From McLaren orange to Ferrari red and Aston Martin green, lots of car manufacturers have their signature colours. Even the great grandfather of the industry had his favourite, Mr. Any-Colour-As-Long-As-It’s-Black Ford. So when Girard-Perregaux became the wristwatch partner to Aston Martin it’s no surprise that a lot of their collaborations, like the Laureato Ceramic Aston Martin take green as a central thematic colour. Green is also at the centre of their latest collab watch, the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition with a new iridescent green dial.
Let’s jump right to that dial. It’s a tricompax chronograph with the new iridescent green dominating the display. The precise tone is inspired by the metallic finish of Aston Martin’s automotive paint, which was carefully replicated in horological form using carefully developed techniques. Achieving the sparkling finish requires 15 layers of paint and two separate cooking cycles and if any errors occur at any stage of the process the entire dial is ruined. It’s inspired by the techniques used by Aston Martin in the car industry but produced to an even more exacting standard. As the paint needs to be filtered to remove the largest grains that give it the shimmering texture otherwise the dial would look coarse and rough.
As to the shade of green itself, I’m personally not completely sold on it. Perhaps it’s just the pictures not doing it justice but it feels like an unsatisfying mix of lime and sage green almost, the result of which is more like Kermit’s skin tone than even the actual Oris Kermit. However, because it’s iridescent I am completely open to the idea that in the metal it looks great when you can actually experience the shimmer and shifting colours, which Girard-Perregaux describe as blending between green and orange depending on the lighting conditions.
Focussing in on the details, the subdials are presented in grey PVD to match the tone of the grade 5 titanium case which is a touch more scratch resistant than the usual grade 2. The central hands and baton hour markers are then sharp and angular in a mirror of the angular features of Aston Martin’s signature grill, especially on recent DB12 models. They work well in conjunction with the characteristic octagon bezel of the 42mm case.
Housed inside the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition case is the GP03300-2451 automatic movement with 46-hour power reserve. It’s beautifully finished with Côtes de Genève as seen through the exhibition caseback. The chronograph complication consists of central chronograph seconds, a 30-minute timer and a 12-hour timer, which complement the stand hours, minutes, small seconds and date functions.
I like how this watch really highlights the Aston Martin partnership by drawing on automotive inspiration. From the colour to the lightweight but durable titanium case and of course the dial details based on elements of the DB12 Priced at £19,300 it’s in the mid-range of Laureato prices. You just have to hope the iridescent tone really comes to life person otherwise it does feel a bit like just another green Laureato.
Price and Specs:
More details at Girard-Perregaux.
