full calendar

Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar Palladium Watch

SIHH 2010 had a unique offering of new watches from Girard Perregaux. Very much on the "retro revival" trend, the big news for them were watches their 1966 collections. Here is one of my favorites, the very easy on the eyes Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar Palladium limited edition watch. A pure classic in all ways, the watch is made from the very rare and hard to work with metal palladium, that is related to platinum. Unlike gold for instance, palladium does not require rhodium plating, and is also tarnish resistant. The 1966 Full Calendar will only have 199 pieces available.

Inside the watch is the in-house made Girard Perregaux GP033M0 automatic movement that provides the triple calendar information as well as the time and moon phase indication. The movement is viewable through the rear of the watch where you can see the gold automatic rotor. At 40mm wide, the case is also very thin. It wears so comfortably with the thin yet supple alligator strap. The dial has a soft brushed finish to it and is in gray. At first I though the watch complications where a bit bunched up in the middle of the dial, but I quickly realized that this layout assists with giving the dial a more minimalist feeling and enhancing legibility. Otherwise the watch would have felt smaller in size to the eyes. The dial itself is slightly domed around the edges and the markers and hands are all in style with the "1966" look of the collection. With its classy looks, comfortable size, useful function, and appealing Swiss pedigree, the Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar Palladium watch is a sleeper hit of 2010 for the brand. Price will be $19,800.

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

Gallery: Girard Perregaux 1966 Full Calendar Palladium Watch