AndrewD
[HoMe Moderator]
12829
Initial impressions: Girard-Perregaux 1966 Chronograph
Hi All, GP have kindly allowed me to spend a month with the 1966 Chronograph (Ref: 49539) and while a detailed review will follow, I wanted to share my initial impressions with you. Actually I think the following wrist shots say most of what I want to convey: the 1966 Chrono is a delight to wear. Elegant proportions (40x10.7mm), classic symmetrical bicompax dial, stylish applied rose gold numerals/indices and the startling polished and heat-blued steel hands, set off against a satin dial. The simple black alligator strap perfectly accentuates the rose gold case.
Aesthetically I love the dial, the case proportions, the short lugs and the pushers. The designers have done a great job disguising the fact that inside beats a relatively small (10.5 ligne) automatic movement.
And that is really the only negative point I can make at this stage. The Cal. GP030Co is a relatively thin modular column wheel chronograph, but the entire chronograph ‘works’ are hidden under the dial. What you see through the sapphire exhibition back is a relatively sombre solid gold rotor and the escapement.
But you forget all that when the watch is strapped on the wrist.
More to come ...
Andrew
Clean and elegant ...
Andrew, Very nice watch, even considering that I'm not a "gold person". I would love to see this one in SS with a black dial but this one is very tempting. Thank you for the post, Nilo
White metal
Thanks Nilo. The Ref 49539 also comes in WG with WG accents on the dial. Personally I like the richness that the RG brings and it is not overpowering on the wrist. GP have more sporty chronographs in the collection with darker dial options and in steel. H...
If and only if ...
This while dialed version had hour and minute hands in blue ... It could be The Object Of Desire. Cheers, Nilo
Need to differentiate the chronograph functions
... although I agree that blued hands are beautiful. I find the rose gold hands to be warmer and more appealing than the starker white hands of the WG version. Andrew
Looking forward to the full review!
GP's 1966 Chronograph is one of most beautiful chronograph designs on the market. In terms of looks I hold it right up there with Vacheron Constantin's Patirmony Traditionnelle Chronograph and Patek Philippe's 5070. Intellectually I prefer these manual wi...
one of my favourites in the current collection
Andrew, lovely, lovely piece and one of my favourites. As you know I have the classic 1966 in pink gold, but I also love this dressy chronograph. If I had a choice, I would probably go for the white gold with blue dial which looks stunning IMHO. I can see...
220th Anniversary Chrono with blue dial
I agree CC, that blue dialed version of the WG 1966 Chrono released last year for the 220th Anniversary of the company is a killer. Unfortunately I don't have any photographs with me, but here was the press release so readers can remember what we are refe...
Wonderful
Thanks CC. It softens the starkness of the WG case with the white dial. I love it. Andrew
Initial teasing: Girard-Perregaux 1966 Chronograph
Come on Andrew I'm jumping up and down like a puppy with my tongue hanging out ;) Respect Damjan
Down boy ...
... I knew that comment would come back to haunt me . I just didn't expect it to be so soon. :-) Your patience (and loyalty) will be rewarded (with a biscuit ) in the next few weeks. Andrew
The only fly in the ointment...
....is the amount of dial area the Tachymeter takes up - it seems to crowd the rest of the dial into too small a diameter.
The tachymeter scale ...
... is prominent, but in reality it frames the dial quite nicely, and the long tapered chrono seconds hand reaches over it. It is part of the design language of this watch, and I personally don't mind it - or perhaps I have got used to it. Each wearer wil...
I completely agree...
...the unfortunate result of the movement being too small for this watch IMO. A couple of mm smaller and it would have been much nicer!
Damn attractive wristshots!
Can't wait to hear your longer term thoughts on this gorgeous piece. In person I thought this was a showstopper! Cheers, Daos
Very emotive wrist shots!
Brings life into a mechanical device. Now that we have seen it, very much looking forward to reading about it !
100 % agreed with you on this watch. A superb Recto, with a less appealing verso.
BUT things may well change... In the good direction, I mean. Best, Nicolas ...
Very nice watch indeed Andrew...
If only the proportion on the dial were the same as on the Rattrapante Foudroyante....it would be a "killer" specially on the white gold version with blue dial. I am pretty sure that GP will have heard! Kind regards and thank you. Francois
A beautiful and affordable Bi-compax chronograph
I already mentionned I really love this chrono, every time I see it. Maybe one thing that would trouble me if I had to go for it: the close resemblance with the well known PP 5070's dial. Thanks for sharing this opinion Andrew :) Best, Mark
The details ...
Isn't that where the Devil lives? :-) Hi Mark, I agree there are some superficial similarities with the now iconic PP5070, however there are also a number of important differences that need to be considered when making a final decision: Bicompax chronogra...
I join your opinion on many points here
And you're right to avoid being 'tripped up' by a brand name, even if it's sometime difficult to do. Anyway, this chrono is a real beauty and I prefer this version to the new 42mm one, launched lately. But as you mentionned, aside from the budget, I'll le...
GIRARD 1966 CHRONO
GP is one of my favorite watch makers, and this simple Chrono is Why. Elegant, functional and ergonomic ...
Bienvenido, Sueno.
I am happy to welcome you here. Yes, GP is a fantastic brand, and as you used watches to give some reasons to love it, I would say that there are a LOT OF reasons to love GP. :) Looking forward to reading more from you, Best, Nicolas
Great GP chronograph ...
You sum up two important characteristics of GP watches very well: functional and ergonomic. They just 'work' on the wrist. Your watch looks like the Reference 4956 (49560), which is sometimes called the Sports 2000. Is that correct? These came with your '...
A little late response
Andrew, thank you for your welcoming words. I look forward to posting more, heaven and my wife know I have enough watches. I am new to purist and am learning to navigate and post. Ben
Thanks for revisiting the thread ...
Never too late to post, Ben. I hope you can learn to navigate around the forums. There is also a HelpDesk in the tabs at the top of the page with tutorials on various aspects of posting, uploading images and linking to photos and videos. And if you get st...