Vintage Piaget Authentication & Valuation — WatchProSite Forum Digest

Bruno.M1 · 2013-03-17T06:37:59Z

Is this vintage Piaget real or fake? Join the discussion on authenticating a 40-50 year old Piaget, exploring early movements and manufacture history.

Bruno.M1

WPS member · Piaget forum

14 replies19791 views0 photos

Bruno.M1 seeks community expertise to authenticate and value a vintage Piaget timepiece, sparking a detailed investigation into Piaget's early manufacturing practices. This thread delves into the complexities of identifying genuine vintage pieces, especially those from periods when brands sometimes used outsourced movements, challenging common perceptions of 'manufacture' status.

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I know nothing about Piaget, and definitely not those 40 or 50 year old pieces

Is this genuine ?

movement looks poor but I dodn't know how a 50 year old Piaget should look like

And what is it worth ? I know we don't like to discuss prices here but I have no idea so any help would be usefull

Don't need to know an exact price but an indication is wha tI need. Euro 1 K or Euro 3 K

Thanks for helping

This message has been edited by Bruno.M1 on 2013-03-17 06:45:35 This message has been edited by MTF on 2013-03-19 21:03:33

Key Points from the Discussion

Piaget began branding watches with their name around 1942, initially using movements from OEM suppliers like Peseux cal 320 before developing their own ultra-thin movements (9P, 12P, etc.).
Jaeger-LeCoultre, often considered a 'true manufacture,' used A. Schild movements for a short period in the 1970s for their 'Club' line to offer more affordable watches during the quartz crisis.
The movements shown are identified as the backside of Piaget's 20P (hand-wound, 1.2mm) and 25P (automatic, 2.0mm), with the 25P being a 20P modified with a rotor. These movements are unique for having 'hanging' parts.
The definition of a 'true manufacture' is debated, with some noting that even brands like JLC and the original Reverso (Tavannes movement) have outsourced movements, suggesting a need for a more nuanced definition.
The author expresses surprise at the perceived 'lack of quality' and potential gold-plated case, having expected Piaget to always be high-end.
Piaget's current personnel are researching archives and consulting 'old-timers' to confirm the use of the specific movement in question, indicating the depth of historical inquiry required for authentication.

The Discussion

foversta

Mar 17, 2013

I would say real

As the AS1130 was used by Piaget. Fx

MTF

Mar 19, 2013

Some parallel JLC history

FrX, The Piaget boffins are searching their archives so we don't know the answer yet. In my research, I found some history of JLC (Jaeger leCoultre) that surprised me. JLC, a so-called "true manufacture", used A.Schild movements for a short time in 1970s. Jaeger LeCoultre produce "affordable" watches in the 1970's, at a time when the luxury Swiss watch industry was facing extinction from quartz watches. Jaeger leCoultre tried to offer a lower-end range of watches using outsourced movements. This

amanico

Mar 20, 2013

Well, Melvyn, AS movements were also housed on some Jaeger Watches...

Such as the Diving watches from the same era, and used outsourced movements for their chronographs, too. But the vast majority of their watches ( My guess estimate is that we are around 90 % ) used in house movements. There are not a lot brands which can say the same... Nothing which can lead us to say that JLC is not a true manufacture, IMO. Best, Nicolas

MTF

Mar 20, 2013

JLC has more than 1000 in-house movements

I completely agree than JLC has nothing to prove as what we call a "true manufacture". Maybe we should tighten up this so-called definition of manufacture? We should have true manufactures and ultra-true manufactures :-) Regards, MTF

amanico

Mar 20, 2013

That would be an interesting criteria. ;) [nt]

Sandgroper

Mar 23, 2013

Jaeger LeCoultre is THE definitive watch making mouvement..

house, no doubt about that. However interestingly the very first Reversos had an out-sourced mouvement made by Tavannes Watch Co. Tavannes was a company started by Henri-Frederic Sandoz at Tavannes, a very small village in the Jura mountains. I personally find it very interesting to read that watch enthusiasts need often to remind other watch enthusiasts that such or such watch company had their mouvements out-sourced, generally these same "watch enthusiasts" refer to every and each brands witho

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