My 1997 Girard Perregaux Ferrari model 8020 chronograph wristwatch

Yesterday, my wife gave me a 1997 Girard Perregaux Ferrari model 8020 chronograph wristwatch for my birthday.

I think it is an absolutely beautiful watch. I can’t say it was a surprise because, in January, I absolutely raved to her about how badly I wanted one. She first asked cryptically for a rough description, then, a day or two later asked for detailed instructions, and, finally, recognizing that I was obsessing on one specific hard to find item, told me to just go buy the darned watch on her behalf. The condition was that she would hide it from me until my birthday, which was yesterday. Eight months of torture.

I was first struck by the lightening in late 2016 where, in the 308/328 section of FChat, someone started a thread on Ferrari wristwatches. I don’t have much logo’ed paraphernalia or clothing, but began to think that a well-done Ferrari logo watch could be a really nice thing. Every watch I looked at though – there and elsewhere on the internet – really didn’t float my boat. Particularly, I didn’t like all the bright colors. Then, Martin308GTB posted an image of his monochrome GP8020. I was smitten. It “checked all the boxes”. Martin’s watch was perfect. I corresponded with Martin extensively and he shared his stories about his watch and encouraged me to buy one. A great guy.

I started scheming about buying an GP8020. I had never shopped for an antique watch before. I had a day off in New York City early in the year and spent the day visiting many of the “usual suspects” jewelry stores which have large used watch inventories. It seemed no one had much Girard Perregaux. One jeweler, who only sold new watches but still should probably remain nameless, suggested I search the Chrono24 website. They said it was a bit like an eBay for high-end wristwatches.

Bingo!

I found a beauty, almost like Martin’s, in Barcelona, Spain. The merchant had posted lots of good photos, the watch looked new, and it came with all the boxes, manuals and warranty cards. I phoned the seller and had a nice reassuring conversation. I bought it.

FexEx International “Overnight” Service takes a week. The FexEx tracking website hardly updated the status of the package as it crawled California-bound. It appeared to sit at the Paris airport for days. It drove me nuts. The box finally arrived wrapped in “US Fish and Wildlife Inspection” tape. Later, FedEx sent me a bill for a small amount of Import Duty / Taxes it paid on my behalf.

Opening the box showed everything was fine. The watch was exactly as described in the Chrono24 listing. I promptly took it to my local jeweler to have condition and authenticity verified before the 14 day Chrono24 escrow period expired. It all checked out. I convinced my wife to allow me to wear it for a few days to confirm it kept time. After that, she confiscated it and hid it away until yesterday.

Now that I have it back again after its 8-month impoundment, it is just as I remember. Beside the looks, there are so many things I love about the GP8020.

First, I love that it comes from a time before “Ferrari Lifestyle” was aggressively marketed; Ferrari was a car company not a “lifestyle” company. It’s probably one of the first lifestyle items marketed with the Ferrari name. Apparently, it all started over a lunch among good friends: Luigi Macaluso (President of Girard-Perregaux), Piero Ferrari and Luca di Montezemelo. Apparently, they decided to collaborate.

Second, it is interesting to me that Girard Perregaux was struggling financially when the partnership started. I like to think the GP8020 gave an important financial boost to Girard Perregaux the same way my 308 did for Ferrari.

Third, as I said above, I love is how subtle the Ferrari branding is. Yeah, my watch has the horsie, but it doesn’t scream like many watches do, even the Ferrari Panerais or Hublots which followed. A logo watch is a tricky thing.

The fourth thing I love is that the depreciation has already been taken for these watches. Although still expensive, they can now be had for a quarter of their original MSRP. This despite the number of watches produced by Girard Perregaux being much, much smaller than successors Panerai or Hublot.

I have since learned that the guts of the watch are the 57 jewel automatic calibre GP2280 based off of the ETA 2892-A2 with a Dubois-Depraz 2021 chrono module which are both modified to GP requirements. I am not sure what this all means, but it sounds fancy. My watch has movement number 2280-681 engraved on its winding weight. According to Wikipedia, other companies, such as Breitling and International Watch Company, also use this movement. I have a few mechanical watches but only one is as thick as the GP8020. I like the way it looks and feels.

