5 Things You Should Know Before Owning A Piaget Watch

Piaget is one of the most prestigious Maisons with a time-honored tradition of producing luxury watches and jewellery. The company was founded by Georges-Édouard Piaget in 1874 in La Côte-aux-Fées, a small village in the Swiss Jura Mountains. Initially, the firm manufactured high-precision watch movements and components. It has gradually evolved to become globally acclaimed luxury watchmaking and jewellery atelier.

In 1943, the trademark “Piaget” was registered by the founding family. This prestigious company had been managed by the Piaget family until the late 1980s. In 1988, the luxury Vendôme group acquired the Manufacture. Presently, Piaget is a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont group. Presently, the brand has two fully integrated production facilities at Plan-Les-Ouates near Geneva (for manufacturing jewellery and case manufacturing) and La Côte-aux-Fées (for manufacturing movements). The Maison unites more than one hundred crafts to achieve the highest standards in the fine watchmaking and jewellery-crafting sectors.

As a prominent watchmaker-jeweler label, Piaget has been closely associated with the luxurious and glamorous lifestyle. It is a major sponsor of various red-carpet events and film shows.

Five Exceptional Attributes of Piaget 

(1) Dual expertise

Piaget has a glorious heritage and technical know-how in two prestigious fields: fine watchmaking and jewellery. Only a few Maisons in the world have succeeded in such a tremendous accomplishment. This dual persona allows the brand to create an extensive range of timepieces in the jewellery and high-jewellery categories. Thanks to its immense expertise in both sectors, Piaget is able to maintain a diverse portfolio of luxury watches and jewellery creations.

(2) Master of Ultrathin Watches

Piaget is a leading producer of ultra-thin mechanical wristwatches. This segment demands daring and intense watchmaking skills. In 1957, the company introduced Calibre 9P, an extremely thin mechanical hand-wound movement with a thickness of only 2mm. It heralded a new era in the ultra-thin watch segment. The Calibre 12P – ultra-thin self-winding movement with 2.3mm thickness – was released in 1960.

In addition to these basic calibers, the brand has developed several mechanical ultra-thin movements with additional complications, gem-setting or open-working. Introduced in 2018, the Altiplano Ultimate Concept was the world’s thinnest mechanical watch (2mm) until the launch of the new record holder, the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra. The Altiplano series offers a wide range of ultra-thin Piaget watches featuring hand-wound or self-winding mechanical movements.

(3) Master of artistic dials

Piaget offers a wide selection of timepieces with artistically crafted dials. It is a leader in stone dial watches made of natural stones like Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Jade, Jasper, Malachite, Opal, Ruby or Turquoise. For manufacturing the dials of various Piaget watch models, the Maison also utilizes rare traditional artistic methods like Marquetry, Miniature Painting, Micro Mosaic, Sculpting, Embroidery, Guilloché, Enameling and Engraving. Piaget additionally offers fully or partially set dials featuring diamond or other ornamental stones. The brand also creates dials using exotic materials like aventurine glass, meteorite and mother-of-pearl.

(4) Expertise in Skeleton watches

Piaget is a key producer of mechanical skeleton watches. It has mastered the art of open-working since the 1970s. Presently, the brand is offering an impressive line-up of skeleton watches from its Altiplano, Polo and Emperador collections. In some variants, the Maison has united two extremely complex art crafts: skeleton-working and gem-setting. In the Skeleton segment, Piaget is also offering high-complication watches like the tourbillon.

(5) Leader in Jewellery Watches

Piaget is a world leader in the jewellery watches sector thanks to its immense expertise in fine horology, gold work, diamonds and other gem tones. The notable collections are Limelight, Extremely Lady, Possession, Treasures and Vintage Inspiration. These Piaget ladies’ watches usually feature precious metal cases with or without gem-setting. The brand also offers jewellery and high-jewelry watch models from Altiplano, Polo and Emperador collections.

The Piaget diamond watch models are available with various gem-setting techniques like brilliant, marquise or baguette-cut. Some versions combine the sparkle of diamonds with the splendor of other gemstones.

A Quick Glance on Piaget Watch Collections

Piaget makes quartz, automatic and manual-winding watches for men and women. The brand offers an impressive selection of luxury wristwatches from its flagship collections like Altiplano, Polo, Emperador, Limelight and Possession.

Piaget Altiplano 

Named after the Andean Plateau located in west-central South America, the Piaget Altiplano is a best-selling collection. Inspired by this iconic plateau, each timepiece from this series combines purity and elegance. The line-up offers exceptional timekeepers, ranging from time-only watches to high-complications, and from extremely thin models to diamond-set versions. Altiplano offers both ladies and gents wristwatches, featuring various case sizes ranging from 24mm to 42mm.

Piaget Polo

Polo is a luxury sports watch series. Its origins trace back to 1979. Made of steel or 18K gold, the distinct case of this Piaget mens watch is an amalgamation of round and cushion shapes. In 2016, the brand introduced Piaget Polo S watch featuring 42mm diameter case, automatic movement and an integrated steel bracelet or rubber strap. Presently, the collection also includes skeleton versions, models with leather straps and diamond-set variations. Among them, the Piaget Polo S green is a highly sought-after timepiece. Produced in a limited series, this stainless-steel model has a green dial with a horizontal pattern and a matching alligator strap.

Piaget Possession

Possession is a ladies collection, offering petite-sized wristwatches with case sizes ranging from 29mm to 34mm. Available in steel, gold and diamond-set versions, the Piaget Possession watch usually displays two hands operated by a quartz movement.

Piaget Limelight

Limelight is a family of glamorous and ultra-luxurious Piaget women watches. It offers quartz, automatic and manual-winding timepieces made of precious materials. These highly sophisticated and beautiful timepieces blend art, design, jewellery and fine watchmaking. Notable sub-categories are Aura, City, Gala, Garden Party, Paradise, Stella and Tonneau. The Piaget Limelight Gala watches stand out with their asymmetrical lugs, exceptional gem settings and curvaceous profiles. The Limelight Stella comes with an eye-catching moon-phase display.

Conclusion

Piaget’s wristwatch line-up is typically comprised of time-only, Date, Chronographs and dual-time watches. In the high-complication segment, the brand offers Perpetual Calendar, Tourbillon, Minute Repeater and Flyback Chronograph models.

In addition to the classic rounded-case timepieces, Piaget also offers Oval, Cushion, Tonneau and Reverse-Tonneau shaped watches. The approximate Piaget HK retail price range is HK$ 38,000 to HK$800,000.