MTF's insightful article, "Piaget - A Rightful Manufacture - Part 1: Geneva," sheds light on Piaget's often-underestimated legacy as a true horological manufacture. This piece is crucial for understanding the brand's deep roots in movement production, highlighting its historical significance beyond its renowned jewelry creations. It underscores Piaget's enduring commitment to watchmaking excellence, a tradition that predates its modern brand identity.

PIAGET – A RIGHTFUL MANUFACTURE – PART 1: GENEVA

Philippe Léopold-Metzger, Piaget CEO: Outside Piaget Manufacture Geneva

Many watch aficionados and experts are not even aware that Piaget has been one of the most important Swiss makers of ébauches or movement components for more than 130 years.  Their ‘silent’ clients included Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Cartier, Ebel, Longines, Omega, Rolex, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron & Constantin, Vulcain, Wittnauer and Zenith.

In 1874, Georges Édouard Piaget founded the movement workshop on his family farm, at the age of 19 years, and devoted himself to perfecting the lever escapement to new levels of thinness.  His credo was “Always do better than necessary” and within a few decades, Piaget was compelled by success to build new workshops in the Swiss Jura town of La Côte-aux-Fées.

In 1943, Gérald and Valentin Piaget (grandsons of the founder) registered the Piaget brand name and the old workshop began making watches signed and sold as Piaget watches.  In 1945, again Piaget was compelled by success to build a new Manufactory in La Côte-aux-Fées.  The cal.9P hand-wind (1.35mm) ultra-thin movement and cal.12P automatic (2.3mm) World’s thinnest self-winding movement established Piaget as ultra-thin watch specialists.  In 1976, Piaget produced the cal. 7P, the smallest quartz movement of its generation.

In 1988, Piaget joined Vendôme Luxury Group that was to become Richemont with stable mates like Cartier, Dunhill, Montblanc, Van Cleef & Arpels, Baume & Mercier, Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange & Söhne, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC and Officine Panerai.

Our visit to the Piaget Manufacture in Geneva included a guided tour of the facilities by Pascal Narbeburu, Directeur Manufacture followed by an interview with CEO Philippe Léopold-Metzger.

The Tour

In 2001, Piaget built a new Manufacture in the Genevan suburb of Plan-les-Ouates.  The site designed by Swiss architects Pierre Studer SA, is shaped like a circle that is lit up at night and symbolises a watch dial.  Visitors usually enter the main building via a footbridge corresponding to the hand of the watch but while I was there, they were adding an extension building and I had to sneak in through the side entrance!  The architectural concept gives pride of place to light, thanks to large bay windows.  Wood is widely used both inside and outside, representing a natural material that, in the architect’s words “does not injure the precious metal, while symbolising the jewel-case”.

Pascal Narbeburu, Directeur Manufacture, explained that the production is organised according to lines, so as to guarantee quality and efficiency.  Large areas devoid of pillars and partitions provide great flexibility to allow for the evolution of structures to keep pace with new creations.  In setting up the Manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates, Piaget transferred more than 40 specialist professions on site, including the following activities: machining bracelet and cases, gem setting, polishing, rhodium-plating, assembly, casing-up and adjustment.

A dedicated prototype workshop and an after-sales service also work alongside the production lines.  The new site houses the design of watches and high jewellery creations.  The coexistence of these activities reflects Piaget’s twin vocation, as master watchmaker and master jeweller.  La Côte-aux-Fées in the Swiss Jura continues to serve as the Manufacture of movements, Piaget’s original field of expertise.  It is there that Piaget develops and crafts its famous calibers: the iconic 212P, 430P and 500P, as well as the newer 600P, 850P and 880P.

Design Department

Artists’ drawings of cases can be rendered with CAD (Computer-Aided Design) programs using thousands of layers of solidifying ‘ink’ that build-up into 3-D ‘prototypes’.  This allows the Design and Production engineers to see both form and function aspects of the production process.  The same data-points used in the design drawings are used for the programming of the production tooling process later.

The same CAD ‘prototyping’ process can be done with harder ‘plastic’ inks to build different parts of a multi-component case.  This allows the Design and Production engineers to actually see how the components fit together.  In the old days, I guess this was called clay or wax modelling.

Production

The Geneva Manufacture has upgraded its machinery, even since opening in 2001, and they affectionately showed me the last old-fashioned ‘non-CNC robot’ in the House.  Alas, even this old ‘fellow’ will be replaced soon.

I noticed these tubs of white granules and wondered what they were. It turns out that they are ceramic chips with which, rough metal components are tumbled, to start the polishing process.

Finally, all parts are finished by hand  

Bracelets and cases are soldered by hand.

Gems are set by hand, following a gemstone ‘map’.

Gem-setters use mock-up cases to plan the gems’ positions but ultimately, it is done ‘by eye’.

Each bracelet link is cut by hand and a fret saw before hand assembly.

