioned as well. A couple of additions to th... 

I love blued second hands...

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-21:47
...as evidenced by the Habring 2 I ordered. That whole watch is really a showcase for the jumping, heat blued second hand. A blued one would've been great on the GP Full Calendar, as well. You and I are most definitely in agreement on the beauty of classi... 

Great report Daos!

 
 By: sidneyc : January 27th, 2010-00:49
I like your photos and the detailed write up! It's a very nice dress watch!! Thanks for sharing your experience!

Thanks for reading!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-21:49
I enjoyed sharing this watch with you! Daos

Nicely done

 
 By: kevster : January 27th, 2010-10:02
A nice read. A great watch. Thanks

Thank you for taking a look!

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-21:59
I appreciate you reading the post. I'm always pleased to hear your thoughts! These 1966 Collection GPs are pretty fine! Cheers, Daos

very well done, Daos, thanks.

 
 By: ThomasM : January 27th, 2010-11:01
That was a model I have long been attracted to, now more so inspired by your lyricism and keen observations on the details. Thanks! TM

What is it about these reinterpretations...

 
 By: dxboon : January 27th, 2010-22:20
...of classics from the 60s that speak to me? I didn't emerge on the scene for another ten years, yet I am so attached to the watches from this era. This GP is a prime example of the styling cues that really light my fire -- clean, elegant, legible, roman... 

A great read Daos!!

 
 By: pingtsai : January 27th, 2010-23:43
Thank you for the review. I remember your initial thoughts on this watch when you first got it. It's interesting to read your more in-dept feelings about it. I especially enjoyed learning about the history behind the watch and how you described the motion... 

Thanks, Ping!

 
 By: dxboon : January 28th, 2010-00:00
I appreciated the opportunity to spend several weeks with the watch because it allowed my feelings and observations about the piece to gel. Often, your first impressions of a thing hold a kernal of truth, but it's in the prolonged study of something that ... 

I imagine that those who are thinking of a Patek 3296 might look hard at the GP 1966

 
 By: Larry Seiden : January 28th, 2010-12:56
Wonderful review. Although I was surprised to see you refer to yourself as a girl rather than a "woman." Larry

Thanks for reading, Larry!

 
 By: dxboon : January 29th, 2010-01:14
I don't go in for a lot of that PC stuff. Personally, I don't mind being called a girl. Girl, woman, broad, chick -- those are just words that others use to define me. They certainly don't shape my identity. I'm just, Daos. The 1966 Full Calendar is certa... 

Thank you for a great report....................

 
 By: Topcat30093 : January 29th, 2010-01:35
I enjoyed reading it as well as looking at the photos. This is a piece that I would very much like to see in the flesh. And it being an annual calendar, as well as its size is a big bonus.

You're very welcome!

 
 By: dxboon : January 29th, 2010-02:02
You should definitely take a look if you get a chance. I'd love to know your thoughts! The watch has that great, timeless, classic look about it. I think it's super attractive. Thanks for reading! Cheers, Daos

Great excerpt from the Ian Fleming novel...

 
 By: patrick_y : February 2nd, 2010-21:32
Thank you for that great excerpt from that Ian Fleming novel. It's always nice to see how a watch is mentioned in books or cinema. It portrays the kind of individual who would wear the watch and paints an image of the stereotypical view of how another per... 

On the model I tested...

 
 By: dxboon : February 2nd, 2010-23:45
...I never noticed a significant lag in the date change. I think you'd be pleased. I'm not big into the whole polishing thing, so the buckle engraving isn't a concern for me. I wore the watch all over the place, so it's a robust timepiece that can stand u...