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In late February, during a brief trip to Los Angeles, Marc Michel-Amadry, managing director of the Swiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux (GP), had a serendipitous encounter that reminded him of something he already knew: “The more I travel, the more I understand the power of being close to collectors,” he tells Robb Report.

The reminder came during a visit to longtime retail partner Feldmar Watch Co. in West Los Angeles. “We were having a conversation with our partner, and then suddenly, Jay Leno is passing by,” Michel-Amadry recalls. (A passionate watch collector, Leno is a longtime Feldmar client.)

“I said, ‘Jay, how are you? I need to introduce myself,’” Michel-Amadry says. “And believe it or not, he had three pocket watches in his bag, just because: Two pocket watches that he was bringing to our partner for a service, and a third one, which was a Girard-Perregaux pocket watch from 1880. And to discover this, it was like, ‘How is it possible for this to happen?’ The pocket watch was in such beautiful condition. It was really an exceptional piece, a triple calendar, double dial from 1880. And I said, ‘Jay, do you mind if we organize an impromptu interview about your watch?’ And he said, ‘Yes, of course.’

“All this is to say that it is critical to be there, to talk to people, and to listen and listen and listen,” Michel-Amadry says.

Since joining GP in February 2025, the longtime Swiss watch executive—formerly chief commercial officer at IWC—has made a habit of leaving GP headquarters in La Chaux-de-Fonds, home to the brand’s villa and manufacture, to meet collectors and clients firsthand.

“I have met so many collectors, so many people who are crazy GP fans—but not always—and I like to have both,” he says. “Because they give you different perspectives. The reality is that I’m new, but at the same time not new to Girard-Perregaux in the context that I joined a year ago exactly. But I’ve known the brand for quite a long time. It just so happens that I was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds. And I have always been a fan of that brand and particularly a big fan of Gino Macaluso, whom I had the privilege to meet three times.”

Macaluso, who died in 2010, remains a towering figure in watchmaking. A former rally driver, he rose to prominence as the Italian distributor for Blancpain, Hamilton, and Breitling before becoming president of Sowind Group in 1992. Under his leadership, GP evolved into a respected manufacturer of both high complications and sport watches, including the Laureato, its 1975 steel icon with an octagonal bezel and integrated bracelet.

In mid-March, Michel-Amadry paid tribute to that legacy with the introduction of the Minute Repeater Flying Bridges, a $590,000 rose-gold chiming watch produced in a maximum of eight pieces. Each example comprises 475 components and requires more than 440 hours of assembly and finishing alone. “You see all the angling, all the beveling of all the different components,” Michel-Amadry says. “We have 1,340 hand polished angles out of which 295 are inner angles. You can only do it properly if you have a very skilled beveler.”

The release is part of a broader push. Since last fall, GP has introduced three entirely new reference calibers, with a fourth slated for September. “These are four movements which are not simply evolutions of existing calibers, but fundamentally brand-new movements,” Michel-Amadry says.

“The market is changing at light speed and I think we have seen from the latest reports that value is becoming more important than volumes,” he adds. “This is clearly where we want to concentrate our efforts. We need to be super credible at the top, so that when you buy a Laureato three-hands automatic, you buy all this magnificent knowhow, expertise, credibility, history. And this is why we are, for the past six months, focusing a lot on the top part of the pyramid.”

That strategy began in earnest last September with the debut of Caliber GP 4800, a fully in-house movement featuring a silicium escapement, stop-seconds function, and upgraded winding system. Weeks later came the Laureato Fifty, a 39 mm two-tone steel and yellow-gold limited edition powered by the new caliber.

“Then we introduced the Laureato Three Gold Bridges in 41 millimeters and 50 pieces, also to celebrate 50 years of the Laureato,” Michel-Amadry says. “It’s got a brand-new movement from A to Z that has been designed and conceived exclusively for the Laureato.”

“I don’t know any brand introducing four major movements like this in such a short period of time,” he adds.

For Michel-Amadry, that ambition is measured not by volume, but by integrity. “We are not obsessed with the idea to grow,” he says.

Reflecting on the minute repeater, he offers a final perspective: “There was a person who asked me, ‘How long does it take to make this watch?’” he says. “And the answer was ‘235 years.’ I mean, it was my natural answer. We talk about prices, but these are priceless timepieces.”