Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin’s New Titanium Watch Has an Iridescent Dial Made with Car Paint

Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin are proving, for the sixth time, that they’re a perfect pair. The watchmaker and automotive giant just released their latest timepiece collab with Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition, and it may just be poised to be the most popular version to date.

This Laureato comes in a titanium case and bracelet—already appealing for its lightweight feel on the wrist—but its strongest feature is the unusual hue of the dial. Depending on the light, it can either appear as a subtle sea green or an ombré caramel with flecks of sparkle executed in a less flashy way than an added dimension. That iridescence comes from automotive paint—15 layers, to be exact. Layering paint on a car is less tricky than on a dial, where the tolerances for thickness are much more delicate, so the process involved a protracted filtration method to get rid of any residual grains that would harm the small parameters. The color, of course, is an obvious nod to the automotive maker, but so are details on the seconds hand where the base is meant to mimic the air intakes on the side of Aston Martin’s DB4.

As with the other editions, the branding is minimal with Aston Martin’s logo only seen on the sapphire crystal caseback. “Never, ever you will see the Aston Martin logo on the front,” Girard-Perregaux’s new global managing director, Marc Michel-Amary, told Robb Report. “It’s always engraved on the back, because it’s more discreet.” The watch itself is more subdued than recent versions of the brand’s partnership with Aston Martin from 2023, including the Girard-Perregaux Neo Bridges Aston Martin Edition (a futuristic play on the company’s famous “three bridges” design) and its Laureato Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition, the latter of which was particularly cool but certainly a lot of look to be an everyday timepiece. This Laureato Chronograph is certainly going to have broader appeal as a bracelet sports watch with a versatile dial with a little bit of interesting detail to still make it a talking point.

The Laureato itself, of course, is a classic. In fact, while the Patek Philippe Nautilus may get the bulk of the attention, the Laureato was actually an earlier trailblazer of the ’70s-era integrated sports watch era that has now experienced a rebirth of popularity. It debuted in 1975, a year before the Nautilus. This year, it celebrates its 50th anniversary and Michel-Amary says he plans to capitalize on the anniversary. He calls the chronograph with Aston Martin the “first of many other initiatives” around the model.

Just 12 days into the job and Michel-Amary can already recite the company’s story like a seasoned heritage director. He speaks of many historical moments that are bragging rights for the brand including the Geomatic, which debuted in 1966 and was the first high frequency movement released by a watch brand three years before Zenith’s famous El Primero, which went on to power many Rolex timepieces in the ’80s. “Girard-Perregaux demonstrated the ability to develop and design highly precise mechanical movements—the ability to have a 5Hz movement with 36,000 oscillations per hour,” says Michel-Amary with pride. It could be a sign of things to come in the future. And he’s not just an executive, he’s also a client. The first nice watch he bought in his forties was a Girard-Perregaux, a watchmaker who happened to make timepieces in his own hometown. It was a WWTC World Timer. “I love that watch and I still believe we need to do something with this,” he says. If the chronograph with Aston Martin is any indicator, good things are to come. Stay tuned.

Credit: robbreport.com