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*** Piaget

I have formed the conclusion that brands which specialise in jewellery or ladies’ watches can create unique and sometimes extraordinary men’s watches, but high horology watchmakers tend to make ladies’ watches that are good looking but rarely, if ever, extraordinary. Piaget helped me form this opinion and Van Cleef et Arpels confirmed it.

The most remarkable Piaget unveiled is the new Polo FortyFive, a nod to the 45 minute length of a polo match. It is a “reinterpretation” of the original Piaget Polo, a watch distinguished by its horizontal stripes across the case and integrated bracelet.

Polo FortyFive chronograph silver dial

To understand why this is remarkable you have to know the history of the Polo. It was unveiled in 1979 as a solid gold watch with a solid gold integrated bracelet. I vaguely recall that it was also the heaviest solid gold watch available in those days, and advertised as such. Furthermore it was often sold with semiprecious stone dials as well as gems set on the case and bracelet. It was a watch of choice for the petrodollar tycoons who were big buyers of watches (and watch companies) in those days.

Thirty years later the Polo has been turned into a contemporary looking sports watch on a rubber strap, cased in titanium and containing in-house movements no less. The trademark horizontal bands are still there, except they are in polished steel against the brushed titanium case. These look and feel completely different from their OPEC-favoured ancestor.

The FortyFive is 45 mm in diameter and available as an automatic or a chronograph, with either black or silver dials. Both versions use in-house movements with double barrels (three day power reserve for the automatic and 50 hours for the chrono), and black PVD-coated rotors. These are Piaget’s first titanium case watches but it has done a splendid job with the case finishing, though I am unsure if the cases are made in-house.

The FortyFive chronograph contains the cal. 880P, a column wheel-controlled flyback chronograph with a second time zone function. I like the aesthetic, which is handsome and balanced despite its size, save for the dreadful text on the dial in italicised Arial font .

Fortunately the automatic version is free of any superfluous text on the dial in dreadful italicised Arial font .

Polo FortyFive automatic silver dial

Polo FortyFive automatic silver dial 

Piaget launched another Tourbillon Relatif in the Polo case this year, this time with a yachting inspired theme. This is Piaget’s trademark tourbillion movement, where the tourbillion regulator forms the minute hand. While the grand feu blue enamel on the case and back is superb, I dislike the whole look of the watch. It is a limited edition of three thankfully.

Aside from the Polo FortyFive which is Piaget’s flagship men’s watch for 2009, the other new men’s watches were two Emperador Coussin models.

The first is the Emperador Coussin Large Moon, a 46.5 mm wide watch in pink or white gold. To create the textured moon surface inspired by the actual cratered surface of the moon, a solid gold disc is heat treated (I have no details on the process yet).

Instead of a moon disc that moves, the moon is actually fixed in position with a dark disc that covers the moon as the lunar phase progresses. Also unusual is the size of the moon disc, it is 12 mm in diameter, as large as some ladies’ watches.

The movement is an in-house cal. 860P automatic from the same family as the calibres found inside the Polo FortyFive. While this watch is finely finished, it is too large, especially for this case shape; it make me think of a JLC Reverso Squadra that overate.

Fortunately the Emperador Coussin Regulator is smaller, with a 42.5 mm case in either pink or white gold. In addition to the regulator display, it has retrograde seconds at 12 o’clock. Like the moonphase, the regulator is a simple, elegant and beautifully finished watch, but it lacks the extra something which Piaget needs if it wants to establish itself firmly as a well regarded maker of mechanical men’s watches.

We now move on to the ladies’ watches. Nearly all of them are fine looking ladies’ jewellery timepieces, except for one which I didn’t like at all. It is a series of four watches with grand feu enamel orchids on the dial. Like the yachting tourbillion above, lovely enamel work but an unattractive watch. This is like a miniature Georgia O’Keeffe; I never really liked her work, I can’t imagine having one on the wrist all day.

Next we move on to some of the simpler ladies’ watches shown. The first is the Altiplano small seconds, containing an in-house 450P manual-wind movement with an unusually placed subsidiary seconds.

Following that is a mystery ladies’ watch. I can’t find it in the press kit or any mention of it in my notes. I have no idea what it is, but I recall it was about 25 mm in diameter with a quartz movement.

Last we look at some of the “secret” watches, whereby the dial is hidden. The first is the Tropical Flowers Limelight featuring a mother-of-pearl cover set with diamonds and flowers that swivels out to reveal a diamond dial surrounded by more mother-of-pearl. This is quartz but a charming watch nonetheless.

The next watch is slightly gimmicky, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously and I like it. This one is shaped like a letter and the flap of the envelope lifts to show the time.

The final piece is a more sober jewellery watch; the dial is hidden behind swathes of overlapping gold ‘ribbons’ set with diamonds. This one is one of the models from the Limelight high jewellery and it costs well into the six figures but it lacks the charm of the more whimsical secret watches.

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