Paying tribute the 32nd America's Cup, Girard-Perregaux has launched new models to join the Laureato collection. For over three years the brand has supported the adventurous event through partnership with the BMW Oracle Racing, the challenger of record. The new timepieces feature a variety of references to the prominent race and the boat itself called the USA 98.
One of the highlight details sported by the dial is the scale for the ten minutes preceding the regatta start. The watch's designers have provided the distinctive blue and red scale, being aware that the start of the race is all-important as it often determines the leaders and those who are catching up with them during the race.
The successful start requires careful checking of the final preparations and positioning. The blue part of the scale indicates five minutes corresponding to the time the crews use for final information exchanging with their team members on shore. The red part of the scale indicates the five minutes corresponding to the pre-start phase.
Among the new Laureato models you will discover a tourbillon with chronograph, a few chronograph models produced from titanium and rubber, titanium and palladium, steel or gold. There is even a chronograph model developed specially for ladies.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato USA 98 Titanium and Rubber Chronograph has been produced from 'Grade 2 Titanium', the hypoallergenic metal extremely difficult to extract and work. The metal is appreciated for its ability to resist corrosion and shocks' impact.
The case features a dark color reached as a result of Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) treatment. DLC is a form of amorphous carbon. The brand's specialists decided to apply this smooth to the touch coating as it provides unique properties similar to those of a diamond, and first of all its hardness. The same coating is applied on Formula 1 engines and in number of industrial applications requiring high friction levels resistance. As for the upper side of the bezel and the pushers, they are coated with vulcanized rubber.

Francois Bautte founded Girard Perregaux in 1791. He was soon known because of his ultra-slim timepieces and his manufactory in Geneva was graced Queen Victoria of England.
In 1837 when Jacques Bautte and Samuel Rossel inherited the legacy of the esteemed Jean-Francois Bautte, Constant Girard took over the ownership of the company. In 1856 the name of the enterprise was transformed into Girard-Perregaux and it moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds following the marriage of Constant Girard and Marie Perregaux.
Constant Girard, the wearing watches on the wrist innovator, implemented the idea when Emperor Wilhelm I ordered to deliver the first ever wristwatches to officers in the German Imperial Navy in 1880. As a consequence, 2000 Girard Perregaux watches were manufactured. As wristwatches were not accepted at that moment when pocket-watches ruled, the manufacture of wristwatches ended till 1930 when the company sold more wristwatches than pocket ones restarting the wristwatch manufacture again. Girard-Perregaux was the pioneering company in Switzerland to fabricate quartz watches on an industrial scale.