The New Piaget Polo Date 36mm Collection (Live Pics & Price)

Presented (not without debate) in 2016, the Piaget Polo has become the brand’s take on the sporty-chic watch. With a relaxed, casual attire and daily-wear capacities, it is still through and through a true Piaget. Based on a concept launched in 1979 by Yves G. Piaget, the watch was only available in larger cases mostly made for a masculine audience and even in a highly attractive Skeleton model. This year, the brand enlarges the collection with a  mid-size model for a more refined look or a feminine audience. Meet the new Piaget Polo Date 36mm Collection.

Origins of the Piaget Polo

The creation of the Piaget Polo can be credited to Yves G. Piaget, the fourth generation of the Piaget dynasty, a man passionate about horses and equestrian events – which led the brand to sponsor the largest polo tournament in the world for six years and provided Yves Piaget with the perfect milieu to promote the Polo watch.

The original Piaget Polo, launched in 1979, was a sleek bracelet watch with a contemporary sporty/chic vibe. With its fully integrated bracelet, the design was a continuous stream of solid sculpted gold bars that wrapped around the wrist. After Ursula Andress was pictured wearing the watch at the 1980 World Polo Cup in Palm Beach, the model was catapulted into the limelight. Fitted with Piaget’s ultra-thin quartz calibre 7P – considered to represent the height of technology in its day – the Polo accounted for almost one-third of the brand’s sales.

In 2016 the current generation of Piaget Polo was introduced, a mix between the spirit of the original 1970s watch with an integrated design and sporty cues – thus answering the growing demand for luxury sports watches – but also true to the brand’s past with a cushion-shaped case reminiscent of the Emperador collection. The shape, though, was far more modern and sleeker than the very bold 1970s Polo, for the better. Then still named Polo S, it was initially offered in time-and-date and chronograph versions and boasted a relatively thin profile in keeping with the brand’s tradition of ultra-thin movements. It also reinterpreted the concept of the horizontal grooved pattern, but in a far more subtle way with a guilloché dial.

Five years after the introduction, the collection was renamed Piaget Polo. Interpreted in many editions, the watch has more personality, more originality and a more Piaget flair. This includes the high-end Piaget Polo Skeleton, the green model you can see above, or this blue panda chronograph. But after several years of watches with 42mm diameters, it is time for this collection to gain compactness to reach a different audience that wants refinement or simply to attract women.

The Piaget Polo Date 36mm

The new 36mm edition of the Piaget Polo is a downsized version of the original 42mm model. Shapes, textures, overall concept are identical, yet with a more compact attire and a more luxurious appeal, with a wide selection of models, from a classic steel model on a bracelet to a fully diamond-paved, white gold exclusive jewellery watch.

Starting with the case, the design of the modern Piaget Polo is intact and kept alive in all aspects, just with more refined dimensions. This means that this new model retains its elegant and distinctive cushion-shaped bezel that sits on top of the case and offers an undeniable Piaget touch. Being a Piaget, the 36mm case is also thin, with a slender profile of just 8.8mm. Featuring sapphire crystals on both sides, the case is nicely finished with polished facets and satin-brushed surfaces on the sides and, on some editions, on the bezel with a dynamic horizontal pattern.

While the casual elegance of the Piaget Polo is intact, the brand has decided to give this 36mm model a more luxurious appeal, as all models feature diamonds, in various positions and weights. For instance, the classic steel and blue model only features diamonds on the hour markers, while all other editions, whether in stainless steel, 18k rose gold or 18k white gold, come with diamonds on the bezel (60 brilliant-cut diamonds for approx. 0.97 ct) and up to a version in white gold with matching bracelet with close to 2,000 stones set in the case, bezel, crown, bracelet and dial, in a typical Piaget high jewellery way.

Nevertheless, all models retain the same overall design and elements and the distinctive cushion-shaped case that has made the collection popular. One of the key features of the original Piaget Polo were the dynamic horizontal grooves on its case and bracelet. The brand has since reinterpreted this concept in a more discreet and contemporary way, with guilloché dials with a horizontal pattern, a feature that is back in this Piaget Polo Date 36mm collection. The dial, available either in blue or white opalin, features newly designed Dauphine hands with an openworked profile and resized applied hour markers. The date window, positioned at 6 o’clock, is framed by a metallic element. All white dial options, whether in steel or in gold, feature rose gold-coloured dial and hands, resulting in a warm, refined look.

Underneath the sapphire caseback is the brand’s in-house calibre 500P1. This automatic movement with central rotor has been, in typical Piaget tradition, developed with thinness in mind – with a height of 3.6mm. With a frequency of 4Hz, it stores up to 40 hours of power reserve. The decoration is pleasant, with a blackened rotor with the brand’s coat of arms, circular Geneva stripes, polished chamfers and blued screws.

Depending on the edition – the collection is launched with six different references – the Piaget Polo Date 36mm can be worn on an H-shaped bracelet with satin-brushed central links and a folding clasp – available in steel or 18k rose gold. Also, it can be worn on an alligator leather strap. Most of these watches are equipped with Piaget’s interchangeable strap system letting you change the watch’s personality without a tool.

The References

• G0A46018 – stainless steel on stainless steel bracelet, blue dial with diamond indexes
• G0A46019 – stainless steel on stainless steel bracelet, diamond bezel, white dial with gold and diamond indexes
• G0A46023 – rose gold on leather strap, diamond bezel, white dial with gold and diamond indexes
• G0A46020 – rose gold on rose gold bracelet, diamond bezel, white dial with gold and diamond indexes
• G0A46024 – white gold with diamond-paved case on leather strap, diamond-paved bezel and dial
• G0A46022 – white gold with diamond-paved case and bracelet, diamond-paved bezel and dial

The collection will start at a price of CHF 12,800 for the steel and blue dial model. For more details, please visit www.piaget.com.