In addition to being a gem of a watchmaker, Piaget also has a fine selection of gems to add sparkle to your timepiece.

Interview Participants

PPro=PuristSPro.com

PLM=Philippe Léopold-Metzger, CEO of Piaget

This interview was conducted at the end of 2007

PPro:  Tell us a little about your prior experience inside and outside the watch industry.  How did you come to join Piaget?

PLM:  After graduating from the University of Chicago's Kellogg Graduate School of Business in 1979, I worked for a big US conglomerate for a year in the USA, and was then transferred to France.  Right after, I met the Marketing Director of Cartier and got a job offer as the product manager in charge of pens and lighters.  After that, I worked abroad and managed Cartier companies in Canada, the UK, and lastly, across Asia.  In between, I worked for Piaget as their Number 2, and got the job of CEO early in 2000.

PPro:  What was your impression of Piaget before you joined the company?

PLM:  Coming back to Piaget in 2000, it was clear that Piaget was doing well as a manufacturer of wonderful jewellery watches, but that our legitimacy as a great watchmaker had been forgotten.  At the time, we were still producing many mechanical movements such as the 9P at La Côte aux Fées, but quartz was still the majority of movements, and not enough new calibers were being developed.  It was clear that my first priority had to be movements.  Developing new calibers, including major complications, doing it in house, and promoting mechanical movements versus quartz, in one word – “putting the movement back in the heart of our company”.

PPro:  Can you tell us more about Piaget in both fields – as a Watchmaker and Jeweller?

PLM:  Piaget started back in 1874, purely as a maker of mechanical movements sold to the most famous Swiss brands.  It was only since 1943 that Piaget started signing its own watches.  The great days for Piaget the Watchmaker were back in 1957 and 1960, with the launch of the 9P and the 12P; two extremely thin movements that established our reputation in the field of extra-flat movements.

Piaget helped pioneer quartz movements, and became very focused on the jewellery watch business, buying several workshops in Geneva in the process, in the 1960s.  But, it always kept the Manufacture in La Côte aux Fées and always continued producing mechanical movements.  In 1988, Cartier bought Piaget, being highly interested in Piaget movement expertise and the production facility.  Piaget was therefore not a Jeweller that became a Watchmaker but a Watchmaker that became both a Jeweller and Watchmaker.

PPro:  Piaget is strongly associated with jewellery watches. How are you changing this bias today?

PLM:  This was Piaget’s image although we have always been quite different, particularly as we have invested a lot in the development of movements.  Since I came to Piaget, we have embarked on a 10-year development programme, of which, I am sure that even fans like ThePuristS and readers of International Watch are unaware.  We need to communicate this better because we have so much wonderful horology to come.  Particularly, 2006 was a milestone in our modern history because mechanical movements overtook quartz, to account for 55% of total production, which is more than 20,000 watches a year.  Piaget has a strong claim in the fine jewellery and complicated watch segments, which is in excellent health.  Thus, Piaget is very much a legitimate brand in both fields.

PPro:  Coming up to your first decade with Piaget, what else will you change and how will you be measured?

PLM:  Today the major challenge is to be able to be on one side a great Watchmaker and on the other side a great Jeweller. We have the historic legitimacy to be both. Our business is well balanced today between men and women’s watches. But in terms of perception, we lack the recognition that I feel we deserve in watchmaking expertise. Gaining the respect from the watchmaking community and the collectors is a key task and I really want to be able to tell our story.

PPro: The perception of Piaget as a “watchmaker” has swung through the whole spectrum in the past, with notable movements and some less so. As a career marketeer, what is your vision for Piaget in the horological firmament?

PLM:  Piaget is historically a specialist of very thin movements.  The emphasis will continue, as I believe that the right positioning for our watches are beautiful and elegant watches with a great manufacture movement inside.  Technique should always be at the service of design.  In the last four years, besides developing larger (12 lignes) and very reliable movements, automatic and mechanical, we have introduced a great and very slim tourbillon movement (3.5mm), a revolutionary tourbillon relatif movement, and this year (2007) – a chronograph movement with second time zone and flyback that is only 5.65mm thin.

I am proud that everything is developed and manufactured in-house.  Every mechanical / automatic movement that is in a Piaget watch is manufactured in La Côte-aux-Fées, the historic place where Piaget started 133 years ago.

PPro:  Is there a ‘game plan’ for your product pipeline and existing lines?

PLM:  We will work on 2 new calibers every year.  In 2008, we will have a new high complication and a new skeleton movement.  As far as watches are concerned, we will launch around 100 new models.  Creativity is a great asset for our brand, and an important part of our DNA.  For the new high complication, we will have a new case, and the synergy between the beauty of the case, the movement and the dial will be essential.

PPro:  Some watch brands are strongly ‘male’ or ‘female’; what gender is Piaget?  Is there any ‘side’ that Piaget wants to get in touch with?

PLM:  Our business is today well balanced between women watches and men watches.  As women also buy men-size, there must be a small bias toward women.

