LAPIS DIAL PIAGET WATCH REVIEW: A DISPLAY OF MASTERY AND PASSION
With the number of options you have out there, it is always a difficult task to buy a luxury timepiece. It can get really tricky as you must choose between all of these amazing brands. That all of these brands offer quality and beauty like the lapis dial Piaget watch makes the choice even harder.
Moreover, some brands like Piaget go-ahead to present a wide array of varieties of timepieces. Hence, it gets even more confusing. That you must now choose between these amazing pieces makes the decision even more challenging.
The best you can do is to take each of these varieties and brands out and review them. Check out why they boast the pedigree you learned of.
Also, you want to find out whether there are drawbacks. Plus, if there are, will the drawbacks be enough to be a deal-breaker.
It’s time for us to get up close and personal with a globally renowned wristwatch brand. Piaget is famous for tremendous feats in the watchmaking industry. Similarly, the Piaget brand boasts an influence of age and historical relevance. Dive in!
Into The World Of Piaget
It is difficult to describe Piaget with any other watchmaking brand. Piaget initially got into the industry by manufacturing highly reliable watch movements or calibers. In addition, they also produced quality watch parts. Their products then were good enough to earn them partnerships with the most prominent brands then.
Now, it’s more than 50 years into their existence in the watchmaking industry. Amazingly, Piaget successfully switched to producing grand wristwatches and pocket time tools.
The peak of Piaget’s fame came in the 1950s. At this point, the brand launched the world’s thinnest manual wind timepiece. Additionally, a few years later, the brand produced the world’s thinnest automatic watch. This particular creation featured an in-house micro-rotor design.
The Piaget Pedigree
Piaget aligned with a few Hollywood stars. The list includes stars like Jessica Chastain and Michael B Jordan to only mention a few. And, these celebrities do not hold back the pedigree of the brand. In fact, they are necessary additions to the Piaget pedigree.
Note: Recently, the brand added another ambassador to their list of celebrities. This is no other person than the world’s best pastry chef, Cédric Grolet.
To properly compare Piaget to any other brand like Chopard, Cartier, or Omega will fit in a few ways. You want to know why? This is as these are more detailed and prestigious brands that match the status of Piaget.
Understand that Piaget is as much of a luxury watchmaker as it is a producer of high-complication timepieces. To add to this prestige, the brand is also a high-end luxury jeweler. Piaget, like Cartier, Omega and Chopard, all feature in the Haute-Joaillerie. More so, Haute-Horlogerie is famous for producing several bespoke timepieces. However, these products are in the high-end range based on their cost.
Furthermore, Piaget ranks in the top 20. Precisely, the brand sits at position #13 boasting a brand value of 600 Million CHF. Therefore, what does this say in terms of how often your watch gets recognized? Simply put, you might not bank on the Piaget brand as much as other brands like Omega watches.
Summary
For Piaget, it’s a matter of quality ahead of quantity. Piaget does not boast of as many watches as other top brands like Rolex and Omega watches. Piaget only displays about 200 unique timepieces in their collection.
Most watch collectors prefer to satisfy their horological preference of a watch’s caliber. To them, the mechanical details will always be more important. These people mostly lean towards brands that can deliver high complication timepieces.
Thankfully, Piaget is one of these brands. Piaget creates sensations such as a perpetual calendar watch, an ultra-thin tourbillon watch or a minute-repeater. These creations feature in timepieces like:
- Piaget Gouveneur.
- The Piaget Emperador
- Piaget Altiplano
For Piaget, it doesn’t end at just the production of precise movements. The brand proceeds to finish off the process by getting through the finishing processes of its elements.
Piaget is a more advanced watchmaking brand. More so, Piaget is not as famous as other counterpart brands. Yet, it is a more upper market brand than all of them.
Piaget caters to the yearnings of a higher-end clientele. They satisfy their clientele’s desire for horological creations.
In addition, this brand produces several watches that are high horology creations with high complications. Likewise, you get even more striking finishing compared to most high-end watches. They might have a more expensive collection. But, you will certainly get the high-end jewelry you desire.
Introducing Lapis Dial Piaget Watch
The reign of the lapis dial Piaget watch did not begin until the 1960s. This decade saw Piaget’s ornamental stone timepieces become the preference of the fierce and the beautiful. Even celebrities like Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and others showed their love for the watch.
More so, in 1992 there was a book titled: “Piaget, Watches and Wonders.” The book is the brainchild of industry stalwart and originator of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, Franco Cologni.
In the book, he narrated how, in the 1960s, Piaget shook the industry down to its roots. For a brand once known for its watch movement creations, that was one huge step up.
In his own words: “It was the wildest, most creative, most original and most non-conformist decade of the 20th century. And Piaget was brilliantly able to interpret the whimsical rebellious spirit of the times.”
The fame of the Piaget brand today is thanks to its record-breaking ultra-thin watches amongst other creations. As mentioned above, this watch was the thinnest hand-wound timepiece in the world. All the watch thickness only measured 2mm.
Piaget as a producing brand began life in 1874. Then, it was a maker of high-precision watch elements. However, many years later, in 1943, the founder’s grandsons, Gérald and Valentin Piaget, registered the brand. From then onwards, the creation of Piaget’s wristwatches truly started.
