WHL
[VC Moderator]
4922
Piaget Polo 43 Automatic and Chronograph
By now I think I have well established the fact that I admire Piaget’s Altiplano collection of thin, elegant timepieces, and also more than once have mentioned that the Polo FortyFive is an outstanding luxury sport watch. I’ve never been one for the luxury sport watch in gold (Overseas, Nautilus, Royal Oak), but combining the rose gold of the Altiplano with the design of the Polo and we have a really nice watch that stands up well to any of those aforementioned icons. I know that Piaget has been doing this for years, but I have finally opened my eyes to it and wanted to share my enthusiasm with you.
The Polo 43 Automatic - GOA38149
The Polo 43 Automatic is thin, sporty, elegant, and being on a brown alligator strap rather than an all-gold bracelet makes it a versatile watch, great for either casual or dress attire.
The mix of polished and satin grain finishes on the case highlight the characteristic gadroons of the Polo case, and the curvature of the integrated lugs allow for the watch to hug the wrist comfortably.
I rolled my sleeves up for this one!
The rose gold hands contrast well on the silver dial, and I especially like the Art Deco styling of the 12, 4, and 8 applied hour markers. The 3-digit date number is a look that I am now accustomed to, and appreciate as it allows the wearer to infer the date from the surrounding two numbers should the minute hand be directly over the middle number. I like the arrow integrated in the gold frame around the date:
The movement in this watch is the Piaget Caliber 800P, with full rotor, and double mainspring barrels that give it almost 4 days of power reserve, and Piaget proudly shows it off behind the sapphire crystal case back:
Retail value at the time of this writing is $28,000.
The Polo 43 Chronograph - GOA38039
Despite looking like a basic chronograph, this model actually tucks in a GMT feature, with the subdial at 9 o’clock showing the time in a second zone, just as with the Polo FortyFive with the same movement. I wish, however, that it were more user friendly, as it requires a push-pin to operate this function, where on the FortyFive it has a button:
The chronograph has flyback function, and one can see the Piaget Caliber 880P through the sapphire crystal case back:
Like most modern self-winding chronograph movements today, it has column wheel control for the start, stop, and resetting of the chronograph, and a vertical clutch to ensure smooth starts, and good timekeeping results whether or not the chronograph is running.
The dial detail on this watch that I really enjoy is the complication monofilament frame that outlines the sundials.
Retail value at the time of this writing is $38,000.
Both watches have 50 meters of water resistance.
With both the automatic and chronograph models, I would recommend that Piaget also consider delivering the watch with either a brown or black rubber strap, to allow the owner to have the freedom to play around with the look of the watch, dressing it up or down as he sees fit.
Bill
Piaget Polo 43 Automatic and Chronograph
Thanks for the excellent review
