Girard Perregaux?

[CoveWatch]

Hi folks! I came across this GP watch recently and thought it looks fantastic! It’s the GP Laureato Skeleton and comes in steel or rose. I have always considered the AP RO Openworked a watch I would love to own sometime later, but with its limited availability, grey market markup, and I have no relationship with an AP boutique, it seems like a very impossible watch to get. Then recently I saw this GP Skeleton and man I thought it looked very similar and great in its own way as well. Octagon bezel and almost like a nautilus looking bracelet makes it looks pretty good, although I have not found one locally yet to see in person, I can only judge by pictures(to be fair, I have not seen the AP in person either). It also seems to be discounted from a less expensive retail price compared from the AP also so it really seems like a viable alternative.

I am not planning on purchasing this watch anytime soon, but would like any experience our seasoned vets here on the forums have had with this watch or the GP brand itself. I am extremely new to the GP brand and would appreciate any insight into what I may be getting myself into. They seem to be a very old established watch brand but are they up there in terms of PP, AP? Or what are they more comparable to?

Thank you!

[offrdmania]

Theyve been around since the late 1700s. The new Laureato line is impressive and beautiful. To me its Patek meets AP in its styling. I have been considering the non-skeleton model myself.

[Old Expat Beast]

Solid and very long history. Famous for producing the first ever 36,000bph watch movement (Gyromatic) in the mid-1960s (followed the next year by Seiko). I'm not familiar with their current watches, but there are some interesting and very affordable vintage models out there. I've had my eye on this one for a while...

[arcadelt]

Great brand with great horological history, but unfortunately widely overlooked and resale values are appalling. Buy at a big discount or for the long term for best value.

[tryptobphan]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

Theyve been around since the late 1700s. The new Laureato line is impressive and beautiful. To me its Patek meets AP in its styling. I have been considering the non-skeleton model myself.

I'm right there with you. I think the modern Laureato is beautiful. I've been debating on the normal 38mm or 42mm versions myself. I like the more than the Nautilus and I think it looks more elegant than the Royal Oak. The dial looks stunning even in person.

Maybe in a few years.

[AAVDB]

Wanted to like it! (the non skeleton version) however in real they did not appeal to me as much as I had hoped.
Although I'd like to try the chrono version!

You can buy them at big discount, when not even tried one on yet they gave me 30% discount on the spot for the ''normal'' steel version.

So for the skeleton I'd think you'd get more

[benlee]

It's a nice watch but IMHO not as refine and solidly made like the AP openworks and side by side comparison will immediately tell. Also, I have issue with this line as being kind of a copy of Royal Oak and Nautilus, although to be fair, GP were selling this almost during the same era.

Another point to consider is that the resale is very bad on GP and they are very hard to sell preown. If you are OK with the resale hit just in case you are bored with it, or plan to keep it long term, go for it.

[CoveWatch]

Thanks for all the insight everybody.. seems GP has legitimate history although I do see a lot of secondary market prices taking a nose dive from its msrp as many of you have mentioned.. although if I were to buy I don’t have plans to sell, but you never know I guess.. I said I wouldn’t be purchasing this watch anytime soon, but the watch lover in me had to find one and had to go look at it today.. tried it on and I think it looks pretty nice! The 42mm fits a lot smaller than I initially imagined and wasn’t too much larger than the Daytona I had on... but the watch was light, bracelet was comfortable and when I looked at a standing mirror I thought “wow this looks nice!”. I stopped myself from a potential impulse buy to wait a bit longer to know if it’s just lust or will I fall in love ��.. although I did ask about pricing and she quoted me $28k out the door including 9.5% tax.. Msrp is $32k so it was roughly 20% off.. seems a bit high and I am pretty hesitant to drop that kind of money on a brand I recently came across... would love to know if anybody has had any issues with owning a GP or service issues?

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by benlee

... I have issue with this line as being kind of a copy of Royal Oak and Nautilus, although to be fair, GP were selling this almost during the same era.

