Girard-Perregaux Turning Fifty with the Laureato New Calibre GP4800

When is a movement more than the sum of its parts? There are many answers to that but the most useful, if banal, is this: when it drives the hands to deliver the most steady rate possible, while encased within the protective shell of a case. Before this, a movement is just a rebel in search of a cause, if you will; we can manage a better metaphor here. With Formula 1 season well and truly upon us, you might consider if you would prefer looking at the engine and studying its awesome structure as an exhibit, or if you would rather see it power a race car, as it should.

All this preamble is just a way of pointing out the obvious: Watch brands have good reasons not to present movements independently, at least for the public’s eyes. With the new Calibre GP4800, Girard-Perregaux scraped that particular bit of the playbook. In fact, although the embargo broke in September, the brand has been talking about this movement and the watches it will power for some time now with select press, of which WOW Singapore is one.

Despite hundreds of years of manufacturing history, 80 patents, more than 30 active movements, with notable entries in 1998 (calibre 3300) and 2017 (calibre 1800), the La Chaux-des-Fonds brand wants to make an impact with the new Calibre GP4800. The manufacture thinks that the best way to navigate the chaos of our times is methodically, and we agree.

We already published the movement reveal online, but all embargoes have since passed so, of course, the specific collection of watches is known too: the Laureato, which celebrates its 50th birthday with this new calibre, the momentous Calibre GP4800, which we will henceforth refer to as GP4800.

On that note, taking us through this movement reveal is Girard-Perregaux Managing Director Marc Michel-Amadry, who was appointed to his role earlier this year. Michel-Amadry is a professional watch executive, apart from a stint as Managing Director of Sotheby’s Switzerland. He was even based right here in Singapore, working for LVMH, but Michel-Amadry might be more familiar to watch trade insiders for his last role. From 2017 to October last year, he was the Chief Commercial Officer for IWC.

Also chiming in with specific market insights is Regional Brand Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Nguyen Vuong Thong, although Michel-Amadry has some experience in this area too. Given Michel- Amadry’s background, we simply had to ask about what the story is with the Laureato, a sports elegance watch, and how it stands apart from its many distinguished peers. However, Michel-Amadry does not think it really has much more than superficial links with other such watches.

“The Laureato was designed by Girard-Perregaux in-house and with an in-house movement when it was first introduced in 1975, not a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement or something…but that’s important because it’s part of our DNA,” he says. He goes on to note, correctly, that none of the original integrated bracelet watches were part of a trend. Likewise, the Laureato’s appeal was defined on its own terms – it housed a significant quartz movement that eventually led to all watchmakers adapting its timekeeping frequency standard.

“The Laureato was designed by Girard-Perregaux in- house and with an in-house movement when it was first introduced in 1975, not a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement or something… but that’s important because it’s part of our DNA”
— Girard-Perregaux Managing Director,
Marc Michel-Amadry

So, origin story aside, what actually is happening here and does Girard-Perregaux not already have its own movements? Of course, first of all, the situation with quartz is different today, now that it is no longer a frontier worth exploring for most watchmakers. We shall dig in now, as we started online, with the new movement. This is certainly nothing like the debut of the Constant Escapement L.M. in 2013 because GP4800 is a Swiss lever automatic movement. This means that Girard- Perregaux has aspirations in mind that go beyond the Laureato Fifty as well.

Unlike a calibre that deploys radically different technical solutions, GP4800 is ready to go right from the start. It boasts compact dimensions, being just 25.6mm in diameter and 4.28mm thick, and is envisioned as the base for future complications. Looking at the movement, there is a clear callback to the architecture of the brand’s iconic Three Gold Bridges design. Here is what the press release says about it, so you have it from the horse’s mouth. The veterinary review will come later.

“GP4800 is fitted with a silicium escapement, featuring an escape wheel, pallet lever and roller, all crafted from the lightweight material,” reads the presser, and we can confirm that the only missing element not in silicon (known in French as silicium) is the hairspring. Clearly, there is a plan to fit such a spring here because the balance is adjusted via the telltale screws on the balance wheel, rather than by adjusting the spring itself (silicon hairsprings cannot be adjusted; they are manufactured as perfectly as possible). We are a little unclear on “roller” and an answer is forthcoming from the manufacture.

