Piaget unveils the Piaget Polo 79
Rebirth of a 1980’s icon, now with an ultra-thin in-house self-winding calibre.
“In 1979, Piaget revealed a watch that would come to define the spirit of the 1980s, which is coming back to life today for the 150th anniversary of the Maison.”
PIAGET
Piaget – founded by Georges-Edouard Piaget in 1874 in La Côte-aux-Fées, a municipality in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, is a globally renown luxury watchmaker and jeweller. Since 1988, Piaget is a subsidiary of the Swiss based Richemont Group and headquartered in Geneva.
Initially founded as a manufacturer of timepieces movements, the 20th century saw Piaget creating and marketing its own line of timepieces. As a watchmaker, Piaget is a pioneer in ultra-thin timepiece movements, both mechanical hand-wound and automatic. In addition, Piaget is a world-class jeweller. Their jewellery expertise comprises of design and craftsmanship, gem-cutting and setting, enameling, gold craftsmanship, as well as others. The combination of their watchmaking and jewellery heritage and expertise has resulted in iconic collections such as “Altiplano, Piaget Polo, Limelight Gala, Possession, Piaget Sunlight, Piaget Rose and Extremely Piaget.”
Piaget is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
PIAGET POLO 79
The original Piaget Polo was created in response to demand for timepieces suited to a more active lifestyle and desire for sports.
In Yves Piaget’s own words at the time:
“We really had to answer to this particular demand of our customers who are used to getting just dress watches. 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.”
It was named “Polo” as Piaget clientele loved the “elite sport” of polo and Yves Piaget had a tremendous love for horses.
Now 45 years later, Piaget has unveiled the Polo 79, a timepiece that pays homage to the iconic Piaget Polo first unveiled in 1979. The Polo 79’s functions are hours and minutes. While the original Piaget Polo had a quartz calibre with its crown on the caseback, the Polo 79 is equipped with an ultra-thin in-house self-winding calibre, with its crown on the right side of the case at the 3 o’clock position.
Dial, Case and Integrated Bracelet
The Polo 79’s dial, case, integrated bracelet and folding buckle are all crafted in 18K yellow gold. It has a case diameter of 38 mm and case thickness of 7.45 mm. The case is water resistant to 50 metres.
It has a minimalist dial, with the 18K gold dauphine hour and minute hands positioned on the centre of the dial. Gold minute-marker dots encircle the dial. At every 5-minute mark, the dot is larger. “Piaget” is displayed in black between the centre of the dial and the 12 o’clock position. “Swiss Made” is displayed discreetly at the bottom of dial, just below the 6 o’clock position. Both the dial and caseback have a sapphire crystal.
A signature design feature of the Polo 79 is the horizontal polished gadroons. A gadroon is a decorative edging on metal, formed by parallel rounded strips. On the Polo 79, gadroons are present on the bracelet, case, and continue inside the dial, where there are 4 of them. Visually the entire timepiece appears that it is crafted from a single block of gold, when in reality it is a multi-part construction.
Another prominent design feature is the alternating satin and brushed finish on the gold surface of the bracelet, case, and dial.
Calibre
The Polo 79 is powered by Piaget’s ultra-thin self-winding calibre 1200P1. Its functions are hours and minutes. It is a superbly finished calibre. It features a 18K yellow gold micro-rotor and a thickness of 2.35 mm. It has 25 jewels, beats at a frequency of 21,600 BPH or 3 Hz and has a power reserve of 44 hours. It is visible via a sapphire caseback.
Concluding Thoughts
The Piaget Polo 79 is a worthy homage to the 1979 original. It is a beautiful timepiece. It is well executed and a far more modern timepiece than its predecessor. It reinforces Piaget’s tremendous capabilities as both a watchmaker and jeweller, the latter because of the intricacies of gold work required in this timepiece. It is a worthy addition to Piaget’s catalogue and to the current horological landscape.
Availability and Pricing
Name: Piaget Polo 79
Reference: G0A49150
Price: United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED): 281,000.00
Not a limited edition, but limited production.
Website: www.piaget.com/ae-en
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