Post by timelessluxwatches on Feb 4, 2015 16:15:44 GMT -6
Girard-Perregaux Traveller Moon Phase Review
Today we take our first look at a Girard-Perregaux Traveller, one of GP's four major lines for men (the others being Hawk, 1945 and 1966) and the only line we haven't taken a close look at yet. We're correcting that omission by reviewing the beautiful, if eccentric, Traveller Moon Phase. This is one of GP's more complex watches (well, aside from their haute horology line), featuring a big date, moon phase and power reserve complication, all powered by a version of their in house GP03300 movement. Let's dive right in and learn everything there is to know about this unique piece.
The Introduction
Girard-Perregaux's men's watches are basically classified between four lines: the Hawk is composed of sports and diving watches, the 1966s are precious metal, round dress watches, the 1945s are rectangular dress watches, and finally, the Traveller (yes, that's how it's spelled) is a line aimed at frequent travelers and men on the go. As such, they tend to be sportier than the 1966 and 1945, yet dressier than the Hawk--the Travellers, in particular this moon phase, find a comfortable medium and fit well in pretty much any occasion. This model is actually the only in the entire line of Traveller watches that lacks a dual time complication--they do make a model that drops the power reserve in favor of GMT--but to me, this power reserve model is not really a "traveler's watch" per se, but something more business friendly in general. My advice is don't get too caught up in the rather confusing title, just concern yourself with the quality of it. And it has plenty of that.
Like all Girard-Perregauxs, it's powered by an in house movement, in this case the venerable GP03300, the go-to movement for GP. This is GP's versatile, but tough, workhorse movement, and in this case, the 0080 version, several complications have been added onto it. Otherwise, it's the same thin and reliable automatic you can find in a number of other GPs. It's also a very well finished movement, certainly worthy of its display case back.
The Face
At first glance, the design feels reminiscent of Gerald Genta's classic works. I was unable to find any specific connection, either direct or indirect, between this model and Genta, but it definitely has that feel. The dial itself most reminds me of the Patek Aquanaut, with the beautiful and deep texture forming a series of interlocked latitudinal and longitudinal lines, giving the impression of a globe. Of course, being the "Traveller," this is probably specifically designed to invoke that feeling.
It's most auspicious traits, however, are likely to be found in its complications. Specifically, this Traveller features GP's class-leading big date, a beautiful moon phase and a useful power reserve. It reminds me a bit of Patek's Nautilus 5712, which also has sub seconds, moon phase, date and power reserve. However, I prefer GP's interpretation for a few reasons--the big date is easy to read, the sub-seconds are more elegantly tied into the moon phase subdial, and in general, the dial is more balanced thanks to the more even distribution of complications.
Girard-Perregaux's big date complication, as I mentioned in my review of the 1945, is arguably the best in the business. Before we get into what makes GP's implementation special, let's address what exactly a big date (aka grande date) complication is--it's a version of a date complication that somehow finds a way to make the numbers bigger, and therefore easier to read. You see, virtually all date complications that use a window are based on what is called a date ring, which rests underneath the dial. A hole in the dial lets the owner see the correct date. However, this has two crucial limitations--first, the date complication must always be on the outer rim of the watch because it is basically always the diameter of the movement, which means that the watch designer has little freedom in placing the window--it has to be around the edge of the dial. Second, because there is only a small space on the ring to put 31 individual numbers on, the numbers tend to be relatively small. Big date complications solve this issue in a variety of ways. The double date window is by far the most popular execution, used by Lange, Jaeger LeCoultre, Glashutte Original, Carl F. Bucherer, Zenith, and of course, GP. The downside with this design is that there is a line between each digit of a date, as two individual wheels meet up to work together. Girard-Perregaux ingeniously side steps the problem by making one wheel out of glass. The bottom wheel is opaque, and the top one is transparent (with numbers printed on it), so they both appear to rest on the same plane and with no dividing line. It's a very convincing illusion. But GP's version has another advantage, a relatively rare one among big dates (mostly seen in GO), in that the date change over is instant. Many dates, much less big dates, take an hour or even longer to gradually correct. With GP's big dates, it all happens in an instant.
Next we analyze the power reserve. Power reserves are very interesting complications to me because, if you think about it, it's the only complication that actually provides information about the watch, as opposed to external events (most specifically the earth's alignment relative to the sun at a given time). Power reserves are useful as well--basically, they tell you how wound it is. If you own several watches, as I do, this is very nice to have because you can see in your watch case if you need to wear or wind the watch before it dies.
And finally we reach the last complication, the moon phase. Moon phase complications aren't particularly useful, unlike dates and power reserves, but they are perhaps the biggest opportunity for the designer to express his artistry. In this instance, GP has chosen a relatively understated design, and, somewhat interestingly, made the foreground and background match, which improves the illusion of a waxing or waning moon. I prefer this design to the Traveller's closest competitor (at least in terms of looks), the Nautilus 5712, because it integrates the sub seconds into this dial. Patek, conversely, chose to use a pointer date, one of the hardest to read implementations of a date complication, and gave seconds its own dial. I think GP's is the more legible approach.
The hands are a very unique approach for GP. Long and luminous, its leaf-shaped hands are perhaps the most recognizable feature of this Traveller. The hands are probably the single most unifying attribute of the Traveller lineup, as this moon phase does not share much, aesthetically speaking, with the WW.TC, outside of these hands. Like in our 1966 Equation of Time review, GP once again proves to be very thoughtful with hand design, as each complication's hand is in a different color, not only from one another, but also from the main hands, while still maintaining maximum contrast. Three different styles of hands are used as well, all elements that help eliminate the possibility of confusing the hands in a quick glance.
See the rest of the review here!
A big mistake in my eyes.
