Girard-Perregaux had a strong impact on
visitors' minds thanks to the impressive horological contents on some
watches which were released during the 2014 Baselworld fair. I obviosuly
think about the Tourbillon Tri-Axial or about the Neo-Tourbillon with
three bridges. But it would be a shame to forget the other watches of
the 2014 collection because they are considered as more modest watches.
Actually, they play an as important role in the catalogue and they also
contribute a lot to the improvement of the credibility and of the
visibility of the Manufacture. The 1966 Dual Time belongs to this
category of watches and its contribution to the catalogue is key since
it hads a new complication to the 1966 collection: a second timezone
display.
Girard-Perregaux
has a strong knowledge and practice on multi timezones displays since
the worldtimer, available now in the Traveller collection, is one of its
fav complications. However, this complication makes the dial busy and
complex and the legibility of the time of a specific timezone is not
that easy, at least it may take time to get used with it. Handy to use
and more legible, and of course dedicated only to a second time zone,
the dual time watches attract a lot of customers who look for a
practical complication while staying in an affordable and simple
context. It was a bit surprising but the current catalogue, to my
knowledge, was not offering this complication. The 1966 Dual Time has
the purpose to fill this gap but it doesn't forget to embody a nice
aesthetic ambition.
There
are a lot of different ways to display a second timezone: we can think
about (this list is not comprehensive!) a window, a dedicated subdial or
a central hand. Girard-Perregaux decided to use the later thanks to a
large red central in order to avoid any confusion with the main hour
hand. But, by closely observing the watch, I can notice that
Girard-Perregaux carefuly designed the lay-out of the dial and finished
its details. The scale of the second timezone creates a kind of inner
grey ring which breaks the monotony of the dial and which highlights the
applied indexes. These indexes are very welcome because they improve
the perceived quality. They bring a touch of refinement and a touch of
relief. I appreciate their angled shape which make them converge towards
the center of the dial.
The
date subdial slightly stands out thanks to its lighter
colour. The date legibility is a bit complicated, actually I have never
been a great fan of this system which uses a small hand with a scale
with odd numbers. Anyway, there is a small detail which gives the proof
that the dial was designed with care. A part of the inner ring
is appended on the subdial what creates a continuity. The two displays
seem interlocked together and I find the aesthetic result pretty
convincing. It was very important for Girard-Perregaux to be able to
define a dial with character. Because if not, the whole of the watch
would have been boring: the flange is quite hight and I can imagine the
impact of a flat dial in that case.
The 1966 Dual
Time is powered by the GP03300-0094 movement. It is made of a caliber
3300 base which powers the second timezone display module. It is the
reason why the performances of this movement are similar to the ones of
the watches which use the same base: a 4hz frequency and a power reserve
of 46 hours. The movement decoration is simple and refined and
hoepfully, the gold winding rotor brightens it up. The
diameter of the movement is 26,2mm so it looks a bit lost inside the
40mm case: it is an issue Girard-Perregaux faces regularly when it uses
this movement.
The
big assest of the 1966 case is its comfort on the wrist thanks to the
lugs shape which is very curved. The 1966 Dual Time finds itself in the
same context and it is a true pleasure to wear it while enjoying the
details of the dial. The legibility of the second timezone is fine and
the central second hand nicely animates the dial. The watch is very easy
to use: the crown is dedicated to the time and date setting while the
two pushers allow to move the second timezone hand with an one hour
step. Sadly, the watch can't be used for the timezones which have
half-hours or quarters gaps like for countries like India or Nepal. In
addition of the mechanical complexity, It is a constrainst due to the
choice of a central hand.
Despite
this reproach in a practical point of view, the 1966 Dual Time remains a
seducing watch. Girard-Perregaux managed to define a classic watch with
a well-known (and spread) complication without being boring. The dial
finishings and lay-out are its main positive point and I could also
appreciate some details like the applied indexes which improve the
perceived quality.
Thanks a lot to the
Girard-Perregaux team for the warm welcome at
Baselworld.
Pros:
+ a new useful
complication for the 1966 collection
+ the finishings and
lay-out of the dial
+ a handy watch
+ the comfort on
the wrist
Cons:
- the movement is a bit too
small for the case
- the watch doesn't handle timezones of
countries like India
Fr.Xavier