Girard-Perregaux has been announced as Official Watch Partner of luxury British automotive manufacturer Aston Martin in a joint-partnership with the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team.
The partnership features on both the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team car and the team uniform, uniting the desire of two heritage brands to build the future of design and sport.
Girard-Perregaux is one of the oldest names in watchmaking, known for making peerless exemplars of Haute Horlogerie, and the two brands will collaborate on upcoming limited-edition timepieces. The first timepiece born from the collaboration will be released in 2021.
Both Aston Martin and Girard-Perregaux were founded by visionaries with an innate passion. Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford while Girard-Perregaux can trace its origins to 1791, when Jean-François Bautte, aged just 19, produced his first watch. But most notably, it was a love story which led to the birth of one of the greatest names in watchmaking when Constant Girard married Marie Perregaux in 1854.
The now-legendary Aston Martin DBR1 (1956) was a precursor for some of the marque’s most well-known heritage ‘DB’ road cars. It was styled in-house by Frank Feeley and the shape of the DBR1 remains one of the most beautiful and graceful of all time.
The design also incorporates a key functional attribute in the side air vent, which debuted on the DBR1 and remains a key functional and visual characteristic of Aston Martin’s road-going sports cars.
This functional element has become a key aesthetic detail that imbues the marque’s models with their distinctive personality. A glance at an Aston Martin car immediately reveals the identity of its maker.
Similarly, when Girard-Perregaux released its now-famous Tourbillon ‘With Three Gold Bridges’ in 1867, it transformed three functional components, often hidden from view, into attractive aesthetic features. With this watch, the once invisible was deliberately made visible.
Although we share similar core values, the two brands can learn a great deal from one another.
Throughout its 230-year history, the Swiss Manufacture has demonstrated its creativity, often playing with different shapes. It’s this mindset that inspired the brand’s slogan ‘Shaping the now for those in the know’.
While both organisations have amassed a wealth of skills and traditions, they continue to look ahead, as both firms embrace continuous improvement and pursue superior performance.
Tobias Moers, Chief Executive of Aston Martin Lagonda remarks: “The real beauty of partnerships such as this one is that, although we share very similar core values, the two brands can learn a great deal from one another. Girard-Perregaux is a prolific innovator in the use of materials and new technology. We both create highly desirable luxury products that are beautifully designed, deliver a powerful performance and exhibit flawless execution.”
Otmar Szafnauer, Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™️ Team Chief Executive Officer and Team Principal, says: “We at Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™️ Team are thrilled to be announcing a partnership with Girard-Perregaux today. Aston Martin and Girard-Perregaux share so many brand touchpoints – a rich history, a glorious heritage, and a relentless devotion to the pursuit of premium quality combined with high technology. On the racetrack, time, too, is of the essence. Formula One™️ and Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™️ Team in particular will prove themselves to be respectively a fantastic promotional platform and a brilliant marketing partner for Girard-Perregaux, whose timepieces lead the way in terms of quality and desirability.”
Patrick Pruniaux, Girard-Perregaux’s Chief Executive Officer, adds: “2021 is an important year for both Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin. We are celebrating an astonishing 230 years of watchmaking, whilst Aston Martin celebrates its return to Formula 1 as a works team for the first time in over 60 years. We have much to celebrate so uniting our worlds to create something special is the perfect way to acknowledge and appreciate these milestones.”
