PIAGET
In 1874, in La Cote-aux-Fées, Georges Edouard Piaget founded a watchmaking company that within a few decades was to become one of the most popular options for those in search of luxury and precision.
In 1911 the company was taken over by the founder’s son, Thimotée.
In 1943 the “Piaget” brand name was registered and the company began to sign and sell watches under its own name. It was a second birth for Piaget, due principally to Gérald and Valentin Piaget, the founder’s grandsons, who worked to expand the brand geographically, with the intention of making it more widely-known. During this time, the production units were worked at maximum capacity and, very soon, the old workshops were modernised. A new, larger facility was also built to develop the field of ultra-thin mechanical movements.
In 1957, the company created the Calibre 9P, an extraordinarily thin, manually-wound watch movement, and the Emperador, a men’s wristwatch that was to become an icon. During the same year, the company opened a manufacturing facility in Geneva that was exclusively devoted to the creation of jewellery. Three years later, it produced the Calibre 12P, just 2.3 millimetres thick it was the slimmest self-winding movement in the world.
These developments opened up new possibilities to Piaget’s designers in their search to create sophisticated and “avant-garde” timepieces such as: coin watches, ring watches, brooch watches and cufflink-watches. In 1959, Piaget opened its first boutique.
In 1964, Piaget caused a stir when it presented the first series of watches with the dial fully-worked with precious stones: lapis-lazuli, turquoise, onyx and tiger’s eye. It reached its highest level of popularity when the company presented the cuff watch, a model which instantly became a symbol of fine watchmaking.
In 1974, there was the launch of the Calibre 7P, the smallest quartz movement of its generation. As have many popular Swiss watchmaking companies, Piaget became a sponsor for sport competitions, specifically, Polo competitions. In 1979, the company launched the Piaget Polo watch, which became an icon model and a favourite timepiece for stars.
In 1986, Piaget launched the Dancer collection, a celebration of the increased liberation of women in the Western world. These were exceptional female adornments, dazzling in their beauty, which in 1980, under the guidance of Yves Piaget, continued to grow in originality and style.
In 1988, Piaget joined the luxury Swiss watch group, which would later take the name of Richemont, becoming one of the most important watchmaking companies in the world.
In 1999, Piaget refashioned the 1950s popular model, the Emperador, incorporating new sophisticated movements. This was launched as the Emperador line; masterpieces of technology and complex watchmaking that also formed a new collection: Black Tie.
The year 2001 marked Piaget’s opening of its new manufacturing workshop “de Haute Horlogerie”on the outskirts of Geneva. This complemented the activity of the original “La Côte-aux-Fées” workshops, enabling Piaget to respond even faster to customer demands. A year later, it launched the Calibre 600P. Just 3.5 millimetres thick, it was the thinnest tourbillon movement in the world.
To celebrate the130th anniversary of its founding by G. Edsouard Piaget, the company successfully launched the Possession watch. This combined a watch with a supporting ring, with white gold and diamonds on the crown and around the dial.
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