History and Today: Piaget Watches

Piaget was founded in 1874 by Georges Piaget in the village of La Côte-aux-Fées, France. “In 1874, Georges Edouard Piaget set up his first workshop on the family farm, situated in the small village of La Côte-aux-Fées in the Swiss Jura mountains. Situated in the Neuchatel region, the company was dedicated to crafting pocket watches and high-precision clock movements for prestigious brands.

“In 1911, Timothée Piaget, the son of Georges Piaget, took over the family firm. The company's policy has been to be dedicated to the production of wrist watches ever since.”

In 1957 Piaget created the first ultra-thin hand-wound mechanical movement in the history of watch production. Just 3 years later the company developed the world’s thinnest automatic mechanical movement in the world with a thickness of just 2.3 mm. This invention, the Calibre12P, revolutionized watchmaking.

Today, the Swiss Richemont Group owns Piaget. Considered a luxury watch and jewelry brand, Piaget is still committed to the notorious craftsmanship and beauty that the company strived for in the early days.

Piaget has won numerous awards over the last decade including Montres Passion’s “watch of the year” award for the brands Emperador Model. The company has also won Spanish Vogue’s “most beautiful watch of 2006” award for the Limelight Party watch. A dozen-or-so other awards from various ministries and magazines have been recognized.

These amazing timepieces are often adorned with diamonds and 18k gold for stellar luxury and versatility. The Piaget Dancer 18k White Gold and Diamond timepiece is a gorgeous example of women’s watches produced by the brand.

Take a look at the incredibly rare Piaget Polo 18k Gold men's watch, available from Raymond Lee Jewelers.

This year marks the 138th anniversary of an iconic luxury watch brand.