Aston Martin and Girard-Perregaux reimagine one of the oldest mechanical signatures in watchmaking with the Neo Bridges Aston Martin Edition.
British luxury auto marque Aston Martin has been on a bit of a collaboration streak of late, working with everyone from property developers to luxury bicycle companies, applying the car company’s signature style to each new realisation.
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The newest stunning creation, the result of a partnership with Girard-Perregaux, adds the Neo Bridges Aston Martin Edition to the watchmaker’s Bridges collection, a series of timepieces that have been at the heart of the brand’s design DNA since Constant Girard sketched a pocket watch endowed with three parallel bridges back in 1867.
The new timepiece takes its inspiration from the world’s first Super Tourer, the DB12, with its design reflecting the car’s sculpted contours and sharp lines while showcasing functional components often hidden from view and brings them to the fore with a new, fresh-faced appearance.
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The new watch eschews a conventional dial to reveal its inverted movement, the Calibre GP0840000-2164, a configuration that brings components usually found to the rear of the watch and relocates them to the front, with the Neo-shaped bridges supporting the gear train and balance and allowing the wearer to witness several parts in conversation, working together to impart time.
Skeletonised baton-type indexes and hands incorporating luminescent material proclaim the hours and minutes in a green that Aston Martin fans will appreciate. The suspended indexes, located on a ring encircling the dial, project outwards and also appear green in dim conditions while in between each index, crisp green markings, positioned on the aforesaid ring, denote each minute in lucid form. Endowed with two Neo bridges, executed in Aston Martin Green, the design pays tribute to Constant’s 19th century creation, albeit realised in a contemporary form, while the colour of the bridges honours Aston Martin and its rich automotive tradition.
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A barrel, effectively the fuel tank of the 45mm watch, is positioned at 1.30 and is supported by a black openworked bridge. This 5.45mm thick watch is automatic, harvesting energy from the natural motion of the wearer’s wrist via a small oscillating weight called a micro-rotor that has been designed to reflect the brakes that are revealed behind a DB12’s spoked wheels.
Presented in brushed greys, vibrant rubies, brooding blacks and silver-coloured wheels, the new addition – limited to just 250 pieces – features a lightweight case formed of DLC coated titanium and comes with a black rubber strap with a fabric effect in green stitching.
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