The 1970s gave birth to many movements and trends, but in the realm of watchmaking, it witnessed the birth of the luxury sports watch with integrated bracelet. Among them, was the Piaget Polo created by Yves G. Piaget in 1979. Quickly becoming a star, it became much more than just a watch, growing into an authentic symbol of luxury for the jet set of the era. The genius behind its design summed up the Polo philosophy in one sentence: “It’s a watch bracelet rather than a mere wristwatch.”
Perfectly matching the flair of high society surrounding the Piaget, celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Miles Davis and Andy Warhol were drawn to the Polo. The evolution of the Polo can be traced through distinct eras ‒ in 2001 with larger dimensions and then in 2009 with the debut of the Piaget Polo FortyFive, culminating in 2011 with the Polo FortyFive Perpetual Calendar equipped with the manufacture calibre 855P, one of the thinnest self-winding mechanical movements.
In 2016, the Polo S marked a new kind of Polo for a new era, finally uniting the Emperador line back within the fold. In 2021, the Polo S finally went back to its ultra-thin foundations with the Piaget Polo Skeleton and its 2.4 mm flat and skeletonised 1200S movement ‒ the truest expression of the Polo since Yvesʼ ground-breaking design.
For Watches & Wonders 2023, the Piaget Polo line has grown rapidly to encompass a new Perpetual Calendar that improves upon the previous 855P calendar movement by becoming 1.6 mm thinner! The new ultra-thin calibre 1255P, which is only 4 mm high, is based on the calibre 1200P. Thus, the new Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin has an overall height of 8.65 mm.
Calibre 1255P is meant to display the precise day, date and year up to the year 2100. Two models ‒ one in pink gold with a green dial, and an exceptional white gold model with a blue obsidian dial and blue sapphires ‒ enrich the Polo collection, which brings us to our next point.
Having built a following for its high jewellery creations, the La Côte-aux-Fées watchmaker is also known for its colourful semiprecious stone dials, and as the owner of Genevaʼs largest jewellery workshop, gemstone setting is an important part of the brand’s DNA. The Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Obsidian has the same specs as the steel variant, which was released in March 2023.
It has a cushion-shaped stainless steel case with a flat circular bezel, and features a 42 mm diameter, an 8.65 mm height and a water resistance of 30 metres. While the 18K pink gold model has the same emerald green dial as the steel model, both with their trademark horizontal gadroons, the new Polo Perpetual Calendar with a blue obsidian dial is particularly striking, drawing on Piagetʼs extensive experience with exotic materials and stones.
Its mesmerising silvery blue obsidian dial is bordered by different-sized blue sapphires in dark claws set in the bezel. Obsidian is a type of volcanic glass formed when lava from a volcano rapidly cools. The natural iridescence in this watch’s obsidian face is caused by drops of mineral-rich sulphide liquid being caught in the rock as it freezes, a phenomena that assures no two stones are alike. The perpetual calendar arrangement is identical to the steel model, with the month and leap year indication at noon, the date at three o’clock, the day of the week at nine o’clock, and the moon phase at six o’clock.
PIAGET POLO PERPETUAL CALENDAR PRICE + SPECS
Case 42 mm x 8.65 mm thick 18K pink gold or 18K white gold with 30 metres water resistance
Movement Automatic calibre 1255 with 42 hours power reserve
Price EUR 77,500 (pink gold); EUR 116,000 (white gold)
(Images: Piaget)
