In 1979, Piaget solidified its repuation as the watchmaker of the glitterati when it introduced its signature timepiece, the Polo, a solid-gold bracelet watch that soon came to epitomize the opulence and excess of the coming decade. Powered by a slender quartz movement, the model, available in both his and her sizes, in round and square case shapes, was distinguished by polished gadroons, a Piaget trademark.
Marketed as the “ultimate sports watch," the Polo reflected the evolution of the sports watch category, which came into its own in the 1950s, when postwar optimism and the dawn of the leisure lifestyle translated into growing demand for timepieces that could take a licking. In 1972, Audemars Piguet unveiled the Royal Oak, the first luxury watch to come in stainless steel, on an integrated bracelet, imbuing the sport watch with a more luxe connotation. The gilded Polo carried that idea to its natural conclusion. The proof that Piaget’s bold gamble paid off came in February of 2024, when the brand rolled out, to great acclaim, the Piaget 79, a chic update of the original. The main difference? The redux model boasts a mechanical movement in a stylish ultra-thin execution.
From the article by Allen Farmelo, Paige Reddinger, Victoria Gomelsky, Oren Hartov, Blake Buettner
