Girard Perregaux

this_hobby_of_hours
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10 reasons why I think the new GP Deep Diver is a “confused” release …

1. “Reimagined” is what GP says in their marketing but it looks hardly reimagined from the original. (If I’m missing some key design elements that have changed, please let me know).

2. 20 ATM but it’s positioned as pool watch. So which target audience is this watch positioned for? Wealthy, middle aged, mid-life crisis guys (I didn’t intend to describe George Bamford but …) that don’t know much about GP heritage and its serious watchmaking skills perhaps …?

3. The date window is not necessary. Admittedly it’s true to the original but so what. Need to check the date when diving or at the pool?

4. The dial color and hand color are too similar. Why make a watch that is not legible? Especially a diver. Is this meant to be a whimsical design element?

5. It not a true compressor. So it’s not a watch to dive with. Its rotating inner bezel is there for what reason? And yet it has a 14 mm thick case. Chunky for a time only watch.

6. Bamford on the dial. Why? What exactly does George Bamford have to do with diving. And what design elements did he add here?

7. The original Deep Diver had a steel bracelet. This one comes with rubber straps. At CHF 16,000 surely a bracelet should be included. Im thinking a bracelet is going to be introduced at a later date when more variants will be introduced. Perhaps they are still working on the micro adjustment. But a deployant clasp instead of a pin-buckle could have been provided here for this one.

8. The display caseback is opaque. You can vaguely see the movement. Why not a solid caseback? Why this unsure approach. If the movement is meant to be seen then show it clearly.

9. 350 for a GP LE is too many. It’s LE but not rare. And we know more variants are coming surely. I would rather have seen the Deep Diver offered at 8,000 CHF as a production version to attract a younger crowd as a gateway into learning more about GP.

10. Has anyone heard a person from GP management talking about the new release in a video interview? Where is Patrick the CEO or Marc the new MD/GM of GP? All silent. It’s as if the watch was dropped shipped in with a limited amount of management involvement.

We have waited 20 years for GP to release a cushion case watch. The last time it was done was in 2005 with the ref 2499.

And this Deep Diver legacy was the best they could come up with?

This is a miss by GP IMHO