Piaget celebrates the start of its 150th anniversary with the Piaget Polo 79 as a tribute to a visionnaire and watchmaking icon.
With the advent of Piaget’s 150th anniversary this year, you would expect the maison to pull out its heavy hitters and boy, they sure did with the Piaget Polo 79. If anything, this release sets the stage for what will come this April at Watches & Wonders 2024, when Piaget unveils their novelty pieces to celebrate a major milestone in its history.
Talking about major milestones, the Piaget Polo 79’s direct predecessor, known simply as the Piaget Polo, represents an important chapter in Piaget’s history books. For long, Piaget has established itself as one of the forerunners of dress watches, but the dawn of the 1980s saw a shift in their client’s (especially the elites and who’s-who) lifestyle.
“We really had to answer to this particular demand of our customers who are used to getting just dress watches.’ explained Yves Piaget at the time. “But now our customers like to do more and more sports. That’s part of the evolution of our lives today. They want to be exquisite, even in sport. They want to wear a better watch, even in their sports. So we created this sport line which is waterproof, shockproof.”
Yves Piaget’s answer to that was simple: the Piaget Polo, which crystallised his love of horses and the highlife that was emblematic of the glamour of the 1980s. He took a step further, though, to differentiate it from the rise of 1970s steel sports watches (notably Gérald Genta’s designs) by forging the Piaget Polo entirely in gold, making it equally at home at a polo game or night club. Beyond the glitz and glamour, the watch showcased Yves’ vision as it paved the way for an array of variations to come, including round, square, gem set, bi-colour, and complication pieces.
Fast forward to the present day, the Piaget Polo 79 pays tribute to the original creation, echoing its design codes, most notably from its striking gold case and bracelet. Alternating polished gadroon and brushed block links flow seamlessly from the watch case, which also bears the same visual language as the bracelet.
The mastery of Piaget’s artisans and metalsmiths is on full display as the individual components are formed and shaped as though the entire watch was sculpted from a single piece of gold. In keeping with modern-day tastes, the Piaget Polo 79 houses the ultra-thin 1200P1 calibre in favour of the famed 7P quartz movement from its heyday.