Raise a Toast to the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Château Latour Edition

The watchmaking industry is known for its continuous innovation and exploration of new materials to enhance the aesthetics and functionality of timepieces. Historically, watch dials have been made from materials like metals, enamel, mother-of-pearl, and various types of stones, such as onyx and meteorites. One can now add pebbles from a vineyard to the list. Girard-Perregaux’s new 1966 Château Latour (Ref. 49555-52-3160-2GC) is an 18-piece limited-edition watch that gets a unique dial, crafted from pebbles found in the vineyards of Château Latour, located in France.

Founded in 1331, Château Latour is situated close to the Gironde estuary. Since 1855, the estate has been ranked among the five ‘Premiers Crus Classés’ from the Médoc region of France. This culture of excellence is perpetuated by the men and women, who are working in both the vineyard and the estate’s cellars. Located beneath the vines, the dark and pale yellow pebbles have been combined on the watch to create a unique visual symphony.  

The year 1966 is very important for Girard Perregaux — this was the year in which the timepiece maker was awarded the Centenary prize of the Neuchâtel Observatory for the Gyromatic HF. The very first high-frequency movement (36,000 vibrations/hour) is a landmark celebrated by the Manufacture with its 1966 collection. This range is defined by elegance, simplicity, svelteness, and timeless styling.

To create each dial of the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Château Latour Edition, each pebble is painstakingly whittled down to just 0.45mm in depth. With the combination of a disc on which it is mounted, the total thickness becomes 0.70 mm. An advantage of using natural pebbles is that each piece varies in appearance and structure. Taking a closer look reveals subtle differences in shade, small fissures, hollows, and inclusions. It takes 30 hours to complete a piece. 

The 40 mm watch also gets a pink gold case, lugs, and a crown at 3 o’clock. The dial is further complemented by golden hour markers in the form of thin baton markings at 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, and 9 o’clock, along with an applied GP logo at 12 o’clock and leaf-shaped hour, minute and central second hands in gold. A small date aperture with a white background and black numeral is carved into the pebble dial at 3 o’clock. 

Powering the watch is Calibre GP03300, a self-winding mechanical movement, delivering a power reserve of minimum 46 hours. This self-winding movement features chamfering, circular graining, circular and straight Côtes de Genève, engravings, mirror-polishing, satin finish, snailing, and sunray finishings. More detailing on the caseback includes an 18 ct oscillating weight with the engraving of ‘Château Latour’ metallisation and the individual watch number out of 18. The watch sits on a brown alligator strap with a pink gold pin buckle.