Understated luxury has its charm, but sometimes you crave something chic, bold, and all-out gold, like the Piaget Polo 79. Story, live photos, and prices are below.
Full gold watches are slowly making a comeback. Five or six years ago, gold watches weren’t as popular, often considered too flashy or even vulgar. But now, perceptions are shifting, and gold watches are becoming a norm again. The Piaget Polo 79, introduced earlier this year to celebrate the Maison’s 150th anniversary, represents a special league of gold watches. It’s a sport-chic timepiece with an integrated bracelet, where gold is everywhere—the case, bracelet, and even the dial.
I think the trend of chic, sporty gold watches with a touch of ’70s and ’80s glamour started gaining momentum when Vacheron Constantin introduced their Historiques 222 in yellow gold in 2022. While Audemars Piguet also released a full gold Royal Oak in a similar style back in 2017, it had a different vibe. Now, we have another beautiful option—the Piaget Polo 79.
The 1970s saw the introduction of several elegant sports watches, mostly in steel, from some of the grandest names in Swiss watchmaking. In 1979, Piaget unveiled a watch known simply as the Piaget Polo. It was created in response to demand from elite customers who wanted a luxury watch, even for sports. Piaget’s sport line was born, featuring a watch that was waterproof, shockproof, and made of gold. The choice of gold was obvious, as the brand was committed to producing watches exclusively from precious metals at that time. The Piaget Polo became emblematic of the glamour of the 1980s, equally at home in the nightclubs of New York (Regine’s, Studio 54, to name a few) and the Polo Clubs of Palm Beach. Below are some cool vintage advertisements of the Piaget Polo, showcasing just how extravagant and luxurious this watch was. An interesting and perhaps groundbreaking aspect, as seen in these ads, is that the watch was designed for both men and women, featuring a unisex design available in different sizes. This feels quite revolutionary for its time.
Piaget has always excelled in crafting ultra-thin movements, both mechanical and quartz. In 1976, Piaget launched the renowned 7P, the world’s thinnest quartz movement at the time, which powered the early Piaget Polo models. By the early 1980s, it was surpassed by the even thinner 8P, measuring just 1.95mm. Additionally, the mechanical 9P calibre was used in certain Piaget Polo models.
Now, 45 years after its first appearance, this historically significant timepiece is reborn as Piaget Polo 79 and still in keeping with today’s Zeitgeist and Piaget Society. Piaget Polo 79 executed entirely in 18 carat yellow gold and is 38 mm in diameter and just 7,45 mm hight. It’s a nearly 200 gr. brick of gold with a bracelet seamlessly integrated into the case. On the wrist this piece feels fantastic, even though its far from the light watch, what is usually my preference. But I could easily get used to this amount of gold on my wrist, as this piece looks so elegant and sophisticated.
In line with current tastes, the quartz calibre has been replaced by the ultra-thin 1200P1 in-house self-winding calibre, which can be admired through the crystal case back. It is wound by a micro-rotor, beats at 3 Hz, and has a power reserve of 44 hours when fully wound. The watch is water-resistant to 50 meters.
The Piaget Polo 79 is part of the permanent collection. Although it is not a limited edition, production will be limited. The price is 80,000 euros. For more details about Piaget watches, visit www.piaget.com
