Girard-Perregaux Laureato Owner Review : Fine, exceptional and poetic

For my first review, I had to share with you a timepiece regulated by quartz. Not that I denigrate the mechanical system but rather that quartz is rather unloved in the small world of watchmaking enthusiasts and that I am keen to put beautiful quartz in the spotlight. What a pleasure to present to you a Girard Perregaux Laureato Equation Terre! The first Laureato appeared in 1975 and was equipped with a movement whose quartz vibrates at 32,768 Hertz, a frequency universally adopted today by all manufacturers. Girard Perregaux has always been at the forefront of technology and still is today, many years later. This watch from the 80s combines steel and 18 carat gold which gives it an undeniable dressy side, reinforced by a contained diameter of 35 mm and a thickness of barely 7 mm. These proportions and its style make it for me one of the most comfortable and most appreciated watches in my collection. The presence of the integrated bracelet, 23 mm wide at the lugs, gives the watch an increased presence on the wrist, which allows me to use this watch as a daily watch for my work at the office. This integrated bracelet is composed of a series of small intermediate gold links that allow the bracelet to be perfectly articulated around the wrist. The gold buckle is branded GP and integrates into the bracelet once closed. The quartz caliber of this superb jewel bears the reference GP 738.1, 11 jewels, and is equipped with several complications, including the atypical wheel of astrological signs. The date, month, moon phase and astrological sign are indicated. This movement is superbly decorated with Geneva stripes, circular graining and a gold-plated battery cover. The model of the watch is "Equation Terre". This name refers to the equation of time. In 1966, Girard-Perregaux received the Centenary Prize of the Neuchâtel Observatory in recognition of its developments in the field of precision research. The manufacturer released a collection with an exceptional complication: the equation of time. The equation of time indicates the difference between real solar time and mean time or civil time. Indeed, the length of the solar day varies daily due to the elliptical shape of the Earth's orbit. On Earth, this duration varies between 17 minutes less and 14 minutes more and it is necessary to add or subtract it from local solar time to know the mean solar time. As you will have understood, I love my watch and I consider it a real collector's timepiece. I hope this review has aroused enthusiasm and curiosity, See you soon for a next review on one of my many atypical watches!