The watchmaker's love for aventurine is apparent in its latest ode to the beautiful material shown in three iterations of its iconic Cat’s Eye timepiece
There is an unmistakable affinity between Girard-Perregaux and aventurine, a material the Swiss watchmaker has chosen to feature in multiple variations of its iconic Cat’s Eye ladies timepiece over the years. It is a choice that, quite aptly, did not come out of the blue, seeing how aventurine perfectly matched the earlier Cat’s Eye creations, including the Celestial and Day & Night models. For 2019, aventurine is once again at the centre of the latest Cat’s Eye launches, used prominently in the dials of three key additions to the line.
The shimmering appearance of aventurine makes it look so much like a natural gemstone that many are surprised to find out that it is actually a man-made material. Legend has it that aventurine came into existence in the 18th century when a glassmaker accidentally spilled copper filings into his materials, producing a creation filled with shiny, sparkling flecks that gave it an entrancing quality. As fate would have it, this fortunate mishap gave the world yet another beautiful material to make precious objects with.
Luxury watches, of course, provide an excellent canvas with which to showcase beautiful materials, and while other brands favour natural hard stones such as malachite and lapis lazuli, Girard‑Perregaux has seemingly set its eye on captivating aventurine.
This year’s Cat’s Eye stars come in the form of a simple, automatic watch, a moonphase ticker and a tourbillon. The Cat’s Eye Majestic Aventurine, which is equipped with the self-winding calibre GP03300-0121 that boasts 46 hours of power reserve, may be simpler than the other two but is no less dazzling with a clean aventurine dial set and drop‑shaped diamond hour markers, as well as another 60 brilliant-cut diamonds all around its pink gold bezel. What makes this piece stand out from the rest of the collection is that its ovoid case, unlike the usual designs, is arranged vertically and beautifully extended by tapering lugs.