I will conclude the initial live shots and reviews of this year’s SIHH novelties with the Girard-Perregaux Ladies Laureato in white ceramics.

We, being a male-dominated forum, often neglect the Ladies watches, but for me they are equally important and it is nice to see that GP also brings innovation to the Ladies watches first.

This year we saw the Ladies Laureato come in a sporty looking white ceramic case and bracelet. Combined with a steel bezel and set with precious stones on the bezel.

A snow white Clous-de-Paris dial provides the perfect match to this material combination, which is echoed again on the polished steel indexes and hands.

GP did not only bring to us the white ceramic in 38mm this year, but also extended the black ceramic line, which is more dedicated to men, with a 38mm black ceramic model, which could also be worn by women of course.

Unlike the white ceramic version, the black is made completely out of ceramic and not mixed with a steel bezel/crown.

However, this review will focus on the Ladies white ceramic version.

Having a ladies version of the Laureato has been a tradition since the very original Laureato from 1975. Here you can see the first Ladies Laureato, Ref 4265 from the mid 70s:

And in the 90s, there has also been a large selection of Ladies Laureatos, such as Ref 8000. Here is a catalogue scan of one version with a diamond bezel, Ref 08005D:

Let’s go back to the novelty in white ceramic. So what is again so special about the full ceramic cases and bracelets?

First and foremost, ceramic is a very light, yet very hard material. The lightness makes it an ideal material for watchcases and bracelets but then not many manufacturers have used a full ceramic material.

There are probably two reasons.

For one, as ceramic is very hard, it is a material that requires a lot of experience and technique to work with. The milling process and the different polishes, all require special effort. But the reward of a perfectly sharp and polished case in ceramic, be it in black or white, is worth the effort. It gives a very refined finish, which can only be achieved with a full ceramic material.

Secondly, ceramic is a brittle material, so while it is very scratchproof due to its hardness, a bump or a drop could have catastrophic results. But then dropping any watch is a catastrophe, so I think this point is often over-stressed.

I can’t think of having severely bumped any of my watches such that it could break a case even of a sensitive material, nor have I ever dropped a watch on a hard floor.

Another benefit of ceramic is that is very skin-friendly, so for people with sensitive skin, this is an ideal material.

Furthermore, a new option with the ceramic models introduced in 2018 is the availability of a matching rubber strap.

Combining the white ceramic case with a white rubber strap gives it even more of a sports look and provides more versatility.

And, the strap option could later be expanded with more colours. Why not a light blue or even pink strap option for the confident woman of today.

Perhaps there is a future option for a white ceramics men’s version (without diamonds I hope)? What’s your view, would white ceramics work for men?

Another alternative could be a grey case with rubber strap. All could work very well and bring fresh evolutions to the Laureato line.

Technical Specifications:

Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38 mm Ceramic

Case Material: White ceramic

Gem-setting: 56 diamonds

Diameter: 38.00 mm

Height: 10.20 mm

Water resistance: 100 meters (10 ATM)

Reference:

White Ceramic on white Ceramic 81005D82A732-32A

Ceramic on rubber Strap 81005D82A732-FK7