Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver Watch Review
The Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver ref. 39500-21-3266-6CX is a modern reinterpretation of the classic Deep Diver. The case is inspired by the 1969 original, while the dial respectfully pays tribute to the 1971 edition. Vintage-watch-loving Mark McArthur-Christie examines each facet of the new Deep Diver’s subaquatic torso, eager to discover its period charms.
The ’60s and ’70s – a glorious design era
As the 1960s ended and the 1970s rolled around, the world was giddily looking forward to a bright, new age where technology made anything possible. Concorde had performed its maiden flight, the Citroën SM, with its V6 Maserati engine, hydropneumatic suspension, spaceship looks and THE prettiest chrome gear shift (yes, that includes you, Ferrari), could be seen turning heads on the King’s Road and the Trellick Tower brought Brutalism to London’s Notting Hill.
This was an era with all the subtlety and inhibition of a three martini lunch.
As you’d expect, watches from this period tend to undo an extra shirt button, revealing a hirsute chest and gold medallion. Good examples include Seiko’s 56GS, with its glorious multifaceted crystal, Omega’s cockpit-computer-on-your-wrist Flightmaster and Girard-Perregaux’s Deep Diver ref. 9108.
The Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver ref. 9108
Yes, there were some rather more subtle contemporary Deep Divers from GP. For instance, the ref. 7897, apart from its diving bezel, gave you no clue it wasn’t the sort of watch you could wear to your job at the bank. But with its sunray-brushed, twin-crown supercompressor case, the 9108 was the Watchworld’s Lamborghini Countach. And now, it’s back, looking even bolder and brighter.
The new Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver – water resistant to 200 m
If you know the supercompressor-cased 9108, you’ll recognise the slab case with its sunray brushing to the bezel, vertical brushing to the case sides, the twin hatched crowns and the baton and spade hands. There’s still a proper internal bezel too, rotated with the crown at 2 o’clock. That dial design will be pretty familiar, even though it’s had an update and a blast of new colour.
So, is the new watch a supercompressor and does it actually matter? The whole idea of the Ervin Piquerez S.A. (EPSA) supercompressor case was that the deeper you went, the tighter the caseback pressed against its seal, making the watch near-as-dammit impervious to water.
This new Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver is not a supercompressor, but it really doesn’t need to be. Case materials, rubber gasket compounds and machining tolerances were very different back in the ‘60s and ’70s. Modern technology and production techniques mean the new Deep Diver will stay happily watertight to any depth you’re likely to reach – and then some – with no need for a compressible caseback, as cool as one would be.
In the real world, the Deep Diver’s water resistance of 200 m is way more than anyone, including most commercial divers, will need. After all, if you’re planning a 200 m dive, you’ll already be a qualified saturation diver and be willing to spend around eight days in a decompression chamber, more than enough time to admire your new watch. While you’re admiring, you might spot that the caseback wording is a little different from most. Rather than the original model’s ‘water resistant to 20 ATM’, GP has gone with a ‘Waterpool resistant’ inscription for the new watch. With a potential depth of 200 m, that’s some pool!
The new Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver – Grade 5 titanium case
The new Deep Diver isn’t intended to be a faithful copy of the old watch. According to Girard Perregaux, it’s ‘a modern reinterpretation that bridges past and present.’ In other words, you get a watch that has all the style of the original but with up-to-date watchmaking. That’s a hard one to resist.
Rather than traditional stainless steel, the ref. 39500 features a 40 mm by 38 mm Grade 5 titanium case. Grade 5 is an alloy of 90% titanium, 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium with traces of iron and oxygen, so it’s tougher than some of the other Ti alloys. Being light, corrosion resistant and hypoallergenic, it’s a handy metal for watch cases, even though it has a tendency to eat CNC tools.
Despite the apparently modest dimensions, the watch certainly has some presence, helped by the case being nearly 14 mm thick, the dial taking up most of the case front and the two crowns. It’s not overwhelming, you just know it’s there, albeit it’s a lot lighter than its steel ancestor. The crowns look after, respectively, rotating the inner bezel and winding/setting. There’s an echo of the earlier watch with the cross-hatching gracing both.
The caseback leaves you in no doubt of the watch’s function, thanks to its Poseidon’s trident on the sea-blue sapphire centre. It’s not often one sees a combination caseback like this, using a see-through sapphire centre set into a metal surround, but it works well, delivering both water resistance and a welcome view of the movement. There’s a neat echo of the tetradecagonal polished titanium bezel on the front of the case with the sides of the screw-in caseback too.
The new Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver – Calibre GP03300
Behind the caseback is the 218 component Manufacture Calibre GP03300. It’s a well-known GP engine that’s in service across the Maison’s range – even the Laureato Chronograph uses it with a chrono module on top. It runs at 28,800 vph (4 Hz) and has a power reserve of 46 hours. It’s not huge – just a tad under 26 mm in diameter and a little over 3 mm thin but still manages to incorporate some attractive finishing. You might have wanted a larger sapphire window to admire the circular graining on the bidirectional (just like the Gyronmatic original) winding weight, bridges with Côtes de Genève and polished bevels, gleaming screws and even more circular graining.
The Deep Diver’s movement is certainly a great deal more subtle than its dial. The roulette wheel with its orange, white and blue rectangular indices is unmistakable. Although it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, this is far from a bad thing. After all, shouldn’t a watch like this be about making a statement? And strong dial designs seem to be making a welcome comeback with models like Tissot’s Sideral, almost anything by Doxa (another diver) and Nomos. The hands and indices make full use of Super LumiNova’s ability to be one colour during the day and another at night. In this case, orange when it’s light and icy blue when the lights go out.
Neatly, you can mirror this with your strap choice. The Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver comes with two (appropriately – this is a diver, remember) rubber straps, each fitted with a titanium pin buckle, one in orange, the other in blue. They’re quick-release, with a tiny snib on each pin you can just pull back to snick out of the lug. The security of these are always a bit of a worry, but if it bothers you, the DD is a watch that would suit a NATO very well indeed. You could even try to hunt down an original bracelet from the ‘70s.
Closing remarks
With the advent of the Deep Diver Ref. 39500, Girard Perregaux has broadened its range of Legacy Editions from just the Casquette re-editions. Wouldn’t it be great to see some other watches in the line-up? Could we lobby for bringing back versions of the more out-there Gyromatic-powered models from the early ‘70s? Maybe a new Olímpico 9075AF Chronograph? Or how about a gold-cased Beta21 re-edition? Each of these would prove glorious ownership propositions. Oh, and with all this ‘70s wonderfulness, perhaps we can bring back the three martini lunch as well.
Further reading
Technical specification
- Model: Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver
- Reference: 39500-21-3266-6CX
- Case: Grade 5 titanium, dimensions 40.30 mm x 38.00 mm, height 13.91 mm; water resistance 20 ATM (200 metres), sapphire crystal to front, blue metallised sapphire crystal caseback with metallised Deep Diver logo.
- Functions: hours, minutes, central seconds, date, rotating inner bezel
- Movement: GP03300-2339, self-winding movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), 27 jewels; power reserve min. 46 hours, 218 components.
- Strap: blue rubber strap with quick-release system, fitted with a titanium pin buckle. Also supplied with a complimentary orange rubber strap mounted on a titanium pin buckle
- Price: £12,900 (RRP as of 24.6.2025)