When it was relaunched with a modernized and sleeker design in 2016, the Piaget Polo adopted the design cues of luxurious sports activities watches, barely altering the face of the gathering to turn out to be a cushion-shaped watch. Nevertheless, this isn’t how the mannequin began its life. This yr, Piaget celebrates its a hundred and fiftieth anniversary, and to whet our urge for food, the model brings again the unmistakable, opulent, equestrian stylish of the unique Piaget Polo. An built-in design with its trademark gadroons, it returns in late- Nineteen Seventies full-gold apparel. But when the inspiration is basic, this new Polo has been contemporarily reimagined, beginning with its computerized ultra-thin motion. Right here’s the brand new Piaget Polo 79.
Background
“We actually needed to reply to this explicit demand of our clients who’re used to getting simply gown watches,” defined Yves Piaget on the time. “However now our clients love to do an increasing number of sports activities. That’s a part of the evolution of our lives immediately. They wish to be beautiful, even in sports activities. They wish to put on a greater watch, even of their sports activities. So, we created this sports activities line which is waterproof, shockproof.”
The Nineteen Seventies had witnessed the arrival of a number of elegant sports activities watches, principally in metal, launched by among the grandest names of Swiss watchmaking. The metal luxurious sports activities watch with built-in bracelet revolutionized watch design and the notion collectors had of a high-end watch. Outlined by Audemars Piguet and Gerald Genta with the Royal Oak in 1972, the thought was to mix the practicality and resistance of a chrome steel watch, a constant design between the case and the bracelet, an off-the-cuff apparel and but the great thing about an ultra-thin, haute horlogerie motion. This watch profoundly influenced the business, impacting the model of different manufacturers and creating a completely new class. At Piaget, issues went in a different way… A dialog between Yves Piaget and Efraim Grinberg (then the distributor of Piaget in New York) in 1979 gave delivery to a watch like no different within the class, the Piaget Polo.
The Piaget Polo was not simply one other built-in sports activities watch. Whether or not rectangular or spherical, what made the Polo stand aside was how a sequence of horizontal gadroons created a particular ribbed sample from the bracelet to the case extending to the dial. As such, it’s Piaget by way of and thru, with that particular notion of luxurious and flamboyance. Moreover, if the Nineteen Seventies sports activities watches have been primarily out there in metal, the Polo was crafted fully in gold, capturing the purest spirit of the jeweller-watchmaker.
Like many watches in the course of the late Nineteen Seventies, the Piaget Polo was born with a quartz motion, which might be seen as a pure selection again then. At the moment, quartz was common for being a technological breakthrough, permitting manufacturers to provide watches that have been extra correct than the rest earlier than. Piaget had a number of milestones within the subject. The model was one of many pioneers of this new know-how, being a part of the consortium of Swiss manufacturers that created the primary prototype quartz wristwatch in 1966 with the Beta 21 motion. It’s across the evolution of this motion – the Beta 22 – that the cushion-shaped mannequin worn by Andy Warhol within the Nineteen Seventies was created. Nevertheless, the Beta actions have been comparatively thick, and the Polo was fitted with one other motion, the calibre 7P, which was launched in 1976, again then the world’s thinnest quartz motion.
The Polo was an enormous business success for the model and made it to the wrists of the jet set and celebrities, together with Ursula Andress. The road was discontinued within the late Nineteen Eighties earlier than making a comeback in 2001 in a modernized model. Extra lately, the evolution launched in 2016 includes a cushion-shaped case paying homage to the Emperador line.
The Piaget Polo 79
With the Polo 79, Piaget returns to the purest expression of the unique spherical model of the 1979 design. This new, daring, flamboyant watch is a trustworthy nod to the gold watch born 45 years in the past. However as a contemporary reissue of the historic mannequin, it comes with updates in step with present tastes and trendy technical options.
To start with, the proportions of the Piaget Polo 79 meet present traits with a 38mm diameter that may match most wrists. Whereas it’s elegantly compact, the watch is barely thicker at 7.45mm since a mechanical motion replaces the quartz calibre. Identical to within the late Nineteen Seventies, it’s launched in full gold. We now have a case and bracelet fabricated from 3N 18k yellow gold, a hotter hue of gold. The water-resistance score is 50m. The development of the case itself is sort of complicated, with the polished gadroons added later to a hollowed brushed case to create a constant meeting of gold.
The show again of this new Polo 79 reveals the extra-thin computerized Piaget calibre 1200P1. A trustworthy inheritor to the emblematic computerized calibre 12P, this motion has a diameter of 29.9mm with a peak of simply 2.35mm. It’s wound by an off-centered micro-rotor, it beats at 3Hz and it boasts 44h of energy reserve when totally wound. It’s properly completed with a circular-grained plate, bevelled bridges with round Geneva stripes, sunburst-brushed wheels and blued screws.
The trademark gadroons proceed as one’s gaze drifts to the dial, creating a visible continuity that ties your entire watch collectively. Customary out of gold, identical to the case and bracelet, this dial includes a tone-on-tone minute observe with pearl-like dots of various sizes, creating animation. The elegant dauphine-style arms are made out of 18k gold, too.
The bracelet seamlessly integrates into the case and alternates polished gadroons and satin-brushed flat surfaces, creating eye-catching reflections. Additionally it is extremely tactile and versatile, with an actual sense of fluidity. If the bracelet seems just like the unique mannequin, it has, just like the case, been modernized. Additionally it is beautifully executed with nice consideration to element and fantastically completed. The “spine” impact (with screws to assemble/disassemble the bracelet) on the inside aspect underlines its refined, sturdy building. It’s closed by a triple-blade folding clasp (with out micro-adjustment) versus a ladder clasp for the historic Polo.
The Piaget Polo 79 is a genuinely interesting, deliberately extravagant but coherent watch. Its model speaks for itself, and the general execution is undeniably stunning. The watch has a robust presence on the wrist and all of the heft you count on from a gold bracelet watch. And if the selection of gold makes good sense on this historic context, I might be actually curious to see variations in different supplies. It’s launched as a part of the everlasting assortment, and if it isn’t a restricted version per se, it will likely be restricted in manufacturing. It is going to be priced at EUR 80,000.
For extra data, please go to www.piaget.com.