...

To be fair, anyone truly into watches would’ve known that Girard-Perregaux introduced the original Laureato a year before Patek’s Nautilus saw the light of day, in 1975.
Similarly, they set the international standard for quartz crystal frequency.

http://www.timezone.com/2012/08/31/g...kevin-goodman/

https://www.watchprosite.com/girard-perregaux/6/

[Helmi]

Originally Posted by CoveWatch

Thanks for all the insight everybody.. seems GP has legitimate history although I do see a lot of secondary market prices taking a nose dive from its msrp as many of you have mentioned.. although if I were to buy I don’t have plans to sell, but you never know I guess.. I said I wouldn’t be purchasing this watch anytime soon, but the watch lover in me had to find one and had to go look at it today.. tried it on and I think it looks pretty nice! The 42mm fits a lot smaller than I initially imagined and wasn’t too much larger than the Daytona I had on... but the watch was light, bracelet was comfortable and when I looked at a standing mirror I thought “wow this looks nice!”. I stopped myself from a potential impulse buy to wait a bit longer to know if it’s just lust or will I fall in love ��.. although I did ask about pricing and she quoted me $28k out the door including 9.5% tax.. Msrp is $32k so it was roughly 20% off.. seems a bit high and I am pretty hesitant to drop that kind of money on a brand I recently came across... would love to know if anybody has had any issues with owning a GP or service issues?

It is a fantastic watch and the steel skeleton looks great. I am passing through the same frustrating experience with AP openworked and was seriously considering this as an alternative. I tried the crono version as they did not have the skeleton in stock and was little underwhelmed by its size (it's a big watch) and finish. May be the skeleton is different story. Like you I will take my time to consider all possible alternatives but if I ever decide to pull the trigger it has to be on huge discount and from grey dealer as those can get much lower prices than a normal customer visiting AD and asking for a discount.

There is an all black ceramic version from the same watch that looks absolutely fantastic as well

[Txkill]

I really like the 38mm laureato blue dial especially. I was offered one at a decent discount but just couldn’t pull the trigger for whatever reason. But it might be my next acquisition if I’m in the mood.

[CoveWatch]

Originally Posted by Helmi

It is a fantastic watch and the steel skeleton looks great. I am passing through the same frustrating experience with AP openworked and was seriously considering this as an alternative. I tried the crono version as they did not have the skeleton in stock and was little underwhelmed by its size (it's a big watch) and finish. May be the skeleton is different story. Like you I will take my time to consider all possible alternatives but if I ever decide to pull the trigger it has to be on huge discount and from grey dealer as those can get much lower prices than a normal customer visiting AD and asking for a discount.

There is an all black ceramic version from the same watch that looks absolutely fantastic as well

I saw that black one also.. looked great in pictures and on others wrists but wasn’t so great on mine... this AD has the black, steel and gold on display.. did not try on the gold, although probably my favorite looking one, but was just at too high a price point for me. ... I’ve seen the steel online at for $24k ish at prestigetime.com and slightly lower at some dealers on chrono24, although most were from out of the country and I’m not sure how I feel about that.

Originally Posted by Txkill

I really like the 38mm laureato blue dial especially. I was offered one at a decent discount but just couldn’t pull the trigger for whatever reason. But it might be my next acquisition if I’m in the mood.

Yeah I feel you, I like the watch a lot but have a hard time just doing it.. maybe if the discount was greater

[slcbbrown]

You can't go wrong with GP. Gotta be one of the biggest bargains out there, when you buy pre-owned. The depreciation for a new one bought at MSRP is about the same as for almost all high end brands.

[whiterabbit66]

I like the Laureato too. I am planning to go in and see the black ceramic in person.

How is GP quality?

[yessir69]

Solid brand. They produced the first run of production wristwatches for the German navy. Very underrated. Watch geeks know them and respect them.

[Alex_TA]

Nice brand but take into account that from the value retention point of view it's dead on arrival.