As Sunday is a family day, let’s take a closer look at a watch belonging to my family but not to myself. My daughters first real watch I gifted her, a Girard-Perregaux Richeville, Ref 2656. Well, when I say “real” watch, admittedly, for convenience I opted for a Quartz movement. In hindsight, it would have been more convenient to wind and set a mechanical watch than changing the battery all the time.
Nevertheless, this is a super-star Girard-Perregaux Ladies watch from the 2000s. Today we mostly have the gorgeous and all mechanical Cat’s Eye or the Quartz Laureato 34mm, but the Richeville Ladies line has a very special elegance. This one has a steel tonneau shaped case set with diamonds, but there were also gold cases with and without diamonds.
The dials have a wonderful Guilloche pattern and “exploding” Roman numerals, similar what we have seen on the Men’s Richeville models. Hands are blued steel and just round up a perfect package.
The Quartz caliber is of high quality and also decorated even though it hides under a solid case back. There is not much to set other than the time as the watch does not even have a seconds hand, something I very much welcome in a Quartz watch. The same watch was also available with a mechanical automatic movement as Ref. 2658.
Maybe a final word on the strap. Here is a shiny dark brown alligator strap. The alternative was a black alligator. What is common to the Richeville straps, they have a special insert so when put on the wrist, the strap perfectly aligns and follows the curves of the case, making it not only comfortable, but looking like an integrated bracelet. A nice touch of attention to detail as we know Girard-Perregaux.
