Piaget Polo Mini Size

A solid eighteen carat yellow gold single piece bracelet with integrated watch by Piaget. There are a number of watches over the years that have a bracelet feel to them, and it is fair to say that the Piaget Polo tank (along with the Rolex King Midas) have successfully owned this approach to men’s watches. This is perhaps the most magnificent size they made. Essentially it is a beautifully crafted, solid eighteen carat yellow gold bracelet, that just so happens to have a watch integrated into it. The Piaget Polo, the brainchild of Yves Piaget, was a child of the 1970’s, introduced in ‘79. This was the height of the ongoing quartz crisis in Switzerland, and the influx of cheap battery powered watches from Asia were putting immense pressure on the Swiss watchmaking elite. Many collapsed and others went to the extreme to promote how lavish, luxurious and talented their watch making houses were. This is indeed what Yves did with the Polo. A collection launched very much as a “His and Hers”, it came in both a Tank shape, and the classic round. To read the advertisement from the time tells the story of how proud the watchmaker was with their new creation and the lengths in which they went to in producing it: “The bracelet is hand-carved, link by link, from a solid block of 18 carat gold. The matching case is sculpted by hand in La Côtes-aux-Feés, Switzerland'' The name selection too was not by chance: it resonated with the jet set crowd at the time and tapped into the luxury, regal and powerful elite. In 1985, Piaget’s Polo team celebrated the watch by riding their ponies down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. The watch was loved by the rich and the famous, with icons such as Andy Warhol and Miles Davis selecting it for their very public wrists. The Polo name still lives on with Piaget, but looks very different today. Understandable, but sad. This watch is what one comes to expect from Piaget. This company really is the jeweler among watchmakers. The seamless and beautifully free flowing bracelet is intricately made with a tapering pattern of bullet shaped links, high polished, and flat larger block links, matte finished. The overall combination is exceptional. Perhaps on the back one can really appreciate the craftsmanship – there is almost a central spine holding all the adjoining link screws that keep the whole bracelet together (which also makes it very easy to size). It is forgivable to not even immediately see the watch dial. Such as its design, it was made to perfectly reflect the design of the case surrounding it. Therefore we have a repeat of the bullet high polish shape matched. The iconic Piaget logo can be found close to where the 12 hour marker would be found. The dial is tracked by the handsome solid eighteen carat gold dauphine shaped hands, with "Swiss" printed at the base of the dial. This version of the watch has the unconventional crown at the back of the watch, with the pin set button. Being quartz, there is no actual winding needed. On the back of the screwed in case back of the watch are all the relevant serial numbers, logos and branding and gold assay marks. The watch has been lightly polished, and is in excellent overall condition. The dial is in perfect condition. Launched around the early to mid '80's, this was a latter addition to the intial line up, and one would surmise that was due to demand to produce and even more refined, more jewel-like version of this then iconic timepiece. Overall, this is an exceptionally rare version of one of the most iconic watches from the Swiss powerhouse in the smaller "mini" size with the case measuring an adorable 14mm across and the length of the bracelet being is approximately 6.8 inches long. It can, of course, be made smaller if so desired. To find this size Polo today in all yellow white gold, with no diamonds is rare. This is one of the most unusual iterations of this legendary reference. This watch is finally getting the respect and attention it deserves after being in the shadows for many years. It is a stunning piece of watch making meets haute jewelry.