The Movement Of Piaget Lapis Dial Watches
The major priority for the brand was how much aesthetic excellence this timepiece will parade. Additionally, Piaget emphasized their willingness to push on their predominant pedigree in movement production.
Therefore, the major aim of the brand was to create an ultra-thin caliber. That way, the brand can keep its cased watches as thin as possible. Based on this aim, in 1957, the brand produced the hand-wound Caliber 9P. This caliber was only 2mm high.
Thanks to this production, the brand went on to design and produce some other very daring timepieces. Most of the mid-20th century wristwatches from Piaget featured this movement.
However, this watch was not alone in this conquest. It achieved this feat along with its automatic-winding contemporary, the 12P. Together, they became the propeller for all subsequent Piaget ultra-thin movements.
An Equilibrium Between Aesthetic And Function
The 9P caliber is a product of a desire and willingness to balance aesthetics with function. To Piaget, the aesthetic excellence of their products is as crucial as the functions.
The brand established the mindset to fully grasp and focus on the ultra-thin end of the market. In addition, the brand hoped to dominate the dress end of the watchmaking industry as well.
They continued step-by-step until they achieved those ever-more inviting structures and innovations. These innovations go beyond gorgeous sketches or intuitions. The goal will always be to flawlessly create timepieces that establish that balance between beauty and technicality.
Howbeit, the success is all thanks to the 9P caliber and the brand’s zeal to scale through. Now, Piaget can boast of a full understanding of the awfully tough task of cutting and working with hard stones like the lapis. With this knowledge, Piaget managed to produce something truly remarkable.
The Design Of The Lapis Dial Piaget Watch
With the lapis dial Piaget watch, the brand makes its passion clear. Piaget dug down as the brand is famous for. The brand delivered a new revolutionary design with dials made from hard stones. This is the birth of Piaget’s lapis dial watches.
The lapis dial Piaget watch displays a collection of fresh choices in three particular areas. They are:
A Revolutionary Design
In this period, movements for women’s wristwatches were very thin. More so, most brands do not use internally minuscule dials. These dials were not regarded as a decorative part of wristwatches. However, things changed with the 9P caliber.
Clearly, Piaget wielded the secret weapon. This weapon would help in making several creative timepieces. Not only ultra-thin dress watches for men, but they will also help in the production of a modern aesthetic for the ladies.
Therefore, the 9P caliber had to be very slim. This provided additional liberty in design. Furthermore, it was also larger in diameter. That meant there would be a bigger dial. Plus, more room for decorations.
A Product Of Passion And Mastery
For the design of the dials, the brand employed specialist ateliers. The dials are cut expertly to a region below a thickness measurement of 1 mm.
Gérald and Valentin gave careful thought to this aesthetic excellence in a modern style. The design touches on different parts of the Piaget lapis dial. First is the bejeweled dial. Then, Piaget moved on to the bezel and bracelet.
This level of dedication is one part of the innovation that discourages several brands. There is only a limited number of watchmakers ready to give themselves to the enduring procedures involved. To create a bejeweled dial like the lapis dial involves a good input of mastery, effort and cost that only passion can give.
Back then when it was still a trial process in the 1960s, several dials got cracked in the machining stage. While some get cracked in the hands-setting process.
However, this did not discourage Gérald and Valentin. With their determination, Piaget became a pioneer in this industry. This passion for creating a lapis dial Piaget watch made the brand stand out from the crowd.
The Impact Of Piaget Lapis Dial Watches On The Watchmaking World
Piaget lapis dial watches came into the watch world quite late. Nevertheless, when the brand chose to take off, its fully-assembled watches took us all by surprise.
Piaget wanted them to stand out. Thanks to the beauty and functions of these watches, they succeeded in carving a niche for themselves in no time.
According to history, the company began to grow in pedigree thanks to these lapis dial watches. Seeing this, Gérald and Valentin, together with Gérald’s son Yves, agreed to build on its achievement.
To do this, they rounded off the watch array with jewelry infusions. Therefore, in 1959, Piaget opened the first Piaget salon in Geneva. This served as a place to entertain customers. Additionally, visitors get to discuss ideas for prospective productions as well.
Generally, Piaget launched their first timepieces featuring lapis stone dials in 1963. This production and launch happened in a grand setting infused with exclusivity. All of these conforms to the originality of the lapis dial Piaget watch itself.
Conclusion
What do you think the product of hard stones (lapis), unusual goldwork and spontaneity in design will be? Your guesses are as good as ours.
These are all parts of Piaget lapis dial watches. You will find them all over the length, breadth and interior of these lapis dial watches. These watches take them all and make one elegant piece.
Furthermore, these timepieces pass a quite daring and beautiful outlook as well. Piaget lapis dial watches dominated the collection of cuff and sautoir timepieces produced at the close of the decade. The collection got the name: “21st Century Collection”,
In all, lapis dial watches sum up the entirety of this brand’s mastery and passion. And as a watch enthusiast who loves jewels as well, this is a timepiece made for you. You have a good show of aesthetic brilliance coupled with the right amount of function.