Is the Laureato the newest hot/unobtainable piece?

[seastu]

I agree. Great history, excellent finish, in house movement, comfortable bracelet, value for money. Now impossible to get at MSRP. I Recently sold my Overseas and kept the GP.
I find the bracelet nicer and the fit and finish on par.
I don't buy watches as investments. I buy what I want to wear and take profits or losses, when a watch no longer interests me. For now the GP is a keeper because I love wearing it,
not because it has risen in value.
If you want to be ahead of the curve take a hard look at that Parmagiani Tonda Gt 3 hand. For me it checks all the boxes.... its a keeper

[lightcatcher]

Originally Posted by charger_vital

Good take. You mention that the finishing is better than the GMT, would you put it on the same level as the RO or somewhere in between?


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Half an hour before pulling the trigger on the GP, I had the opportunity to try on a black dial RO. While the bracelet was very comfortable, the watch just looked too industrial to me. There was a starkness to it that the case of the GP, with its softer lines just did not have. I would put the finishing of the GP right at par with the RO. The GP also has a certain “heft” to it.


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[lightcatcher]

Originally Posted by seastu

I agree. Great history, excellent finish, in house movement, comfortable bracelet, value for money. Now impossible to get at MSRP. I Recently sold my Overseas and kept the GP.
I find the bracelet nicer and the fit and finish on par.
I don't buy watches as investments. I buy what I want to wear and take profits or losses, when a watch no longer interests me. For now the GP is a keeper because I love wearing it,
not because it has risen in value.
If you want to be ahead of the curve take a hard look at that Parmagiani Tonda Gt 3 hand. For me it checks all the boxes.... its a keeper

Very well said. Watches are not an investment and you need to wear and buy what you like. I traded in my 10 year old PAM 233 for the GP simply because I did not enjoy the 233 any longer. It felt too big, heavy and uncomfortable.

The Tonda is on my radar but it seems to wear quite large. Guess I’ll have to try it out to see :)


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[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by lightcatcher

Haters are going to hate, no matter what. As one of the previous posters replied, the Laureato came two years after the AP RO and before the Nautilius. The design language is also very different, having been designed by a Milanese architect who too inspiration from the roof of the Duomo. I picked up one recently. The blue dial absolutely pops and I got it close to 30% under retail....

Congrats! What matters is that you love it and wear it often. Who gives a flying f... what others, including me, thinks.

YOU are happy, and that's what matters.

[Swoody]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

another hype watch/machine

Absolutely...not a bad looking piece and I especially like the skeleton models but prices have gone up 30-40% in the past 4 months for what for years has been a close-out watch....a gift to AD's etc.... Anthony Farrar of TPG started flogging these on his channel a few months ago and eve Roman Sharff says he changed the entire business model for GP as far as how many of these they could sell and not for the 25% discount they have been at for years....I had to laugh when yesterday I saw a Laureato with an asking price of $23k .....Don't hold your breath seller!!!!

[LVx2]

Originally Posted by seastu

I agree. Great history, excellent finish, in house movement, comfortable bracelet, value for money. Now impossible to get at MSRP. I Recently sold my Overseas and kept the GP.
I find the bracelet nicer and the fit and finish on par.
I don't buy watches as investments. I buy what I want to wear and take profits or losses, when a watch no longer interests me. For now the GP is a keeper because I love wearing it,
not because it has risen in value.
If you want to be ahead of the curve take a hard look at that Parmagiani Tonda Gt 3 hand. For me it checks all the boxes.... its a keeper

Haha, impossible to get at msrp, lol

[smg8]

Who/what is TPG that people keep referring to? Thanks

[LVx2]

Originally Posted by lightcatcher

Half an hour before pulling the trigger on the GP, I had the opportunity to try on a black dial RO. While the bracelet was very comfortable, the watch just looked too industrial to me. There was a starkness to it that the case of the GP, with its softer lines just did not have. I would put the finishing of the GP right at par with the RO. The GP also has a certain “heft” to it.


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Haha, finishing of the GP on par with the Royal Oak, lol

[smg8]

Originally Posted by LVx2

Haha, impossible to get at msrp, lol

Are you aware of any for sale at MSRP right now? I’ve spoken to 3 x ADs and 1 x grey who all say they simply can’t get one.

[LVx2]

Originally Posted by smg8

Are you aware of any for sale at MSRP right now? I’ve spoken to 3 x ADs and 1 x grey who all say they simply can’t get one.

Synonyms & Antonyms for impossible

Synonyms
hopeless, insoluble, insolvable, insuperable, unattainable, undoable, unrealizable, unsolvable

Antonyms
achievable, attainable, doable, feasible, possible, realizable, resolvable, soluble, work

I’m going with the antonyms on this one.

