One of the most successful places that a watch company can experience press in print media (as opposed to online where people like us are king) is in business magazines. England's Financial Times regularly covers aspects of wrist watch news, and our own Wall Street Journal is known to sometimes do stories on particular brands. In the WSJ Magazine's September issue, there is an article discussing the new Girard Perregaux Vintage 1945 watch. You can see the image above that I took myself modeling the sleek looking classically styled timepiece while at the watch store Lussori. Even the hands in the case are curved!

The most important innovation in the watch is just how curved it is -almost impossibly so. Girard Perregaux must have worked overtime to get the little manually wound movement to even work. The case literally wraps around your wrist, and I find it quite comfortable. The relatively modest size and thin nature of the watch is a great departure from other larger watches that we have been seeing lately.

Not only is the watch smaller, but Girard Perregaux made a point to make the entry level steel version of the watch (seen above in rose gold) actually entry level priced for the luxury brand, starting at about $8,000. Not cheap, but "value priced" from the boys at GP.

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

I've seen this watch case before. It is so eerily familiar. Oh yea, it was just released on the new Girard Perregaux Vintage 1945 Collection watch. That isn't much of a surprise considering Girard Perregaux is the parent company of Daniel JeanRichard watches. This is actually the most up-market JeanRichard watch I've ever seen. The 36mm x 36mm case is 18k white gold with a handsome brushed finish.

The watch has a ritzy tourbillon movement with a gold bridge. I like how JeanRichard has its own take on the classic Girard Perregaux tourbillon bridge design. The movement itself is the manually-wound Sowind tourbillon caliber 99201 with a 72 hour power reserve that is made in-house. One of the nicest features of the movement is the adoption of the linear power reserve indicator that has been seen on high-end sporty watches as of late. Like a fuel gauge, it is a handsome way to see how much juice is left in the mainspring. With a design that is certainly JeanRichard, with some Girard Perregaux and a bit of Jaeger leCoultre Reverso built in, you have a nice looker with wide appeal.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Soon after the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Annual Calendar watch was given the title of best watch of the year for 2008 by a Japanese watch magazine, Girard-Perregaux introduced a follow-up model, the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Annual Calendar and Equation of Time at SIHH 2009.

The new watch, while having a very similar name, holds the same in-house made movement (the automatic caliber GP033M0), but removes the moonphase in favor of an 'equation of time' dial. This indicator shows the difference between the solar time and the time displayed on your wrist. The deviation is never more than plus or minus 15 minutes. Further, the layout of the dial is dramatically different than the 1966 Annual Calendar. What remains is the annual calendar's functionality with a new asymmetrical layout. The design reminds me more of Maurice Lacroix than Girard-Perregaux, but retains a simplicity that I can attribute Girard-Perregaux's traditional looks.

Case diameter is 40mm and is made of 18k rose gold. The gold leaf-shaped hands contrast well against the blued steel hands of the subdials. Like I said, the design is very avant garde for a classic watch, but remains clean and elegant - the most important aspect of any Girard Perregaux watch these days.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Watch lovers in Japan voted the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar as the watch of the year in Tokyo recently. The result signals a distinct love of classic styles with desirable complications. The layout of this retro styled calendar watch cannot be solely attributed to Girard-Perregaux, as it has been seen in countless luxury creations. Regardless. this interpretation of particularly clean. The annual calendar's day and month windows are faceted and subtle, while the date dial with moonphase is effective and clean. A full seven complications are available at a glance, but with an almost minimal, uncluttered look.

The 18k rose gold 40mm wide case is a thin 10.7mm high, while the Girard-Perregaux GP0330M0 movement is an automatic, making this watch fall into the thin watch range. It looks dashing with an alligator strap, just as it did in 1966. The award by Tokyo's "Sekai no ude tokei" (World Wrist Watch) magazine is not the first time this style has been appreciated. Ian Fleming's James Bond "From Russia With Love" novel had the villain wearing the original version of this watch that was released in 1966 as described by Fleming in the book. I agree with Japan's Sekai no ude tokei that this watch is sublime for what it is, though I'd reserve the "best" watch of the year for something a bit more charismatic.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Not to be outdone by those 'other' ultra expensive gem rich timepieces, watch maker Girard Perregaux creates what is possibly it's most expensive watch yet - and it's for the ladies. The popular Cat's Eye line serves as the base for the Girard Perregaux Cat's Eye Haute Joaillerie fully diamond encrusted watch.