PPro:  With Piaget’s recent heavy emphasis on glamorous fashion watches, what is your client demographic now?  Does it match your ‘ideal target product profile’?

PLM:  Our customers are in general very independent minded.  They like differentiating products.  They are sensitive to creativity, innovation, and quality, and have good taste.  They like the fact that Piaget produces each watch in small quantities.  Women appreciate the glamour of Piaget watches and men appreciate the elegance of the Piaget models and the subtle alchemy between the case and the movement.  New products are indeed developed to fill the needs of our customers.

PPro:  How do you see Piaget positioned relative to the other brands in the Richemont Group?

PLM:  Compared to other Richemont brands, we are positioned more on the very top of the luxury pyramid.  We are more exclusive – selling more than 99% of our production in 18K gold and precious materials only.  We are also perfectly balanced between men and women’s watches.

PPro:  Will the mechanical developments impact upon the high-value jewellery business?

PLM:  From 1874 until the Second World War, Piaget was acknowledged as a movement manufacturer.  We cemented our expertise in jewellery by incorporating jewellery workshops in Geneva in the 1960s.  Piaget makes no concessions:  99.5% of our models are proposed in gold or platinum.  We built three solid bases:  men’s mechanical watches & jewellery watches that represent 80% of sales, and jewellery, which make up the remaining 20% of revenues.  Unfortunately, from 1970 to 2000 nobody mentioned our movements.  Today, this is no longer the case as I am proud to mention at every opportunity, that we have 15 Manufacture movements.  We do everything in-house, including watch design.  As watch-lovers start to recognise the legitimacy of Piaget in both fields, business can only get better.

PPro:  How else are you emphasising your watchmaking prowess?

PLM:  In the 1990s, Piaget didn't develop many new movements.  Since 2000, my prime concern was to refocus our strategy around mechanical movements and to start going also into more complicated movements.  The launch of the tourbillon movement (600P) was a milestone for Piaget, as is the launch of our first mechanical chronograph (880P) this year (2007).  We have presented a number of new watches over the past few years.  However, our intention is to preserve a subtle balance between our two areas of expertise – the art of sculpting gold and the art of movements; jewellery and watches.  We want to bring them together in models for men and women, positioned at the very high end of the market.  This is the recipe that will enable us to continue the double-digit growth of recent years.  In this sense we must remain true to our heritage that includes, among other achievements, some remarkable extra-thin watches.

PPro:  How important is it to Piaget to develop vertically integrated manufacturing capability?

PLM:  Vertical integration is the heart of our strategy.  This is why we are so proud to have both manufactures today. La Côte aux Fées Manufacture makes all our movements, and Geneva Manufacture makes the case, bracelet and everything that is related to gold crafting and stone setting.  All developments are done in-house, and the process starts with the design and finishes with the complete watch.

PPro:  What makes a Piaget watch special for horology buffs?

PLM:  Piaget is a niche brand - a Creative, Contemporary yet Classic brand to quote our famous three Cs.  Within Piaget, we summarised it as:
1.  Every Piaget watch will have a Piaget Manufacture movement to ensure quality and reliability.

2.  Every Piaget movement will respect two basic principles: it must be very flat, in line with our historic positioning, and always developed in such a way that technique is at the service of design.

PPro:  As your mechanical watches become more complicated, how do you convey your concern for quality and reliability?

PLM:  Reliability is always uppermost in our mind, and probably the most important challenge today.  Piaget strives for elegance and excellence and not to make the world’s most complicated watch.  This is a philosophy we intend communicating through our Piaget boutiques, authorised dealer network and horology websites like the PuristS.

PPro:  Which non-active watchmaker (or business executive) do you admire most and why?

Abraham Louis Breguet has to be the absolute reference.  He was a great inventor and also a great innovator design wise.  Probably he was the first real designer in our industry.

PPro:  Have you got anything to “reveal” to our readers on PuristS forums and IW magazine?

PLM:  Several movements will be launched in the future, and it is very important for us, obviously, to establish an ongoing relationship with The PuristS and IW readers.  An essential step is for you and your team to come and visit us at La Côte-aux-Fées, so that we can show you what our brand stands for.

PPro:  Is that a standing invitation?

PLM:  Certainly.

PPro:  Thank you.

PLM:  You’re welcomed.

iW Publisher’s note:  Dr Melvyn Teillol-Foo is a pharmaceutical physician and an executive moderator on PuristSPro.com .  He hangs his watch-addict shingle over the various discussion forums there.  He is also a quoted authority, appearing in feature articles on the watch industry in Wall Street Journal and other international publications.

Dr Melvyn Teillol-Foo has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this article that has been accepted for print publication.

This article appears here by courtesy of ThePuristS.com and is published in print by iW Magazine, a FineLife Media publication.  All rights reserved; February 2008

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Copyright February 2008 - ThePuristS.com and Dr. Melvyn Teillol-Foo