Michel-Amadry is excited about the potential of GP4800 when he confirms the structural nods in the movement to the aforementioned Three Gold Bridges. “I think what is interesting is that people will immediately recognise that, in terms of construction, we started from scratch versus what we have done so far with the other traditional Girard-Perregaux movements. (The GP4800) is built around three bridges from balance wheels to the gear train and barrels, and we introduced a lot of new functionalities.”

“So, this new movement will be hosted in the very special limited edition 200-piece Laureato Fifty (which the brand calls FIFTY, for the record),” Michel- Amadry continues. “We didn’t want this movement to be part of the regular collection (for a start). What we wanted was for the first use of GP4800 to be iconic and meaningful.

In this celebration piece (for the 50th anniversary of the Laureato), the idea is that this is a testament to in-house mastery. Not only in terms of how you produce but also how you design, how you conceive, and how you develop (new watches).”

Looking at the movement, if you imagine it without the oscillating mass, you will see those three bridges – one for the balance, one for the gear train and one for the barrel – clearly. As for the functions Michel-Amadry mentioned, these are really features of the movement and include the new escapement and the power reserve of 55 hours, which he says might go as high as 60 hours but Girard-Perregaux is being conservative, officially; for the record, most manufacture Girard-Perregaux movements have power reserves in the 40-plus hours range.

“We have also achieved better chronometry, of course, with this new calibre. So, basically it’s an important improvement,” said Michel- Amadry.

The major improvement here is in the area of reliability, both according to the press materials and Michel-Amadry, who is extremely upbeat about the performance of GP4800 over time. It is definitely a fact that there are fewer components than in the standard 3000 series and having a reasonable power reserve, a double balance bridge and good chronometric performance is a big deal in a movement that is relatively compact.

It is also worth noting that the automatic winding system here represents the very latest and bestest in all things Swiss watchmaking. The skeletonised 18k gold oscillating mass is mounted on ball bearings with ceramic balls and a shock absorption system, with both being necessary in any respectable and robust calibre. The latter might also reduce some of the noise from the rotor but that remains to be tested.

Beyond the structural matters, the calibre also looks great, with no less than 10 different types of finishing evident. To be clear here, Girard-Perregaux does not claim that these are all done by hand – GP4800 is not an artisanal movement.

That does not keep it from being easy on the eye though, with diamond bevelled edges on plates and bridges, vertical Côtes de Genève, mirror-polished screw heads, and sandblasting on the visible parts of the mainplate. Tellingly, GP4800 gives an indication of where it might be headed with this, and by the fact that even the surfaces that are not visible have been given the attention of the finneseurs – circular graining graces the underside of the mainplate, as seen in the images.

All this leaves one matter largely unattended to, and that is the Laureato Fifty. Well, we are no longer bound by any embargoes but the watch does deserve its own space. For now, we will say that the model differs from the original most significantly in its 39mm size – the original was available in three sizes: 31, 33 and 35mm, according to Vuong, and somewhat easily confirmed with a bit of Google sleuthing.

The press release notes that the tonneau case has been reimagined with sharper angles, deeper bevels, a better integrated bracelet (although it is missing the old-style middle bit in gold, instead bearing a more conventional gold middle link), and a class-leading water resistance of 150m.

“I think you need to really look at the proportions (and the watch in person) because it looks like everything is the same, in terms of the existing Laureato, but basically everything has changed,” says Michel- Amadry. There is something to this, especially when you compare this watch with recent Laureato models, and it goes beyond the absence of the Girard-Perregaux logo and the Laureato name itself.

“The Laureato Fifty is the essence – the quintessence, in fact – of the Laureato,” Michel-Amadry continues. “It has all the pedigree; it has all the latest improvements, in how we finish the case and how we conceive of design; and in terms of the GP4800 movement, it has something that will be there for the next 20 years! Therefore, it is certainly the most accomplished Laureato edition we have had so far.”

Those are strong words to close on, but this is really just the beginning for the new Laureato. The next instalment in this series will cover the Laureato Fifty in more detail, including the crucial matter of price. We dare say that for a steel and gold watch, with matching bracelet, the proposition is compelling – and there are not many bimetal references to compare against.

This story was first seen as part of the WOW #81 Autumn 2025 Issue

For more on the latest in luxury watch reads, click here.

The post Girard-Perregaux Turning Fifty with the Laureato New Calibre GP4800 appeared first on LUXUO.