Piaget

PuristSPro is very fortunate that our friends at Piaget have provided us photos of very rarely seen vintage pieces from their own private collection.  Many of these watches are probably unfamiliar to you.  I've selected examples here of watches that really express Piaget's creativity and prowess in design and gem-setting.  Admittedly, in my opinion, some of the watches pictured below are extreme, but you cannot deny the audacity, creativity in design, and meticulous metalwork and gem-setting present on all the pieces.  Piaget's signature ultra-thinness is also apparent in each watch.

As always, I look forward to your thoughts and feedback on these vintage items.  I don't have detailed specs for each piece, but wanted to share them with you, because I think it is important to look at watches from an artistic perspective as well as a mechanical one (Not that Piaget is lacking in legitimacy on this front -- they are a true manufacture and leading light in the design/production of ultra-thin movements.).  I have tried to note the Manufacture Piaget caliber housed within the watch, if that information is available to me.  Most of the watches are powered by either caliber 9P or 4P.

1970 cuff watch with caliber 9P and lapis lazuli dial.

I hope you enjoyed this photographic exploration of some of the beautifully jeweled vintage watches from the Piaget Private Collection.  Thanks to Piaget for the photos!

Cheers,
Daos

I do like the marriage between high horology and gem setting...though I 'd love to see Piaget pursue more modern renditions....

Will they/have they taken that route?

Jason

...continued crafting creative watches that can also double as haute joaillerie.  As MTF has said below, they were first a movement maker, then watchmaker, and only afterward a jewelry maker.  I can find some modern examples for you to see later tonight probably.  I know I've posted some high jewelry pieces from the Limelight collection before which are amazing.

Thanks so much for reading!

Cheers,
Daos

Hi Daos,

I've seen photos of a few of Piaget's cuff watches in the past, such as 9468D59, but you mananged to post my all time favorite ladies cuff watch which is 908 D48 white gold with lapis and malachite.  To me its just such a cool design.  It looks late 1960s early 1970s in design, and I really like the look.  It reminds me of the background designs, color schemes and gemetric shapes you might see behind groups like the Temptations, the Supremes, the Doors etc when they performed on TV Shows back then such as the Ed Sullivan show.  If I could get my wife one cuff watch, it would be 908 D48. 

The coral watch with gold chains hanging and coral beads at the end is pretty outrageous.   I think its a fun watch and really distinctive. I can't imagine if a woman wore that to a party, that there would be anyone else wearing the same watch/jewelry.

I also like the Malachite & Onyx piece with the rectangular watch dial.  Although, I'm not sure if I like it because it really reminds me of a square mens Piaget watch that I saw pictures of years ago that used Malachite (and maybe onyx) for the watch dial. 

Best regards,

Dino

 

I also like the rectangular watch with malachite and lapis squares a lot.  It's just a beautiful, eye-catching design!  The piece feels so dynamic and alive, which I attribute to the colors of the stones and the design of alternating squares.  I always love reading your insights and commentary across all the forums, so thanks for your contributions!

Cheers,
Daos

Your post was really a great display of how creative Piaget has been in integrating stones and gems into special concept pieces for many decades.   As others have mentioned its a shame that most brands do not still incorporate mechanical movements into their jewelry based watch concepts.  But it seems the bulk of women buyers do not want to deal with winding a watch (my wife and maybe a handful of other women, including you Daos, are the exception).  It seems these vintage cuff pieces never go to auction.  Then again, most publications or auction alerts tend to focus on mens watches and specifically on brands like Patek, AP, VC, Breguet and Rolex.

As you know I'd love to see Piaget release some new pieces with stone dials, maybe a mens square or rectangular Altiplano with a lapis dial or one using both onyx and malachite.   

Thanks for your kind words about my posts.  Its always a pleasure to visit the Piaget forum.  I've been a bit distracted lately but its good to be back.

Best regards,

Dino

...and your wish for a modern interpretation of a stone-dialed ultra-thin dress watch will be realized! 

Thanks for dreaming along with me!

Cheers,
Daos

You see?  Before the advent of quartz movements, even the gems-set pieces from Piaget had mechanical movements like the ultra=thin 9P and the small diameter 4P.

It can be done and show that Piaget was a movement maker first and then watch maker and then jeweller later.

Thanks for the show.

 

Regards,

MTF

...use more mechanical movements in their modern high jewelry watches.  Of course, I understand that the wearers of these pieces, often geared toward women, are perhaps not interested in the mechanics behind their watches, but it would be awesome from a watch enthusiast's standpoint.  From an artistic perspective though, Piaget continues to impress in such a big way with the successors to the creative jeweled watches in my original post.

Cheers,
Daos

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I love Piaget's creativity and use of colors, and unusual shapes in these vintage designs.

Cheers,
Daos

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...will show us even more creativity!  SIHH is only a few short weeks away!

Yay!!!

Cheers,
Daos

how I can get my hands on one of those.

...Piaget boutique or Authorized Dealer!

Cheers, and welcome to the Piaget forum!  I look forward to reading further posts from you!

Daos

for welcoming me here. I've been a silent reader for a long time but decided to join the place finally. I'll try to contact them and see what they say. Always been a fan of Piaget's vintage cuff watches, MUST add them to my collection.

I'll have to see if I can dig up any more pictures for you this weekend.

Cheers,
Daos
This message has been edited by dxboon on 2011-01-28 07:15:26

would be great! thanks a lot!

...they might be able to point you to outside sources of where to hunt for them, but the exact cuff watches I posted are privately owned by Piaget and not for sale (as far as I know!).

Cheers,
Daos