Even if you were not yet an adult/ the target market but (merely) growing up in the 1980s, as I was, it was hard not to notice the ads in print media with the yellow gold ‘striped’ Piaget. Even if you didn’t register the details or the model name, once you saw an image of it, or walked past it in a shop window, it was difficult to forget.

If you’d asked me if I thought this watch would reappear, I’d have said no, but fast forward to 2024, and here we have it, the new Piaget Polo 70, a limited production piece to celebrate the brand’s sesquicentenary.

This new model’s name is a reference to the year of the first Polo watch designed by Yves G. Piaget, a subject which we’ve discussed previously, and which don’t bear direct relationship to the luxury sports watches released by Piaget since 2016 under the Polo moniker. However, he did say that “The entire Polo philosophy can be summed up in one sentence: it’s a watch bracelet rather than a mere wristwatch.”, and the new Polo 79 still fits this bill. It’s still loud, it’s still very gold, and it still screams the 1980s, gadrooons and all.

With the new Polo 79 looking so much like the original, there are still some differences. At first glance, the ‘all about the gold’ design of a brushed 18kt yellow gold dial with polished alternating gadroons and dial striations create the same design cohesiveness between the 18k yellow gold case, dial, and integrated bracelet with brushed block bracelet links are as the 1980s intended. The ‘Piaget’ on the dial is also in the original period font.

However, the new commemorative model is 38mm, up from the original 34mm (thickness of 7.3mm), and there’s been a necessary upgrade from the original quartz movement to the automatic ultra-thin 1200P1. Visible through an open case back, it has a gold micro-rotor, beats at 21,600 VPH, and has a power reserve of 44 hours.

If you have an original one around that is still functioning, now is the time to bring it back out. If you don’t, and you have a yearning for a watch that is pretty much guaranteed to get attention, the new Piaget Polo 79 has an RRP of CHF 68,500 (excluding taxes).

[Photo credit: Piaget]

Categories: Piaget, Watch Profile, watches