The Laureato was born in the thick of the full quartz crisis of the Swiss industry. It was a time when many brands struggled to find not the key to success, but the key to survival. Girard-Perregaux turned to an Italian architect, to design a new piece. He used this opportunity to reveal part of the beautiful Italian design. The inspiration came from a Florence cathedral, the Santa Maria del Fiore. This was built adopting an octagonal structure as support for the circular dome. This construction idea was used in the watch as an octagonal bezel “nested” inside of the round shape. The design was taken to the next level by the harmonious integration of the bracelet in the case, creating one complete, iconic and elegant piece. Interestingly, the case was not the only new development in this watch. The new quartz movement, back then just a few years old novelty in Switzerland, was redesigned to a compact, thinner version. Powering this timepiece was the Caliber 705, an in-house movement that beat at a blistering 32,768 Hz which became the world standard for Quartz watches incl. Asia. The size of the integrated bracelet is 16cm, total incl watch is 19,2 cm. It fits me well as a regular male size. As a comparison, it is slightly smaller than the Rolex explorer 36mm, but same apperance. The watch shown is one of the first Laureato models launched starting in 1975 and it became quickly a hit amongst watch enthusiasts and fashionistas. It hence pre-dates the PP Nautilus/ IWC Ingenieur with it's integrated metal bracelet and sport-chic design. Early bird so-to-say - Collectors item – rare full steel version. Includes Watch box.