1945

Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 XXL Watch

While I really like what comes out of house Girard-Perregaux, I am getting a bit tired of seeing the same old thing. This year the vintage 1945 XXL Square watch gets a new dial. Yes, it looks lovely, and yes, they did a good job. Though if you didn't tell me that it was new for 2011, I wouldn't have asked. Always strong in the movement making department, Girard-Perregaux has yet to find its modern legs. It can't seem to decide whether it is competing with Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, or someone else. Maybe all high-end Swiss brands are on its radar. For this reason, the brand has turtled itself in a place of "adherence to tradition." This means their pieces are nice looking and classic in appearance, but don't even attempt to rock the boat design-wise with novel concept.

Thus, I bow my hat to the brand and afford it all my respect and praise. And humbly ask "do you have anything more modern looking?" Hey, maybe I am in for a surprise this year. This watch features a new dial for the Vintage XXL . Very straight forward art-deco style case and dial with Arabic numerals, dauphine hands, and a subsidiary seconds dial. The case is almost a perfect square being about 35 by 36mm in size, and in 18k pink gold. Inside the watch is a in-house GP3300 automatic movement. There will also be a less expensive model with a steel case. Seems like you've seen it before, but trust me it is new.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1945, 2011, girard-perregaux, vintage, watch, xxl

Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 New York Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

New Yorkers who have a desire for a connection to the past will highly appreciate this New-York-only special edition model of Girard-Perregaux's Vintage 1945 watch. Limited to just 10 pieces the watch replaces its Roman numeral at 12 o'clock for a "NY" marker. Only the perceptive will notice that. The case is 36mm wide by 37mm tall and in 18k white gold. A handsome, and almost petite watch by "large watch' standards.

Dial is a gorgeous black enamel, with easy to read hands and indexes along with a splash of red. According to GP, the dial is not only made personally by them, but it uses a closely guarded secret formula for the beautiful black. The in-house made Girard-Perregaux Calibre GP1900 is manually wound, and features the time with subsidiary seconds, power reserve indicator, and a date dial. Will all 10 watches be on the hands of proper New Yorkers? Not likely. More than enough tourists who have a taste for the town will probably find happiness in the watch. You can only get it at Girard-Perregaux's newer Madison Avenue boutique store. Price is likely high enough to make most New Yorkers yell.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1945, girard-perregaux, limited edition, new york, vintage, watch

2009 Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Collection Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Girard-Perregaux has a number of timeless looking watches with the 1945 being among them. This restyled Vintage 1945 model watch is a triumph of a bygone era. Don't knock the 32mm x 32mm size of the square watch until you wear one. It sits small by today's standards, but I think you'll come to appreciate it. The 18k rose gold case blends with the honey alligator strap so nicely. It is also available in steel with a black dial.

New to the case are the "godrons." These are rib shaped areas that wrap around the corners of the watch. They mark the space between the case and the sharply angled lugs. Inside the watch is a automatic Girard-Perregaux GP3300 calibre movement viewable through a sapphire caseback window. The dial features applied gold hour markers and dauphine hands, as well as central guilloche engraving. The nicely placed date window sits between 1 and 2 o'clock while the prominent subsidiary seconds dial sit at 9 o'clock. A nicely in-set crown rounds out this beautiful little number.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1945, girard-perregaux, gp3300, rose gold, RoseGold, vintage, watch