Girard-Perregaux + Aston Martin

Automotive Innovation in a Wristwatch.

F1 fans will be familiar with the Aston Martin’s racing green with a bright dash of pink. The team tweaked the color scheme for the 2021 Formula One season to make it "pop" when Aston Martin made a return to the starting grid following many years off the racetrack.

The sports car manufacturer hadn't competed since its brief stint between 1959 and 1960. The modern Aston Martin F1 Team emerged as the rebranded successor of the Racing Point F1 Team when Aston Martin ended its title partnership with Red Bull Racing and decided to return to the paddocks under its own name.

Spectators aren't thrilled with the results from the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team just yet: Lance Stroll finished 13th at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. But every cloud has a silver lining, and Aston Martin's return to top-flight racing has brougt a pleasant surprise for fans of watchmaking. The team's 2021 racing chassis has made a contribution to the newly created Girard-Perregaux watch.

Upcycled carbon elements from two AMF1 racecars have not only been used to create the case for the Laureato Absolute Chronograph Aston Martin F1 Edition, they've also been used in the strap. The 44 mm case was created based on titanium powder and carbon melded with a tinted resin.

It may be a complex and unconventional recipe, but the resulting material possesses outstanding properties. Take its ductility as an example, which outperforms steel.  While carbon is already on-trend in modern composite case materials, its use in the strap for the new watch by Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin may turn some heads.

The same carbon from retired racecars has been married with FKM rubber to achieve the GP Rubber Alloy with enhanced flexibility and reliability specs. Another interesting detail is that the strap's surface has a textile effect.

The color scheme for both the dial and the innovative strap is dominated by the same shade of Aston Martin Racing Green used for the racecars. The cross-hatching pattern on the dial is inspired by Aston Martin's 1921 monogram with the letters AM overlapping to form a diamond shape in the center. 

The transparent caseback reveals the finishing on the automatic GP03300-1058 movement, which measures 25.95 mm in diameter and 6.50 mm in height. The caliber is comprised of 419 components and guarantees 46 hours of power reserve.