In high-end luxury the fine watchmaking converges with performance automotive engineering, the Laureato Skeleton Aston Martin Edition emerges as the latest expression of the dynamic partnership between Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin. This limited series of 88 pieces, sculpted entirely from black ceramic, exemplifies how aesthetic ambition and technical prowess are pushed to the fore when two icons from different horizons converse through craftsmanship and innovation.
The collaboration between Aston Martin and Girard-Perregaux is rooted in a mutual appreciation for design purity, proportion, and a shared language of stylistic codes that transcend fleeting trends. Both renowned in their respective fields, Aston Martin for shaping some of the world’s most desirable British performance cars since 1913, and Girard-Perregaux for advancing the art of Haute Horlogerie from its historic Swiss manufacture founded in 1791, they have unveiled several horological joint ventures since formalising their official partnership. These collaborations do not amount to superficial branding exercises; instead, they reflect an authentic dialogue between houses equally obsessed with engineering artistry and legacy. Each release, including the Laureato Skeleton Aston Martin Edition, is conceived as a continuation of this creative exchange, marrying Girard-Perregaux’s watchmaking heritage to Aston Martin’s sculpted elegance and relentless pursuit of technical perfection.
At a glance, the dial of the Laureato Skeleton Aston Martin Edition reveals a hypnotic, openworked spectacle. The traditional dial is abandoned to provide an uncompromising view into the heart of the timepiece – the in-house GP01800 calibre. Suspended indexes treated with a green PVD coating evoke Aston Martin’s legendary Racing Green, and the green emission in dim light bathes the display in a subtle automotive glow. Skeletonised baton hands, also finished in green, glide above a complex lattice of bridges and gears. There is a confident sense of spatial choreography: the small seconds is discreetly placed at 10 o’clock, preserving symmetry and legibility, while the GP logo floats above the void, itself green and luminescent. The transparency of the layout draws the eye ever further inward, maximising visibility without a hint of clutter, proof that considered design can achieve both clarity and drama.
The real mechanical spectacle, however, occurs within the GP01800 calibre, whose sophisticated architecture is best appreciated through the anti-reflective sapphire crystal that serves as the dial and caseback. This self-winding movement is a compendium of technical bravura honed over 230 years. Each visible surface radiates artistry: the mainplate and bridges are finished in black PVD and executed entirely by hand using no fewer than four decorative techniques: bevelled angles, sandblasting, traits-tirés, and circular satin finishing.
The movement showcases 55 internal angles, a detail that requires the patience and dexterity only found in Haute Horlogerie. The gold rotor, skeletonised and executed in the same Racing Green hue, completes the interplay of light, depth, and shadow with a contemporary flourish. The technical specification is equally resolute: 173 components, 25 jewels, a robust variable inertia balance for shock resistance and longevity, and a 54-hour power reserve provide assurance that beauty here is resolutely functional. Beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, the GP01800 displays the hours, minutes, and small seconds, animating the Laureato in a rhythm that irresistibly recalls the pulse of a finely tuned engine.
Turning to the case, Girard-Perregaux’s decision to carve this new Laureato from black ceramic underscores both aesthetic ambition and technical modernity. The 42mm case is distinguished by the octagonal bezel, recalling the inaugural Laureato of 1975, but here rendered in glossy black ceramic with circular satin finishing, seamlessly integrated with the bracelet, which alternates polished and matte surfaces for a tactile experience as luxurious as it is purposeful. Ceramic, being seven times harder than steel, is almost impervious to scratches and yet supremely light on the wrist, a nod to material advances reverberating in racing car development. The bracelet’s svelte integration with the case is entirely fluid, reframing the Laureato’s 1970s design DNA for the current century’s design-forward collector. Water resistance of up to 100 metres affirms that no compromise has been made in the pursuit of technical virtue. On the reverse, a sapphire crystal caseback is adorned with a metallised Aston Martin logo, uniting both marques in a single elegant flourish.
The Girard-Perregaux Laureato Skeleton Aston Martin Edition, priced at 57’200 €, is not simply an exercise in branding: it is a symphonic exchange between two worlds equally obsessed with the pursuit of beauty and functional virtuosity. From the openworked, Racing Green-tinged movement visible beneath the sapphire, to the tuxedo-like presence of its black ceramic case, every element has been conceived with the same passion for proportion, innovation, and endurance that characterises both Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin. Here, the transparency and depth of a skeleton movement reflect the engineered clarity and sculptural lines of a modern supercar, attesting to the enduring, intertwined legacies of high watchmaking and performance carmaking. For those fortunate enough to secure one of the 88 pieces, this timepiece delivers an experience equal parts visceral and cerebral: a celebration of precision, style, and collaborative vision.
