The New Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin with Obsidian Dials

While Piaget is rightfully heralded as the precursor of ultra-thin calibres, it was also a pioneer of ornamental stone dials in the early 1960s. A decade or so later, under the direction of Yves Piaget, another milestone was reached with the release of the famous gold Polo sports watch in 1979. Its sleek gold integrated design, marked by gadroons running from the dial down the bracelet, became a jet-set favourite. In 2016, Piaget introduced the Polo S, a steel sports watch collection that departed radically from the original Polo and which is now home to several complications. Consolidating the brand’s fortes, the Polo Perpetual Calendar returns in an unlimited white gold reference with a blue obsidian dial and a more luxurious limited edition with a green obsidian dial and emerald-set bezel, both powered by an in-house ultra-thin automatic movement. 

The trend for semi-precious stone dials has returned with a vengeance as brands deck out their dials with fragments of meteorite or semi-precious stones, often accompanied by their more precious siblings. Leading the pack, Piaget’s first stone collection, released in 1963, featured vibrant coloured hardstone dials, which, paired with fabulous gold cuff bracelets, tapped into the non-conformist, psychedelic groove of the 1960s. Celebrities and Piaget’s stone dials go hand in hand, like the recent Andy Warhol collection with its lineup of fascinating stone dials.

The Perpetual Calendar was introduced to the Polo collection in 2023, expanding the repertoire of time-and-date, chronograph and ultra-thin skeleton models with a more sophisticated QP with a moon phase display. Powered by a specially developed calibre, the 1255P ultra-thin movement perpetuates Piaget’s expertise in ultra-thin movements and has a height of just 4mm. In fact, the movement powering the QP is based on the ultra-thin 1200P calibre of 2010, the worthy successor of Piaget’s famous 12P automatic movement of 1960, the thinnest in its day.

First released in steel with a green dial with gadroons, it appeared shortly after with a pink gold case and green dial and a white gold model with a spectacular blue obsidian dial and blue sapphires.

Employing Piaget’s long-standing experience in stone dials, the green and blue obsidian stones create a mysterious organic background shimmering with patches of iridescence. Produced when lava from a volcano cools rapidly, obsidian is a form of volcanic glass. The natural iridescence found in the obsidian dial of this watch is formed when drops of mineral-rich sulphide liquid are trapped in the rock as it solidifies, a phenomenon that ensures that no two stones, and therefore no two dials, are ever alike.

While both dials are crafted from thin slivers of obsidian, the green obsidian version is more flamboyant thanks to the 56 bright-green claw-set emeralds in the bezel. To follow the contours imposed by the rounded square framing the dial, the emeralds are cut in different sizes. Echoing Piaget’s in-house colour, the blue obsidian dial is slightly more subtle.

The perpetual calendar functions are arranged in three white gold-framed sub-dials with generous dimensions: the month and leap year indicator are at noon, the pointer date is at 3 o’clock, and the day of the week is at 9 o’clock, all with snailed interiors and clear white markings. The vertical moon phase is housed in a small gold-framed aperture at 6 o’clock. Of note are the applied indices and openworked hour and minute hands filled with green inserts to match the green obsidian dial and the emeralds.

The signature 42mm cushion-shaped case in 18k polished white gold has a flat, round bezel. In the blue obsidian model, which does not have a gem-set bezel, you can appreciate the horizontal satin-brushed finish on the bezel, visually extending its width, while both share vertical brushed flanks framed by brightly polished bevels. Thanks to the slim movement, the case maintains a svelte profile of 8.65mm.

Visible on the reverse, you can see the blue micro-rotor and other details of the ultra-thin calibre 1255P with its frequency of 21,600vph and power reserve of 42 hours. If kept wound, the perpetual calendar function won’t need adjusting until 2100.

The watches come on matching rubber straps with embossed gadroons. The Obsidian Green model is a limited edition of 18 individually numbered pieces; the Obsidian Blue joins the permanent collection. The price of the blue version is EUR 108,000, and the gemset green version is EUR 149,000. More information at Piaget.com.