Gold Rush

In a yellow gold revival, the Piaget Polo 79 stands out for combining the maison’s duo expertise in gold artistry and ultra-thin movements.

- CHARMIAN LEONG

Every year, Piaget has been counted on to reveal some incredibly slender timepiece that breaks records in thinness with almost clockwork regularity. This year was no exception, as the brand flexes its technical muscle by cramming a tourbillon regulator into an Altiplano case just 2mm high, making it the thinnest tourbillon watch in the world.

Piaget, however, isn’t just a master of the ultra-thin. The maison introduced jewellery to its offerings in the 1960s, eventually leading to timepieces that blurred the lines between haute horlogerie and haute joaillerie. Brands that do both are not uncommon, but Piaget has managed to distinguish itself by developing sophisticated in-house expertise in gold and remains one of the only watchmakers with its own gold foundry in Geneva, Switzerland.

And how better to showcase this unique hybrid heritage this 150th anniversary year than with the new Piaget Polo 79?

RETURN TO GLORY

This watch is the highly anticipated contemporary version of the emblematic Polo that debuted in 1979 as a homage to Yves Piaget’s love of the equestrian world. While the original Polo’s elegant design and flashy yellow gold construction resonated with the glamorous spirit of the electric 80s, Piaget’s mastery of ultra-thin quartz calibres of that era also contributed to its allure.

Such movements were considered supremely chic then, with the first Polos flaunting the maison’s new 7P quartz calibre and a crown hidden in the caseback, rendering the shape — in round and square versions — perfectly symmetrical and sleek.