Piaget is participarting for the second time at the Biennale des Antiquaires which takes places in one of the most prestigious places in Paris: le Grand-Palais. From the 14th to the 23rd of September, the Biennale welcomes the visitors who wish to discover the thousands of objects d'art presented by the exhibitors.

Even if you are not interested in this world, I highly recommend the visit at the Biennale due to its stuning setting. The Grand -Palais is of course a great building especially when the light goes through the glass roof. But the organisator of the event asked to Karl Lagerfeld to design the place, to decorate the exhibition and to bring an additional touch of magic. Believe me, just the sight of the balloon inside the Grand-Palais, under the glass roof is something truly eye-catching.

Big jewelry houses took advantage of the Biennale to display their latest collections and it was also the case for Piaget.

Piaget unveiled during the event its Couture Précieuse collection which is inspired by the fashion world and by the high-couture dresses. Made of 59 pieces and 12 exceptional jewelry watches, this collection gives  to Piaget the ability  to demonstrate its skills in high-jewelry and its creativity. In order to display the collection in the right context, the whole booth was decorated by the famous fashion illustrator David Downton. During my visit, I had the feeling to be at the crossroads between the high-jewelry and the high-couture worlds.

And it was not enough: Piaget also came with some impressive  watches which combine high-end complications with magnificent stones... including a leather strap version of the Temple!

I propose you now to browse the pictures.

The Grand-Palais:

The Balloon under the glass roof, a magic sight!

Piaget booth:

The main side of the booth:

The booth was decorated with a lot of attention to details:

Even on the outside parts of the booth, I could enjoy David Downton's sketches:

Some pieces of the Couture Precieuse collection:

The dummies contributed a lot to the fashion atmosphere of the booth:

Two showcases were dedicated to the watches. One to the "simple" ones (two or three hands watches) and the other to the complicated ones.

You will understand that the word "simple" is inappropriate:

By far, my fav watch of this showcase was this beautiful skeletonized Dancer:

The thin bridges of the movement 838P are set with gems to become one of the most precious skeletonized movement I've ever seen. Case diameter is 41mm. I hope to be able on day to properly shoot this watch.

Let's have a look at the complicated watches now.

The Emperador Tourbillon with its rotor located dial side was also set with gems. I don't think it is the best piece for this kind of decoration because the dial is already very busy.

The Temple with the Tourbillon located at the 12 o'clock and the specific top:

Hopefully, I could shoot two watches outside the window thanks to the Piaget team.

First is my fav piece amongst this category of watches: the Polo Tourbillon Relatif.

Of course the case is huge (47mm) and the stones increase the feeling of size. But there is something hypnotizing with this Polo. i can spend hours watching the behaviour of the Tourbillon and here the gems contribute to the magic. Even the 12 diamonds lines on the dial remain quite discreet under the Tourbillon.

This Emperador cushion-shaped PC was fully set but hopefully, the legibility was preserved. Like with the Emperador Tourbillon, this one is not y cup of tea and I much prefer the way the stones play with the Tourbillon with the Polo. Anyway, it is again a proof of the skills of the Piaget team. I was impressed on this Emperador by the regularity of the stones on the dial:

Sadly, due to a lack of time, I couldn't shoot other watches but I hope that with these pictures, you have a good overview of what was the Piaget exhibition at the Biennale. But the event is not over! So if you are in Paris before the 23rd of September, don't hesistate to visit the Biennale: you won't be disappointed by the place and by the objects and pieces presented by the exhibitors.

I would like to thank a lot the Piaget team for the warm welcome despite a very crowdy booth.

Fx


This message has been edited by foversta on 2012-09-16 09:25:53