For those who haven't made the connection (or know French) "joaillerie" means "jewelry." This watch is as much decoration as it is a fine timepiece with a Girard Perregaux automatic GP033R0 mechanical movement inside; visible through the sapphire crystal covered caseback window. The 35.25mm x 30.25mm case itself is18k white gold, with an interesting close-link bracelet (can you wear the extra links as jewelry too after sizing the watch?). I really like how the crown, with its star shape engraving, is set into the case itself, only protruding when you set the watch. Aside from the small seconds dial (part of the crescent moon), the face features a power reserve indicator that makes up the comet trail for the star in between the 3 and 4 o'clock position.

Now on to the diamonds. Girard Perregaux claims that each watch undergoes over 1,200 hours of labor to cut and set each of the hundreds of diamonds on the watch. The case, face, and bracelet themselves feature 394 baguette diamonds (52 carats!), while another 145 diamonds are set into the gold rotor which serves to wind the movement. The decoration, polish, and build quality in this watch is immaculate, and it is nice to see Girard Perregaux pay attention to the jewelery and watch dimensions in the Cat's Eye Haute Joaillerie equally.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Don't be surprised to see this watch on someone who asks, "what's your sign?" Girard Perregaux took the logical next step in women's annual calendar watches and added a zodiac indicator in the Cat's Eye Annual and Zodiac Calendar timepiece. Girard Perregaux uses the beautiful oblong case and mother of pearl dial used in the Cat's Eye watch line and inserts a Girard-Perregaux GP033M0 automatic mechanical movement to display the time with small seconds), date, month, zodiac, and moonphase. It's a lot of information in the 35.25mm wide by 30.25mm tall case, all packed in neatly.

Crafted in 18k gold (white or pink), the oval case has a bezel that is set with 68 diamonds equaling about 0.68 carats. The dial is a carefully cut piece of mother of pearl (light or dark) with either pink or white gold hands, hour indexes, and other dial settings. Another diamond is placed on the face near the four o'clock position to appear like a star. Due to the oval shape of the case, the rear of the watch is attached via four screws, and is set with a see through sapphire crystal with a view into the movement.

I am particularly fond of horizontally oriented oval cases such as the one used here because they tend to flatter the wrist much more than a vertically oriented oval case (often done in tonneau shape). Horizontal watch case orientations seem to elongate the wrist visually and appear more graceful. With a clever calendar system and beautiful design, the Cat's Eye Annual and Zodiac Calendar is a fine addition to Girard Perregaux's women's watch line.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Having seen the results of many "best watch" awards, I still do not completely understand what it takes to be named 'best.' While award givers are plentiful, the basis on which prizes are given out appears to take three distinct elements into consideration aside from mere looks. Those elements are mechanical excellence, visual appeal, and everyday practicality.

Last month, the Prix Officiel de la Revue des Montres 2008 in Paris announced that the Girard Perregaux ww.tc. 24 Hour Shopping was the most beautiful women's watch of 2008. The ww.tc 24 Hour Shopping is the female version of the men's ww.tc Financial that boasted the ability to track the opening and closing times of world financial markets. Taken to a whimsical extreme, the same is done for hot shopping spots around the world in the ww.tc 24 Hour Shopping. The automatic GP033G0 movement features a second crown on the left side of the watch that adjusts the time featured on the timezone dial. Adjusting the left crown moves the outermost dial ring to switch between timezones, with popular shopping locations mentioned at particular timezone indicators. Locations include the high rent Ginza district in Tokyo, to Dubai, now a world-class shopping destination. Additional features include a power reserve indicator and 24 hour ring with day and night indication.

Included on the dial and bezel are over 80 diamonds. The highly polished steel case is a large (for a woman's watch) 37.5mm wide . A mother of pearl face alludes to the popular lady's line of Girard Perregaux Cat's Eye watches, and onyx cabochons in the crowns help connect the black tones of the dial and alligator strap. My opinion is that the Girard Perregaux ww.tc 24 Hour Shopping should be awarded the most wearable women's watch of 2008 given its aesthetics and function, rather than strict beauty. The title of most beautiful watch might not be best suited in this instance.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Girard-Perregaux has done an interesting thing with their new world time zone ladies watch. They have taken the soft and feminine look of their ladies watch and combined it with the dial from one of their men's watches that shows the time zones of major world cities. There are 54 diamonds on the bezel and eight on the dial and at 41mm the watch is larger than most ladies models. The watch uses the Girard-Perregaux GP033G0 mechanical movement with automatic winding.