I think I am going to be wearing this one watch for quite a while.
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BrianA - that is a fantastic watch and I agree with you completely that the subtle Ferrari theme is the way to go.

Today I'm wearing my Dodane Type 23 flyback chrono.
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Hello Brian,

congrats for finally getting the watch And of course a late Happy Birthday.

This watch looks great. As you know, I spent a fair amount of money for a complete rebuild of mine. It was by far no more so nice like yours prior to the factory visit.

I even wore it while rebuilding waterpumps
But no more after the rebuild. Honestly, I rarely wear it since the rebuild because I fear the slightest scratch.

Before (first two pics)
After (third pic)

Best from Germany
Martin
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Great story! Wear it well.

 

Awesome ! wear it the best health.. And happy birthday

 

Here's my 8020. #39/100. Thought you might like to see it. Bought it in 98 or 99 after it sat in a dealer showroom/case for a year or two. Great deal on it - they were dying to sell it.

gp
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Nice watch! Glad you got a good deal on it.

Now is the time to buy these things though; nice watches with no more depreciation likely.

 

Since I want to be one of the cool kids, can you tell me how to spot a fake? I have looked at a few online and there are minor differences, red numerals for "60" seems popular.

Thanks!

 

I'm not aware, that there are fakes of this watch on the market. GP is just too unknown. Rolex is a different thing.
If you want to be absolutely sure, contact the factory and forward them the serial number.

I am sure, that mine is no fake, since I gave it to the factory for a complete rebuild in 2011 and picked it up again in person 4 months later.

But there are indeed subtle differences within the 8020 series.

Best from Germany
Martin

 

I have only bought one antique watch so am no great authority on the matter, but I can offer my thoughts.

Like Martin points out, GP is not Rolex and the incentives for forgers to make imitation GPs is probably much lower than imitation Rolexes.

I have seen a few fake Ferrari GPs, but you tell they are fake from a mile away. First, GP case and bracelets are very high quality and the fakes just look cheap and terrible. Second, the GP Ferrari watch product range was not all that big so it is fairly easy to learn what GP made and what they did not. Additionally, GP issued a catalog during the Ferrari watch years which shows their product line. I bought one on eBay for $7 titled "Girard-Perregaux Millennium Yearbook". It is hardcover and 288 pages in length. Its a beautiful little book actually.

The most important answer regarding the authentic vs fake is to buy from a reputable source. Since GPs are rare, it is difficult to find one in a local jewelry store, but there are dealers around the world who may have them. Phone around. I am sure used watch dealers also provide "watch finder" services who can bring one in.

As I wrote in Post #1 above, I had good success with Chrono24.com. Before you buy, you can check the reputation of the seller, see how many transactions they've made, ask for more photos, telephone, etc. Likewise, Chrono24.com does not pay the seller until 14 days after you pay into a Chrono24 escrow account. This is to allow you to have the watch checked and file for a return if it is different than is represented.

When I first got my GP8020 in my hot little hands the first thing I did was run down to a local jeweler to have the watch checked and authenticated. The smaller jewelry stores usually have a traveling watch repair person, who services many jewelry stores, do their watch work for them. They don't need to be GP experts; they are just using their experience to inspect the general construction and quality of the movement and look for obvious stuff ("Made in China" on the movement "might" be a tip-off!). If you were buying a $250,000 antique Patek Philippe, you probably would want to be more diligent than that, but for a GP 8020 that is probably enough risk mitigation.

 

Gentlemen, does this look legit? The real deal?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Girard-Perregaux-Ferrari-Ref-8020-chronograph-mens-wristwatch-steel-case/232760945505?hash=item3631a22b61:g:Y2IAAOSwZVhWS8o5

 

It certainly looks like the “real deal”. It is one of the styles GP manufactured in period, the construction details look legit, the back looks right, etc. It would be nice if there were more closeup photos. It has Martin’s watch face exactly although Martin has it with the stainless-steel bracelet; a combination I have never seen for sale. (If you want the stainless-steel bracelet, buying one separately is $800-ish.)

