Tap the image to enlarge
Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute 44mm Titanium PVD 81070-21-491-FH6A
Ref. 81070
The Laureato line reaches back to 1975, when Girard-Perregaux introduced an octagonal-bezelled sports watch that sat somewhere between the integrated-bracelet pieces appearing across Switzerland at the time and something with a sharper, more architectural character. The Absolute is what that design becomes when the brief is pushed harder: larger, blacked out in PVD over titanium, and fitted with a rubber strap in place of the original integrated bracelet. The result is a watch that keeps the geometric vocabulary of the original — that signature octagonal bezel is still the organizing idea — while reading as an entirely different object. Despite sitting at 44mm with a lug-to-lug of 53.3mm, the titanium underneath the PVD keeps the weight honest, and it carries on the wrist accordingly. The blue dial graduates toward black and is finished with a sunray texture that shifts under changing light — readable in direct sun, more atmospheric indoors. The rubber strap carries blue contrast stitching that picks up the dial without being decorative about it, and the triple-blade folding clasp has a micro-adjustment system built in, which matters on a rubber strap where half a millimetre can change the whole feel of the fit. The GP03300-1060 inside is a manufacture calibre finished with Côtes de Genève and circular graining — the kind of work that belongs on a caseback worth opening. Forty-six hours of reserve is modest by current standards but sufficient for a weekend off the wrist.
- Reference
- 81070
- Brand
- Girard-Perregaux
- Collection
- Laureato
- Case size
- 44mm
- Case thickness
- 14.65mm
- Case material
- Black PVD
- Case shape
- Octagonal
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- GP03300-1060
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 300m
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap
- Strap colour
- Black
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Pre-owned
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 53.3mm
- Power reserve
- 46 hours
Learn more about Girard-Perregaux
The company traces to Jean-François Bautte, who was making watches in Geneva by 1791, and takes its name from the 1854 marriage of Constant Girard and Marie Perregaux, which joined two watchmaking families.
Its signature is a bridge. Constant Girard's Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges, developed from 1867 and patented in the United States in 1884, arranged the barrel, gear train, and tourbillon in a line beneath three parallel arrow-shaped bridges — turning the movement architecture itself into the design. Most decorative watchmaking hides its structure; this made structure the ornament. It remains the house's defining object.
Girard-Perregaux also has a serious claim on modern quartz: in 1971 it developed a quartz wristwatch calibre oscillating at 32,768 Hz, and that frequency became the industry standard used in essentially every quartz watch since.
The company supplied precision pocket watches to the German Imperial Navy in the 1880s, an early example of the wristwatch being taken seriously as a professional instrument.
Modern collections include the Laureato, an integrated-bracelet sports watch dating from 1975 that predates most of its rivals, and the Free Bridge and Neo lines, which rework the bridge architecture in contemporary materials. The house is owned by Kering.
- 1791
- Jean-François Bautte begins watchmaking in Geneva.
- 1854
- Constant Girard and Marie Perregaux marry, uniting the names.
- 1867
- The Three Gold Bridges tourbillon is developed.
- 1971
- Develops the 32,768 Hz quartz standard.
- 1975
- The Laureato launches.
Also in 7 collections
This watch appears in the Girard-Perregaux Laureato range (6), Back in Stock (4,868), Stainless Steel Watches (3,133), Automatic Watches (1,750), Blue Dial Watches (861), Watches 44mm and Over (802) and Sports Watches (800).
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch built to be worn hard and got wet.
Strengths
- 300m water resistance, rated for actual diving
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Worth knowing
- 44mm sits at the larger end
- 14.65mm thick, so it will not disappear under a cuff
Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 81070 | 5000A 0140 NAOA | 23492412110001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £7,550 | £8,850 | £10,700 |
| Case size | 44mm | 43.6mm | 41mm |
| Water resistance | 300m | 300m | 300m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Rubber strap | Fabric strap | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 46 hours | 120 hours | 60 hours |
| This watch |
|
|
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Yes. At 300m it is rated for swimming, snorkelling and recreational diving.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 46 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 53.3mm, which suits wrists from roughly 18.5cm (7¼ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
How to size a watch to your wristIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
More Girard-Perregaux watches like the Laureato Absolute
In stock, and close on style and price
