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Dark case, deep-blue dial for GP's current "Earth to Sky" theme.
Recently, Girard-Perregaux, which is now managed by the same man as sister-brand Ulysse Nardin, has undergone a bold evolution, with sportier designs and modernity in the construction of its movements. One of the pillars of the collection remains the elegant 1966 watch. Formerly regarded as a somewhat ‘restrained’ dress piece incorporating precious metals, the latest version of this watch, the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Moon, has abandoned some of its classic temperament.
One of the current motifs at Girard-Perregaux is the brand’s “Earth to Sky” theme which has been applied on several watches, such as the bold Laureato Skeleton or the newly unveiled Laureato Absolute. Watches adopting this theme play on dark shades with black cases and deep blue dials and accents. Surprisingly, this combination works really well in the metal on sporty pieces. Today, the brand unveils this theme on a totally different watch, its signature dress timepiece, the 1966 – and in keeping the sky theme, it features a moon display.
The new Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Moon is based on a model already available in the collection, the 1966 Date and Moon Phases. Case, proportions and movement are this identical in today’s context, however, several details have been updated to give this watch a modern presence and a less formal attire. The 40mm steel case, for instance, is now micro-blasted for a matte surface, and then black DLC-coated. The strap is made of rubberised alligator, again for more modernity.
As for the dial, not only does Girard-Perregaux introduce a new colour for this 1966 Blue Moon – a trendy gradient blue scheme over a sunray-brushed background – but also changes the indexes for more elongated applied batons (in fact, the classic design of the 1966). The hands are polished leaf type. At 6 o’clock, we find a nicely balanced sub-dial with moon and date by hand.
Powering this 1966 Blue Moon is the in-house calibre GP03300-0115, a well-known base that is used in many time-only watches of the collection, and as a base for complications. This fairly simple automatic movement beats at 4Hz and boasts 46 hours of power reserve. Its decoration is nice, with Geneva stripes, polished bevels and perlage.
The Girard-Perregaux 1966 Blue Moon is offered as a non-limited edition, at a price of CHF 8,950. More details at www.girard-perregaux.com.
2 responses
Discrete until you get a good look at the dial and admire those gorgeous hands.
Elegant but kind of plain looking. Seconds hand tail disproportionately large in contrast with minimalistic date register scale and hand. This watch would benefit if the second hand would be proportional to the others, the hour markers slightly shorter and the diameter (and hand) of the date register increased, also increasing the size of the moon window.