Girard Perregaux for Boucheron and Ermenegildo Zegna

Girard-Perregaux released a limited edition for Boucheron. Earlier this year they also released a watch made in collaboration with Ermenegildo Zegna. Two collaborations, two beautiful new watches!

Over the last years Girard-Perregaux released new models in the 1966 collection and personally I just loved every single model. So you might say I’m biased. These two new models are not specifically announced as part of the Girard-Perregaux 1966 line, however the resemblance is more than convincing (at least to me).

The new limited edition Girard-Perregaux pour Boucheron watch has a round case with virtually the same looks as the 1966 collection. No wait, the case is 1mm bigger than the complicated models of the Girard-Perregaux 1966 collection, which have a diameter of 40mm. The case features the same chamfered bezel with a light satin finish. The middle part of the case has curves extending into lugs.

According to the press info of the Girard-Perregaux for Boucheron, Luigi Macaluso designed this case in 1985 for the brand’s Haute Horlogerie watches. The case is made of pink or white gold and measures 41 mm in diameter. It is 30 meter water-resistant, which is the same as the other models of the 1966 collection.

Besides hours, minutes and small seconds it the Girard-Perregaux pour Boucheron features a moon phase indication and large date. You will also notice Boucheron’s address: 26, place Vendome.

The date display is worth special attention, according to the press release. “It’s based on the brand’s patented system to guarantee superb readability lacking the separating line between the tens and units.” Wait, this sounds familiar! I know only one brand where the two digits of the big date are ‘flush’. Indeed, that would be Glashütte Original.

This system works differently though. One of the two discs is transparent and is on top of the other disc. This transparent disc, showing the tens, is very thin. Featuring an instantaneous date change mechanism, it’s virtually impossible to see the discs turn. It takes only 15/1000ths of a second, for the date to change!

Inside ticks the brand’s in-house automatic movement, caliber GP03300-45, with a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The movement with 32 jewels has 46 hours of power reserve.

Another watch featuring a movement of the calibre GP03300 family (see photo above) is made in collaboration with Ermenegildo Zegna (try to pronounce that out load). This watch is called the Centennial Watch and was designed to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Ermenegildo Zegna.

The Centennial Watch features a 40mm wide 18k pink gold case and inside ticks the automatic caliber GP0 3300-42. Besides hours, minutes and a small seconds register, it has an annual calendar with an indicator for date and month. Obviously this is the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Annual Calendar and Equation of Time… only without the equation of time and the month indicator moved to the right half of the dial. After these adjustments and with another name on the dial, it’s still a beautiful watch!

The Girard-Perregaux pour Boucheron watch is limited to 50 pieces for every case material (pink and white gold) and will be available exclusively in Boucheron stores.

The Centennial Watch is limited to 100 pieces in pink gold and is only available in the top 20 Ermenegildo Zegna flagship stores.