After 20 long years, I think it’s time I finally come out of the closet. You see, mom and dad (and Worn & Wound readers), I am, in fact, a nerd. I know! I know! I’ve tried to hide it over the years. Secretly reading science-fiction at night. Joining the Mathletes in sixth grade under the guise of doing it ironically. All the signs were there, it just wasn’t until this very moment I felt like I could tell you all this.
What has caused me to publicly address my inner nerd comes from the release of the new Girard-Perregaux Casquette 2.0 Titanium and Gold. With its harkening back to an earlier 1970’s reference and that dreamily retro red LED display, it’s just the sort of watch I could see on the wrists of those queuing for the first Star Wars trilogy.
Being able to cohesively blend two seemingly incongruent design references is no small feat, so it’s especially interesting to see the new release of the Casquette. As a rule, Girard Perregaux leans into traditional timepieces, with perhaps a few upgrades here or there to remain exciting to the market. Almost in contrast, the Casquette series of watches is a retro-futuristic dream, a departure that still somehow works for the brand.
Part of the reason for understanding this model’s return is to understand the reason behind its creation. In the 1970’s, two technological advances took place that began to integrate technology more into the design aesthetics of watchmaking: the production of quartz watches and the LED display. Girard-Perregaux was an early adopter of both, allowing for a time in which the Swiss maison was able to not only improve their contemporary line-up, but also build something totally unique to celebrate these emerging technologies. Couple that with the general zeitgeist of the 1970’s for sci-fi blockbusters, and you have yourself the first iteration of the Casquette in 1976.
Forty-six years later, the Casquette 2.0 was released in 2022 after a community effort to re-release this beloved design. And now, in 2024, the Casquette 2.0 has been improved with a Grade 5 titanium case and bracelet (with a rubber lining for added comfort) and 18K yellow gold GP logo and pushers as a new limited-edition release.
The red LED display of the Casquette 2.0 keeps its retro charm with a few functionalities that aren’t going to compete with your Apple Watch, but are still a huge leap forward from what the original reference was able to do. In addition to keeping time, the Calibre GP03980-powered watch also allows for month, year, chronograph, second time zone, and a secret date functionality (I would, of course, set mine to October 26, 1985 if I could).
What is most interesting about this particular Calibre is that it can actually be retrofitted into the first generation of Casquette models from the 1970’s, bypassing technological obsolescence that plagues us today. I think this is a great way to bridge not just the 48-year gap between models and one that, I hope, other brands take notice of.
The newest Casquette reference is available to Girard-Perregaux owners and self-proclaimed “GP Lovers” from October 31 – November 14. Thereafter, the watch will be available online and in Girard-Perregaux boutiques with a price tag of $4,960 with a limited-production run of just 820 pieces. Girard-Perregaux
