Horological Meandering

Friends,

I read this interesting post on Instagram on the VC 222 by the respected folks at Hairspring. With the relaunch of the heritage 222 in full gold, we also saw a massive amount of interest in the original 222.

Could we see a similar phenomenon happen with the GP Laureato 8010(1995) ? Or even the Laureato-Olimpico chronograph ref 8017 (1996) … both of which were the first mechanical Laureatos to be made.

Certainly we know that very few of these pieces were made for a couple of short years and then largely “forgotten” by the mainstream collecting community.

Next year is the 50th anniversary of the Laureato and I hope to see much greater awareness of the heritage of the Laureato and other GP neo-vintage pieces by the collecting community.

Let’s see …













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This message has been edited by India Whiskey Charlie on 2024-07-20 14:44:33 This message has been edited by patrick_y on 2024-07-20 17:00:19

Especially given the opportunity to obtain previous pieces at great value, I’m eager to see a revival next year.

Well said.

This brand (GP) is a bit whacky … they have such an amazing history and they do such a shitty job in making it all clear to collectors.

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1. Don't mess about the size. 36-38 mm is perfect.
2. 100 meter WR with screw down crown.
3. Keep the thinness.
4. An all brushed bracelet. I understand that the polished center link is the part of GP's intention for a bit dressy sport watch...but still I prefer it to be all brushed. The same goes to bezel.

It will be a new reference.

As for your suggestions:

1. Don't mess about the size. 36-38 mm is perfect.
Marc- yep, already 36 mm now

2. 100 meter WR with screw down crown.
Marc-already 10 ATM now

3. Keep the thinness.
Marc- yep, 7.9 mm now

4. An all brushed bracelet. I understand that the polished center link is the part of GP's intention for a bit dressy sport watch...but still I prefer it to be all brushed. The same goes to bezel.
Marc- this one I’m not sure if I agree … I like the distinction of the polished bezel now. It is also sooooo much easier to remove a hairline scratch from the bezel compared to satin brushed finish.

For the brushed center links, I share a post once that shows how you can flip the bracelet over and have the entire bracelet be brushed. I’ve submitted this to GP management to consider this as something to do for future bracelet more easily. Flip bracelet is what I called it.

Price … you can expect to pay much more than the current prices of the 8010.

Flip bracelet. First linked is fixed so it’s polished. Others on the bracelet have been flipped.





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To me, the Laureato just never looked great on my wrist.  However, I do feel that the movement is much better than many other equivalent models - as the GP movement is higher end than the Chopard Alpine Eagle movement.  But not necessarily higher end overall than the Bulgari Octo Finissimo BVL 138 ultra thin movement.  I do like the Vacheron Constantin 222 a lot.  People tend to go for the top end stuff.  The middle-end is a no-man's land sometime.  Vacheron Constantin is a top-end brand and will likely gather more eyeballs simply because of the famous name.

VC has the heritage and I respect the brand especially for how it values and protects its brand image. But let's not forget the troubles that VC has had over the last 30 years as well. It was sold a few times ... bounced around to some buyers from the middle east until it finally ended up with a south african owned Richemont.
If we look at the history of VC efforts in the steel integrated sports bracelet space, we know that in 1975 they tried and quickly stopped their reference 2215 Chronometer Royal. The 222 was launched in a bit of a strange anniversary in 1977 to a lacklustre response. "1,300 ladies versions, around 1,000 mid-size models and approximately 700 'jumbos'" ... much less produced that the Royal Oak 5402 or the Nautilus 3700.
Auction prices of the 222 original as recently as 2020 was weak. Here we seee: www.christies.com below reserve price.
We know that next year 2025 will see the 50th anniversary of the Laureato and there will be a heritage edition released. We also know that there is very very little written about the Laureato 8010 ... so it might be worth looking for some parallels with the original 222 and its raise from obscurity to its recently found fame.
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Middle Eastern companies are usually good at managing luxury hotels - but they're not always good at managing luxury watch brands - nor luxury Swiss music box brands. And honestly, we shouldn't single out the Middle Eastern Private Equity firms, that goes the same for many other firms from many other regions!

VC was already hot with overseas. So releasing 222 was at the peak of the watch craze was very smart. GP, with all due respect, is not on the same level and doesn’t have the pedigree or the demand. Just IMHO.

See my response to Patrick as start.
GP has heritage and pedigree in fact. They are high horology and extremely technical. Do they have the same prestige and brand value as VC ? Certainly not. This is the fault of the management and their lack of distribution strategy and such and nothing to do with the maison or its watches.
So, the laureato 8010 is a sleeper IMHO. I am not saying it will rise to the same levels of the VC original 222 but neither am I saying it will not. I simply do not know. But with looks ... the laureato 8010 is beautiful to me. 7.9 mm thick and rare with only 700 pieces made in full steel. If one were to evaluate entirely based on these factors, I believe we will be able to take off the blinders and see unrealized value ... just like many folks have only just discovered the beauty of the original VC 222.
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It's a shame that some still can not get past the hype blinders. Some claim how much they love the original 222 but only AFTER the 222 historiques was launched. It could well be the same for the Laureato 8010 and also the Laureato Olimpico chronograph ref 8017
There is still a massive lack of knowledge on the heritage of the Laureato. I am doing my best to fill this gap but there is only so much one can do. There are few archives to check and source. GP themselves have a weak heritage dept.
I believe that social media influencers may start to do some research into the laureato 8010 and with their reach ... coupled with the 50th anniversary launch, we will see more being illuminated.
Let's see ...
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What would you like to see and or anticipate Marc?

What I can say is that I think with the 50th anniversary of the laureato, there will be clear references to the laureatos of the past and with it, we will see much greater awareness (and possibly demand) of the Laureato 8010 and the Laureato-Olimpico 8017.
It happened with the VC 222 .... it could happen with the GP Laureato.
Let's see ...
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Lets hope GP does not play stupid games like "very expensive limited edition" , or "artificial " scarcity... just let we "average" collector get our great GPs.

And then the stupid ADs do their bundling deals (buy 2 GPs and get a patek as a reward) and then the GO ends up on the secondary market eventually at below MSRP.

Just have to wait and be patient.

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But the vintage 222s have had a massive rise in market value already years before the reissue 222 was released - not sure the same dynamics apply to the Laureato 🤷🏻‍♂️

From experience, we know that mainstream can process very little. They rely on influencers to tell them what to buy. Also, price value begets price value. It is beyond logic. From the fundamentals, there are no reasons why the laureato 801 and the laureato 8017 is so cheap now. We saw the same thing happen with royal oaks and nautilus. In 2015, once could still get a 5711 with a discount from an AD. We also see from the auction prices of the original 222 in steel, that the prices were not crazy high relative to what we see today. www.christies.com



But as you say, the "Dynamics" or perception of brand value is what this rotates around. No so much the rarity, beauty etc of the Laureato 8010. The original VC 222 was never a hot watch until the 222 historiques was launched. Something to think about ... Let's see ... 🤝