Girard-Perregaux has dipped into its archive again to revive an early 1970s design of its Deep Diver collection.
The first Gyromatic Deep Diver was introduced in 1957, and evolved over the decades from a classical circular-cased watch with spiked hands and hour markers in the 1950s to more muscular avant-garde styles in the late 1960s and 70s.
A cushion-shaped case with a 14-sided bezel was introduced with GP’s first Deep Diver in 1969, and by 1971 it had acquired a radical dial design that had echoes of Soviet Union propaganda posters and American space race iconography.
It had an unusual internal countdown diver’s bezel that could be rotated one-way using a crown at 2 o’clock.
1970s watch styles are back in fashion right now, and Girard-Perregaux has been capitalising, in the main, by focusing on its bestselling Laureato collection, which first launched in 1975, and effectively replaced the Deep Diver as the brand’s elegant and wearable sports watch option.
Vintage watches from the era show how much more experimental watchmakers were during that time and Girard-Perregaux was no different, creating the cushion-shaped Deep Diver ref. 9108 in 1969 and the futuristic Casquette digital watch in 1976.
GP reissued the Casquette as a limited edition in 2022 following a piece-unique project with London-based watch created with customiser Bamford Watch Department (BWD) for the 2021 Only Watch charity auction.
That watch sold for CHF 100,000.
The relationship between GP and BWD has continued ever since and the partnership has come together again for a modern reissue of the ref. 9108 Deep Diver.
The watch is at the same time a faithful recreation of the 1971 design, but brought up-to-date with a pixel-perfect pick of orange, white and dark denim blue and the choice of a modern rubber strap in orange or blue.
A central orange circle on the dial carries both a vintage Girard-Perregaux logo at the top and Bamford in a subtle pale orange below.
Its 40mm x 38mm x 14mm case, water resistant to 200 metres, is forged from titanium, milled into sharp, angular facets and decorated with a brushed sunray finish.
The dial is elegantly framed with a polished 14-sided bezel.
Functionally, the Deep Diver Legacy Edition is identical to its forefather.
The simple three-hander with date is converted to a dive watch with the addition of an internal countdown bezel set with a crown at 2 o’clock while the time and date are adjusted with a second crown at 4 o’clock.
It is powered by Girard-Perregaux’s GP03300 automatic movement, which has a 46-hour power reserve.
High end finishes include an oscillating weight decorated with concentric circles of Côtes de Genève stripes. Other parts of the movement have circular graining or straight lines in the Côtes de Genève style.
The 4Hz movement can be seen through a blue metalised sapphire crystal caseback with a trident emblem — a tribute to Neptune, Roman god of the sea and a symbol of the Deep Diver’s aquatic history.
“It was an amazing honour to have been invited to bring our own Bamford style to Girard-Perregaux’s emblematic Deep Diver,” says George Bamford, founder of Bamford Watch Department, and a collector with a keen eye for vintage 1970s styles.
Limited to just 350 pieces, the Deep Diver will be available through all Girard-Perregaux retailers worldwide and online at bamfordwatchdepartment.com for $15,100.
Legacy Editions is a new line for Girard-Perregaux, and only exists now that the Deep Diver has joined the Casquette, which was reissued between 2022 and 2024.
It aims to reintroduce some of Girard-Perregaux’s most iconic models from the past using modern materials and craftsmanship.