[charger_vital]

Originally Posted by smg8

Who/what is TPG that people keep referring to? Thanks

"Time Piece Gentleman." A watch-lifestyle youtube channel. The main guy is an ex-convict turned grey-market watch dealer. They are controversial with some of their antics.

[smg8]

Originally Posted by charger_vital

"Time Piece Gentleman." A watch-lifestyle youtube channel. The main guy is an ex-convict turned grey-market watch dealer. They are controversial with some of their antics.

Thank you very much

[Bug04]

I would say however that also the PAM 233 is a great watch!

Originally Posted by lightcatcher

Very well said. Watches are not an investment and you need to wear and buy what you like. I traded in my 10 year old PAM 233 for the GP simply because I did not enjoy the 233 any longer. It felt too big, heavy and uncomfortable.

The Tonda is on my radar but it seems to wear quite large. Guess I’ll have to try it out to see :)


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[ChetBaker]

Just a couple of folks trying to get the bandwagon rolling on a watch they wish they didn’t have to buy. What a thread.

[EEpro]

Originally Posted by LVx2

Haha, finishing of the GP on par with the Royal Oak, lol

That is nonsense. I tried on two versions of the blue Laureato at the trunk show. Was wearing my VC 4500V that day and I can assure you the GP finishing and dial was closer to Tissot than Trinity.

I really really wanted it to be amazing but it just wasn't.

If you can't tell the difference then by all means don't pay the difference, OP. I'm happy that you're happy.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by ChetBaker

Just a couple of folks trying to get the bandwagon rolling on a watch they wish they didn’t have to buy. What a thread.

...brought to us by Hustlers who get robber by other Hustlers. If you love GP great, yet no FOMO at all.

Weird thing is the GP Casquette. I love retro and why I have a Spaceview, Hamilton PSR MTX, etc, yet the ambitious pricing by GP boggles my mind. With has such a short display cycle and complaints about it, GP desperately needs to do a firmware update to the three-second rule.

BTW, Bulova is releasing something like the Casquette in a week or so for around $1000.

[mongrelnomoad]

This is a very odd thread.

[Fedpete]

Maybe dumbest thread in history. If any of you on this thread believe GP is close or even within range to the finishing of the Trilogy brands you should seek immediate counseling to address your substance abuse issues.

You either know very little about this game or you’re an insider attempting to pump through disinformation.


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[smg8]

I have to say the responses to the thread are not quite what I had in mind.

I simply wanted to know what happened in the last few weeks that made a GP Laureato go from 15% below list to seemingly being very hard to acquire and being advertised at 3 x list price.

In response I have got what I can assume are mainly teenagers using the word "lol" every few words, and people saying how they think GP are sh*t.

That's not really what I asked.....good insight into the IQ of some forum members though!

[bibbi]

Originally Posted by smg8

I have to say the responses to the thread are not quite what I had in mind.

I simply wanted to know what happened in the last few weeks that made a GP Laureato go from 15% below list to seemingly being very hard to acquire and being advertised at 3 x list price.

In response I have got what I can assume are mainly teenagers using the word "lol" every few words, and people saying how they think GP are sh*t.

That's not really what I asked.....good insight into the IQ of some forum members though!

Very good summary. Finally to the point.

[Fedpete]

Originally Posted by smg8

I have to say the responses to the thread are not quite what I had in mind.

I simply wanted to know what happened in the last few weeks that made a GP Laureato go from 15% below list to seemingly being very hard to acquire and being advertised at 3 x list price.

In response I have got what I can assume are mainly teenagers using the word "lol" every few words, and people saying how they think GP are sh*t.

That's not really what I asked.....good insight into the IQ of some forum members though!

How deep of a breakdown do you require? A YouTuber street smart idiot hustled it along with other YouTubers. They colluded to pump the price so they could be ahead and buy all the pieces dirt cheap and kill margin. This was led by the fact that bro Chad can’t get AP and this is a decent to the eye enough substitute.


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[_speedmaster_]

Why did I click on this thread.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by Fedpete

A YouTuber street smart idiot hustled it along with other YouTubers. They colluded to pump the price so they could be ahead and buy all the pieces dirt cheap and kill margin.

Very good summary. Finally to the point.

i truly do feel for those who foolishly get a (false) sense of FOMO and fall for this Paid Promotion scam, because that's basically what it boils down to folks.

Reminds me of Chrono24 for sale ads with ambitious / outrageous pricing. Only a fool would fall for such scams imho.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!

