By Jovan Krstevski
Well, folks, it seems that we have three gorgeous and sporty Girard-Perregaux timepieces to feast our eyes on in here. Once again thanks, Baselworld 2016 for bringing us more innovative timepieces as if we don’t have enough these days. Nonetheless the Girard-Perregaux – Competizione Collection: Stradale and Circuito Chronographs is all about racing and as such I am very much excited to talk about each one of them. Seems like we are getting plenty of surprises from Girard-Perregaux lately with their recent releases since the Competizione collection is powered by automatic winding movements and newer technologies. Matching them with the automobile world though is for me a very remarkable move.
We are getting two main variants here mainly in the form of chic and sporty. Of course, when I say chic I mean elegance with all the bells and whistles of a truly classic timepiece but when I say sporty, well if you are into cars then you absolutely know what I mean. The Stradale, needless to say, is for those who prefer discreet fashion but the Circuito with its markedly sporty lines is for those wanting to have a little glory from the automobile world.
How do the Stradale chronographs appear chic? Well for one we get a very nice and calm 42 mm stainless steel case. This size is perfect for office attires and when combined with a classic design complete with daring sporty feeling to it but mostly with elegant touch all over it, it just screams fun. Of course, this chic features functions beyond what you normally get with casual timepieces so yeah this classic is still way beyond the competition. The lugs on the Stradale are rounded giving the overall case appeal a smooth finish. As for the mushroom-type pushers well, they look very useful but I really wish they could be more discreet just like the traditional crown. We also get a cool transparent sapphire crystal caseback revealing the GP03300 manufacture movement beating at 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour). It is enough to power the Stradale for 46 hours of continuous use.
The Stradale gets various dial models. It is available in silver (ref. 49590–11–111) or black (ref. 49590–11–611) sporting baton-type hands with uniquely buried hour counters. There is a small window between 4 and 5 o’clock for the date. The sub-dials for the chronographs are excellently placed at 9, 3 and 6 and they are uniquely engineered appearing as if united with the main dial. Moreover, the Girard-Perregaux Stradale models comes with alligator straps fastened by either a folding clasp or a steel bracelet.
The sporty model of the Competizione collection, the Circuito sports a titanium and carbon case with open-worked composite dial giving the impression of the radiator grilles and air inlets of fascinating automobiles. The Girard-Perregaux Circuito (ref. 49590–39–612) also comes on a very nice carbon-effect calfskin strap fastened by a double folding clasp in DLC-coated micro bead-blasted steel. The open-worked dial seems very intricately detailed together with the sub-dials for the chronograph. The seconds hands and one sub-dial hand come in red which complete the sporty ambiance. The engineering design is the same with Stradale except for the obvious highlights and of course the titanium and carbon case seen only on the Circuito. For more info, please visit girard-perregaux.com
JOVAN KRSTEVSKI – FOUNDER, PROPRIETOR & EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Jovan Krstevski has been collecting watches every since his father bought him an Omega Seamaster back when he was just a teenager. He launched Watchgeek back in 2011, which is now known as WristReview and is one of the most widely read watch blogs on the Web. He quotes ’WristReview is a site to help people find, explore, discover and enjoy wristwatches.’ Besides WristReview, he also writes for a number of publications. Read his articles here
