Watch Paparazzi

Pilot Nico Hülkenberg spotted wearing Girard Perregaux

Spotted courtside of the paddock circuit, Nico Hülkenberg was seen wearing the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition, a limited-production collaboration piece that bridges Swiss haute horology with British automotive heritage in one of the more technically considered partnerships in recent memory.

The ref. 81020-11-001-11A is built on the Laureato's octagonal bezel architecture, a design lineage that dates to 1975 when Girard-Perregaux introduced the original Laureato as an integrated-bracelet sports watch competing in the same space as the Royal Oak and Nautilus. The steel case measures 42mm and houses the in-house GP03300 automatic chronograph movement — a column-wheel, lateral clutch calibre beating at 28,800 vph with a 54-hour power reserve. It is a movement with genuine manufacture credentials, not an outsourced ebauche dressed for occasion.

What makes this edition collectible beyond its scarcity is the dial construction. Girard-Perregaux applies seven separate layers of lacquer to achieve the deep, luminous Racing Green — a color Aston Martin considers as proprietary to its identity as any chassis specification. Overlaid on that surface is a diamond-quilted guilloche pattern, a direct reference to the hand-stitched seats found in models like the DB11 and Vantage. The integration of automotive DNA at the craft level, rather than simply stamping a logo on a standard dial, elevates this above a typical co-branding exercise. Production is capped at 188 examples, a figure that carries symbolic weight within Aston Martin's heritage narrative.

Hülkenberg's choice is contextually sharp. As a Haas F1 driver operating in a grid that includes Aston Martin's factory team, wearing a watch that celebrates that marque signals fluency in motorsport's broader culture rather than mere brand obligation. Hülkenberg is a known watch enthusiast, and the Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition sits naturally in a collection built around mechanical substance.

On the secondary market, the 188-piece ceiling creates genuine demand pressure. The Girard-Perregaux Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition ref. 81020-11-001-11A commands a meaningful premium over retail among collectors who track both the Laureato reference and Aston Martin memorabilia — two distinct collector communities converging on a single object.