[smg8]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Very good summary. Finally to the point.

i truly do feel for those who foolishly get a (false) sense of FOMO and fall for this Paid Promotion scam, because that's basically what it boils down to folks.

Reminds me of Chrono24 for sale ads with ambitious / outrageous pricing. Only a fool would fall for such scams imho.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!

Would GP be the first brand to pay to promote their products? Is the entire watch industry not based on promotion, advertising, brand ambassadors etc?

[smg8]

FWIW and for those interested in the question as to why (beyond any conspiracy theories) I contacted another AD today who also have no men's Laureato's and have no allocation of men's Laureato's for the rest of this year. They have also said they are not taking any further enquiries for them.

I asked the specific question in my OP, why do they think this is happening.

Their reply;

To be honest, this is also a very recent development that has affected most Girard Perregaux retailers. We believe that it could be due to the difficulty of obtaining Rolex timepieces, many customers are looking towards alternative brands that produce stainless steel 'sport' watches. This then has created a massive and unprecedented demand for manufacturers who are now selling out extremely quickly.

Simple as really. Oh well, pleased I got mine at a discount which felt like a fair price. Paying £20k for one seems nuts to me, but then again people are paying £50k for Daytona's and £140k for Nautilus's so I guess I don't know what "normal" is anymore.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by smg8

Would GP be the first brand to pay to promote their products? Is the entire watch industry not based on promotion, advertising, brand ambassadors etc?

Great Questions

Ahhh, there's a big can of worms about paid influencer promotion (yet not marked as paid promotion), hustlers who work in concert to hype a brand after they bought out AD stock (probably at deep discount), price manipulation via auctions.....

Guess my best advice is to believe your own eyes. Look at what you're buying, carefully. Is the price commensurate with the product being offered regardless of any fabled list or hype?

Is this something YOU truly desire?

Some senseless rambling by me follows....
I've passed on many pieces over the years. As an example, while I admire the Omega Snoopy 'To The Moon' and was offered/passed on it, I prefer the 50th anniversary Buzz Butt. That's my preference, regardless of what some hype may surround Snoopy (and I'm a big NASA fanboy).

The AP everyone loves, it's nice yet not me. My preference. I feel the Bvlgari is much better in many respects so got one (before it got, rightly I may add, hyped). My eyes said WOW, that's an amazing movement and accomplishment, plus 100m WP and I was sold instantly. But really, never thought of Bvlgari as a timepiece manufacturer years ago. TIMES HAVE CHANGED....

So...

Pretty please be careful out there as times they have changed. Get what YOU love.

And dare to be different.

jmho ymmv

274361542_1098926827627941_3127268312469805026_n.jpg

[LVx2]

Originally Posted by smg8

I have to say the responses to the thread are not quite what I had in mind.

I simply wanted to know what happened in the last few weeks that made a GP Laureato go from 15% below list to seemingly being very hard to acquire and being advertised at 3 x list price.

In response I have got what I can assume are mainly teenagers using the word "lol" every few words, and people saying how they think GP are sh*t.

That's not really what I asked.....good insight into the IQ of some forum members though!

Haha, teenagers, lol

[seastu]

This is a very strange thread indeed. All those GP bashers are folks trying to convince themselves that they made the the correct decision on the watches they purchased. If I had to guess they paid over MSRP for a watch everyone wanted because prices were escalating.
Buy what you love, wear and enjoy and keep your ridiculous opinions to yourself.

[smg8]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Look at what you're buying, carefully. Is the price commensurate with the product being offered regardless of any fabled list or hype?

Is this something YOU truly desire?

Some senseless rambling by me follows....

I've passed on many pieces over the years. .........

And dare to be different.

These are very valid points. I passed on a list price 5711 in 2019, I tried it on and just didn't like it. Of course with hindsight I'd have bought it, put it in a safe and sold it on for £90k profit today , but my decision was based on "do I want to buy this watch" rather than projecting future value. Indeed I went on to buy an Aquanaut at list, and after a year decided I liked the idea of owning a Patek much more than the watch itself so sold it and replaced it with a Hublot. Blasphemy around these parts, I know!

There is certainly lots of merit to buying the watch YOU like not the watch that other people like. Sadly I think a lot of people fall into the trap of the latter.

[flyguy33]

I've got a 42mm blue Laureato that I purchased at pre-owned market price in late 2020 and have worn in rotation since then. It is one of my go-to watches that I wear when I want something that looks great and feels great but is also going to fly under the radar of non-watch people. The color and texture of the dial are the highlights for me along with the bracelet that is very comfortable.

I've always described it as a great watch if you are looking for something in the $10k range. I felt that way when it was selling well under $10k and I still feel that way as it goes above $10k.