The History of Piaget

Piaget is one of the most sought-after and respected luxury watch brands in the world. Behind the glamor and allure of its luxury watches  is a remarkable history, defined by a dedication to precision, beauty, and the highest principles of Swiss watchmaking. Collectors from around the world often find it a bit tricky to find the rare Piaget pieces. Sabina Bex and arte8lusso are here to share some of the history behind this amazing company.

“Always do better than necessary”

The history of Piaget began in the small, remote village of Côte-aux-Fées nestled in the Swiss Jura.  In 1874 Georges Piaget founds the «Ateliers de la Côte-aux-Fées», and  started creating watches himself, striving for a quality that would exceed any of his client’s requests. Remarkably, Georges-Édouard Piaget’s motto was “Always do better than necessary.” This principle guided the direction of the watch-house in the coming decades, and in the 1920s, Piaget moved from supplying fine precision movements and internal watch components to some of the leading Swiss watchmakers to creating fine luxury timepieces of its own. Under the leadership of Georges-Édouard Piaget’s son, Timothée Piaget, Piaget luxury watches – both wrist watches and pocket watches – began to gain a reputation throughout Europe for both elegance and accuracy.

Expansion

Through second and third generations of the now famous Piaget family, the company achieved greater levels of popularity. The year 1943 brings a significant change for the company’s history: based on the experience and the success of the company the grandsons of the founder, Gérald and Valentin Piaget, decide to obtain protection for the name Piaget as a trademark. From now on, the creations of the house bear its own signature.

Ultra Thin Watches

In the late 50s and early 60s, Valentin Piaget created ultra-thin manual winding Calibre 9P , which has only 2 mm height. This mechanical hand-wound 9p caliber was all anyone could talk about at the Basel Fair. In the same year the first edition the Emperador is launched, which should become one of the best known models of the brand. The 12p was released in 1960 and was the thinnest automatic movement watch in the world at the time.   It secured Piaget’s name among the world of luxury men’s watches.

The audacity of style

Valentin Piaget continued to make his mark and in 1963 produced the first watches to be made with a dial and made of ornamental stone. While the history of Piaget may have begun with  luxury timepieces for men, the latter half of the 20th century saw an increasing appeal among women. Piaget luxury watches were worn by many iconic female figures, such as Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jacqueline Kennedy. This level of visibility and prestige encouraged Piaget to push further into the realm of cutting-edge design and to embrace its image as a unique artistic brand. In 1967, Piaget initiated a special project with artist Salvador Dali, which would lead to years of collaboration with exceptional artists.

Salvador Dali and Piaget

In 1988 Piaget enters the group Cartier Monde, but keeps Yves Piaget as president. In 1993 Piaget, together with Cartier, joins the Vendôme Luxury Group, which is now merged into the Richemont Group.

The Piaget Society

There were few collaborations with Olivia Palermo. For the third collaboration, Olivia  played with colours, accumulations, rose gold jewellery and watch mix and match and the result shot by Sebastian Kim in Dubai seamlessly expresses the iconic luxury collection.

Piaget was one of the first international jewellers to come to the Middle East region 60 years ago.  It always celebrates women and to manifest signs of appreciation. The luxury jewellery and watch house has revealed a new Ramadan campaign that is as captivating as it is celebrity-starred. For the first time in the Middle East, Piaget collaborated with a regional celebrity for its Ramadan campaign. In a three-part series, Emirati singer Balqees Fathi is showing as several Piaget values including audacity, self-surpassing, shared joy, allure and freedom – each evidently captured in the episodes.

This year Piaget announced the launch of L’Art de L’Or (The Art Of Gold), an exhibition dedicated to the work of gold taking place at Art Dubai 2019. The exhibition at Art Dubai is an internationally prestigious art fair – will contain a selection of high jewellery pieces and luxury watches in a customised booth, also filled with artist commissions and experiences.

Celebrities often choose watches and jewelries from Piaget collection. Company also has international brand ambassadors: Michael B Jordan, Hu Ge, Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Chastain.

Let’s have a look on celebrities appearance in Piaget collections.

With Love,
Sabina Bex