A specialist in ultra-thin watches with its emblematic Polo collection, Piaget goes ever further in finesse by now offering an exceptional calendar complication.
Par Hervé Gallet
Piaget expresses its mastery of extreme finesse through a new Haute Horlogerie Polo incorporating the perpetual calendar and moon phase functions.
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Cach new watch claiming to be part of the ultra-thin world seems to push back the limits of the possible. And encourages us to ask the question: how far can we go in this area? Because however thin it may be, a timepiece powered by a mechanical movement must retain sufficient rigidity to ensure the proper functioning of the gears and other various moving components.
Combining finesse and complication
In the race towards infinite thinness, Piaget has chosen to set itself a particular challenge: succeed in fitting into a case that is as thin as possible, but in the traditional aesthetic style, one of the most prestigious horological complications. Namely a perpetual calendar with moon phase. Thus, capable of displaying the date, the day, the month, the moon phase and the indication of leap years without requiring the slightest correction before 2100, the new ultra-thin caliber 1255P measures only 4 mm in height despite its extreme complexity. Moreover, this performance allows the case of the new Piaget watch to claim a total thickness of only 8.65 mm.
A new caliber heir to a noble past
At Piaget, we like to recall that the manufacture founded in 1874 once built its reputation by designing and manufacturing components of remarkable finesse. Then she launched directly into the development of extra-thin movements. Thus, the caliber 12P created in 1960 made an impression by establishing itself as the thinnest in the world, thanks in particular to the ingenious idea of using a micro-rotor. Fifty years later, this pioneering caliber was succeeded by a new generation of 1200P calibers. Today, it is by drawing inspiration from this iconic mechanism that the Piaget watchmakers have designed the unique extra-thin caliber 1255P, 4 mm high, by adding a perpetual calendar embellished with a moon phase indication.
The return of the gadroons
To its technical sophistication, the watch adds a seduction specific to the Polo collection. It features an emerald green dial adorned with gadroons. Three sub-dials display the day, month and date at 9 o’clock, 12 o’clock and 3 o’clock respectively, while the moon phase appears at 6 o’clock. “These sub-dials benefit from different finishes which, under the effect of light, produce effects of incredible visual richness”, ensure the designers of the piece. Another striking specificity of this Extra-Thin Perpetual Calendar, the famous gadroons, which since 1979 have been a veritable signature of the Piaget Polo, reappear on the bracelet. “A way of establishing an aesthetic link between the new generation and the previous ones”, commented on within the manufacture. Another noteworthy detail, in its green rubber variant, the strap benefits from an innovative interchangeability system that allows the watch to be worn in different styles. And his desires of the moment…