Piaget
Swiss luxury watch manufacturer
Piaget is among the most recognized luxury watch brands in the world. Founded by Georges Piaget in 1874, the company started as a movement manufacturer for established watch brands. His son, Timothée Piaget, took over in 1911 and began focusing on wristwatch production. His grandsons, Gérald and Valentin Piaget, officially trademarked "Piaget" in 1943 and all subsequent movements and complete watches would have the Piaget signature. Ultra-thin movements are a speciality of the brand and the famous Calibre 9P, measuring just 2mm high, was introduced in 1957. To date, Piaget has twenty in-house ultra-thin movements. The brand was purchased by Richemont in 1988 (then known as the Vendôme group) and Benjamin Comar is the current CEO.
Many records have been set by Piaget for its ultra-thin movements, starting with the Calibre 9P in 1957 and quickly moving to the Calibre 12P in 1960, the thinnest automatic movement in the world at 2.3mm. In 2002, the Calibre 600P launched as the thinnest tourbillon movement at only 3.5mm. In 2017, the Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P became the thinnest automatic watch in the world at 4.3mm and in 2018, the Altiplano Ultimate Concept became the thinnest mechanical watch by far at an astonishing 2mm (thinner than a one Euro coin). Four years and five patents in the making, this hyper-thin watch actually fused the case, movement and bezel into one component, and a cobalt alloy was used to ensure rigidity. Piaget has proven to be the most innovative manufacturer in the world when it comes to ultra-thin timepieces and has literally pushed the laws of physics to their known limit. The Altiplano ultra-thin line continues the tradition started in 1957 and adds intricately hand-engraved dials, cloisonné enamel images and skeletonized editions.
Piaget is more than just an ultra-thin specialist, of course, with several iconic lines in its portfolio. The famous Polo sports watch, introduced in 1979 in gold, featured the 7P quartz movement (considered prestigious and desirable at the time) and was the brand’s go-to watch in the 1980s, producing one-third of the company’s annual sales. Following a decline in interest as the brand moved forward, it was reborn with the Polo S in stainless steel in 2016. Still a luxury sports piece, the new models came in two flavours – time-and-date and chronograph. New in-house movements were designed for the models, which are the Calibre 1110P for the time and date, and Calibre 1160P for the chronograph. Starting at under USD 10,000, they also represented a new, more affordable option for a younger market. Other collections include the Black Tie, Limelight Gala and Possession for women.
The company owns the largest jewellery workshop in Geneva and all stones for watches are cut and set in-house, which is exceptionally rare in the industry. Diamonds, in particular, are held to the highest standards – D to G for colour and IF to VVS for clarity. High-end jewellery is also produced, including earrings, bracelets, rings and pendants. Synonymous with luxury and innovation, Piaget has set standards and broken records since its founding.
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