Girard Perregaux

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BaselWorld 2016: Girard-Perregaux 1966, 50th Anniversary

Friends,

The firework from Girard-Perregaux is far from over yet.

Next up is the Girard-Perregaux 1966, 50 th Anniversary!

As we all know during the 1950s and 1960s, Girard-Perregaux was a very active and successful period!

A numerus of patents were achieved during this period and one of the most successful and well known is the Gyromatic.

Introduced in 1957 the Gyromatic changed scene of the automatic movement.

Nine years later, in 1966 Girard-Perregaux introduced the Gyromatic Chronometer High Frequency…

The year after, in 1967 Girard-Perregaux received 73% of all Chronometer certificates issued by the Neuchatel Observatory that year!

And as they say, the rest is history…

So this year we celebrate the 50 th Anniversary of the original GP 1966, half a century dedicated to automatic precision movements.

But before I go into detail about the watch, here is a brief description of the Gyromatic concept.

Source, Girard-Perregaux catalog from 1957:

Functions of the Gyrotrons:

Flow chart of the Gyrotrons:

This 50 th Anniversary model comes in a Limited Edition of 50 pieces.

Cased in a 38 mm White Gold case, this watch is clean and elegant but maybe not as clean as the normal 38 mm White Gold GP 1966.

The monochrome look is broken by the Pink Gold (?) leaf hands and the enhanced indexes at each quarter.

 A detail I need to verify with the manufacture, the hands almost look like copper against the silver dial but I suspect it is Pink Gold.

The dial design is inspired from the 1960s and one detail that differs here is the minute track.

Each minute divided in 5 to give you even better control of time.

Another detail that makes the dial busier is the “1791” which is on all watches this year to indicate the 225 Anniversary of the brand.

On the lover part is the 50 th Anniversary text and “Automatic”.

Since this watch is an anniversary of automatic precision movements I don’t mind the “Automatic” here.

Also it balances the extra “1791” line on the top of the dial which gives the dial a bit more busy but balanced impression than the regular GP 1966.

The date window at three o’clock feels natural when thinking of the original Gyromatic Chronometer HF.

On the silver dial the window blends in, in a good way without compromising of visibility.

Inside is the by now well tested and proven automatic movement, caliber GP03300.

The main plate and bridges are drawn, beveled, circular-grained, decorated with Côtes de Genève and heated blue screws.

If my eyes don’t deceive me, the decoration on this anniversary watch is even higher than on the regular version of the GP 1966.

Functions; hour, minute, central seconds, date and a minimum of 46 hours power reserve.

This watch comes with a black alligator strap and White Gold pin buckle.

OK, my thoughts on this watch:

I am not a big fan of too many Limited Editions or Anniversaries, especially if the only thing changed is some details on the dial.

BUT, in this case I am willing to overlook the LE part due to 1/ the occasion, the importance of the event in the brands history, 2/ except for changes on the dial, the higher decoration of the movement.

Personally I LOVE the 38 mm GP 1966 case!

The elegant shape, the perfect fit on the wrist…

The dial design and mix of color gives the watch more contrast and depth.

On the wrist it feels like a second skin…

But still shows elegance and character!

Here are two shots in different light to illustrate this.

Hard light:

Soft light:

I find this a watch wordy to carry the GP 1966, 50 th Anniversary name!

My only wish would be that it was in steel and a non-limited edition to make it more accessible…

Luckily there are more offers in steel coming, so don’t despair, last year’s GP 1966 in Steel was not a one-time thing!

Best

Blomman

GP 1966, 50 th Anniversary, reference 49525-53-134-BB60

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