Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38mm

I own the blue dial version and in my opinion the GP Laureato is the most underrated ultra luxury integrated bracelet watch.

It wears like a dream on the wrist. It's actually slim but looks even slimmer due to the stepped octagonal bezel.

Since 2022 GP is again an independent watch maker wich is rarely seen today. Conglomerates dominate the watch world. They are a true manufacturer. They make everything in house. The case, the bracelet and the movement. The movement is also finished to a very high standard. GP even black polished the locating pins for the bridges . It even exceeds the finishing you can find on the actual Royal Oak movements. Many people don't know that AP moved to a more machine finished movement when switching from the JLC ebauche movement. I don't want to trash talk about the AP. It's case and bracelet are still finished superbly.

When speaking about craftsmanship you can't go wrong with the GP for it's price.

I Had the chance to try one on that a friend own. If I had that type of money to put in a watch it would be a no brainer. Amazing on wrist.

I've tried it on a handful of times. I felt it was very chunky at the lugs (right where it integrates into the case) and it wore too large. Great dial and likely underrated in terms of quality.

One of my favorite watches- and one in my collection that I don't plan to ever sell; the bracelet is super comfortable, the size is perfect for my wrist (about 6 in) and I love the copper dial- I think the copper makes it a perfect neutral and it really goes with everything, plus the dial has that great depth. Movement is pretty, maybe not the best out there but truly in house and keeps time well - even the date is well done in my view as it's color matched and I like the font of the numerals (it's an interesting not common font, which often I feel like a bad/boring font can really detract from a good watch)

I also tried on the 41 before they announced the copper 38 and agree it wore much more chunky

I tried the 38 on and thought it wore beautifully. I tend to be a bit of a contrarian, and this is one of my favorites in that regard. On a value-for-money basis, I think the Laureato kill the Royal Oak. Hopefully we’ll see more colors in the 38mm come ‘24!. Also if you’re open to the 42, the collaboration they did with Aston Martin in British Racing green is unbelievable and would be a grail for me in the 38mm.

I'm more of a fan of the Richeville design than I am of the Laureato/Royal Oak. GP makes great albeit very undervalued watches, which is certainly a shame. Like @basssofa previously mentioned, it would be a no brainer if I had the money. Personally however, I'd pick an Octo Finissimo for a watch with an octagonal bezel and integrated bracelet. Italian design is hard to beat if you want that aesthetic.

I would highly recommend trying on the Octo on your wrist before buying. It does not wear like a normal watch. There is metal below the bezel which makes the case very rectangular and causes the watch to wear differently than most other watches. Not a bad thing but certainly something that bothered me.

Thank you, I have tried it on and I immediately fell in love with it! It's exactly that "rectangular" aesthetic that imho sets it apart from the rest of the Royal Oaks, Laureatos, Ingeneurs, etc. and makes it much more desirable in my eyes. The design is very industrial, very Italian. I just wish I had that type of money! 😊 Here's a pic of the watch I tried on from Hodinkee...

I Quite like it. It looks great and I wish there were more colors in that size, I think there used to be.

I have heard people say the GP3300 movement is a little fragile (found inside the smaller and older ones only) but given the price you probably don't intend to use it as a "beater". Should be more than fine.

Just realized how similar these are.

They are very good quality

Save for the AP, this will definitely not suffice in replacing it

Funny, I'm dreaming these days (and I emphasis on dreaming, because I won't ever have the money to put in that kind of watches) about getting a watch brand born before 1800, and GP is probably the one I would go for with the Laureato 38mm.

I own 3 Laureatos 4 Royal Oaks and an Octo. My personal opinion is the fit finish and quality of the the GP and AP is superior to the OCTO (AP slighly better than GP but not by much) but the octo is more unique on the wrist, the GP is frequently confused with the Royal Oak. The Octo does not get much wrist time (currently in my safe deposit box) but If you enjoy getting asked about your watch the Octo gets more attention because of its unique wrist presence

Other watches I own that I recommend would be: Zenith Defy, Atleier Wen (lower cost option), Parmigiani Tonda( higher price but in my opinion higher quality that AP/ GP), Czapek Antartique ( higher price better quality) and for a wild Card Horage

I measured this model. I didn't like the bracelet, the butterfly clasp, no micro-adjustments and there was no "swiss made" stamp. Maybe they order bracelets on the side, like a lot of brands do. In general, there is no feeling that the watch costs 15k $. GP is only trying to be AP. IMHO.

I recommend to take a look on IWC Ingy that costs 11.7k and feels way more solid or Chopard Alpine Eagle.

This is a really nice watch and if you buy on the secondary market, generally right now they will be less than retail or at least it used to be that way. Me, personally, even if I had the money, there are so many other watches that I'd want over an AP Royal Oak. But that's me.. you do you.

I am not aware of any higher end integrated sports watch with micro adjustments on the bracelet. I have many Swiss watches and most don’t indicate country of manufacture on the bracelet. the GP retails for 14.9k and you can buy them new for under 11k. That’s less than half the price of the AP and the quality is very close.

Don’t know much about chopard, I have never considered buying one

For example Montblanc, JLC, Formex, Czapek has micro adjustments on their butterfly clasps.

I said higher end, I am not aware of a JLC integrated sports watch (Polaris?). Here is a picture of one of my Czapeks, I don’t see any micro adjustment

That looks fantastic!! ❤️

Czapek have their 2nd generation of bracelets with micro adjustments.

My watch is the S 38mm version the micro adjustment is only on the 41mm

I’ve owned a few. Still own a vintage 1945 Great watches of superior quality….and they’ve only been doing it for a few hundred years