However, this eBay watch has really lived a hard life. It appears that there are dents and scratches pretty much everywhere. There is a raised ring around the crystal of an 8020 that is vulnerable to dents; and the one you are looking at has many dents. Having the watch refurbished at the factory will probably be expensive.

I’m not sure if you own any other Swiss mechanical timepieces, but if you do, you’ll know that, in addition to being mechanical masterpieces, they are also beautiful jewelry. That means that they are very finely made and, to most people, their appearance is as important as their mechanical condition. The price difference between a perfectly kept like-new watch and a beater is narrow; my opinion is that it’s worth buying a “perfect” one. Many used watches at this level still look brand new.

These watches were originally accompanied by an elaborate lacquered GP watch box, a fancy GP cardboard box to enclose that and thick GP instruction booklets and GP warranty cards. There are many reasons for these being separated from the watch itself but getting them helps with the feeling that the watch has been properly taken care of through its 20 year life.

Check too eBay’s satisfaction insurance policies. The eBay watch would be coming from Buenos Aries, so you can’t exactly drive there to return it yourself. A phone call to the seller might help bridge the confidence gap.

I just checked Chrono24, and there are no similar watches currently for sale there. They do pop up and I am surprised there are currently none. Just keep checking.

 

Brian,

my search on Chrono24 resulted in fairly many 8020s (?)

Just one example:

https://www.chrono24.com/girardperregaux/ferrari-8020-stainless-steel-black-dial-38mm-automatic-watch--id3860241.htm

BTW. I think my factory rebuild was making a beater brand new. It was $1.500 including refurbishment of the casing, which looked similar like the 'Buenos Aires-watch', a new crystal, new hands and a lot of internal worn parts.
But it took 20 weeks and there were no shipping costs, except fuel for the 300mls. round-trip.



Best from Germany
Martin

 

I keep salivating over the Buenos Aries watch as it is already a bit banged up. I wouldn't be afraid to wear it. But, as you have noted, there is no guarantee that it will function properly which does give me pause.

 

Just got off the phone with the "local" service center. He said that "the works" (My words not his) runs about $1125 and 6 weeks. So full paid would be around $3k. A nicer one on .. Well sh*T. which one of you fine folks bought the one that Martin linked to? ;-)

 

Go to the main Chrono24.com website. Enter "Girard Perregaux 8020" in the search box. Between 30 and 60 8020s are usually listed for sale. There are some pretty nice ones.

If you search on "Girard Perregaux Ferrari" about 150 watches pop up. There are some remarkable watches. For me, the Foudroyantes are technically really cool although actually maybe too subtle having only the "S.F" of Scuderia Ferrari on the face. Another very cool one is the F50 watch.

Now that I look at these other GPs, the branding on many is almost code; undecipherable unless you're "in the know." It is amazing how tastes have changed over the last 30 years. Well, except maybe the "Enzo" Tourbillon which was already over the top; … ahead of its time.

 

Ignore my final paragraph: there are lots of 8020s that scream "Ferrari."

 

I especially dislike those with the 'scudetto'. But I also don't have fender shields on my car


Best Regards
Martin

 

I have had several GP's, but my 048 is a keeper.

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"048" ?

 

I'll have to look, but I'm pretty sure it is a 048. The 047 was aluminum and the 048 is titanium.

 

Here is a link that describes the GP F1-047 and GP F1-048 watches:
https://www.fratellowatches.com/an-uncommon-girard-perregaux-the-f1-047-chronograph/

I was curious what the 048 or 047 number refers to and now believe they are engine numbers for 1999 (?) Ferrari V10 F1 engines whose metal was used to make the watches. Presumably / hopefully the engines won some races!

 

That is correct. The numbers refer to the F1 engine numbers. The way the story goes is the 047, which was aluminum, used aluminum from the castings from the Ferrari F1 program. The 048 used titanium from the F1 team. The 047 was very limited (I forget how many). There were more 048s. I had both, but I liked the 048 better and sold the 047. Of course, that one went up in value!

 

Ok, so next question or two is, F1-047 vs 8020. Is it a matter of personal preference or is one more likely to increase in value? How much premium goes with a watch with the box?

 

There are fewer 047s. So, I would think that one. Everyone likes boxes and papers, but who knows what its worth.