Piaget’s elegance hits the spot

Established in 1874, Piaget began as a manufacturer of movements for third parties before producing watches under its own name as of 1943. Just over a decade later, in 1957, it made a remarkable debut in extra-thin movements with the 9P, a hand-wound calibre just 2mm high. This was followed three years later by the self-winding 12P calibre measuring 2.3mm high. “Since then, Piaget has developed 35 calibres including 11 major complications and numerous extra-thin movements,” commented Chief Executive Philippe Léopold-Metzger in his presentation of the brand at Watches&Wonders in Hong Kong, end September. By way of example, he singled out three movements in the Altiplano collection, all champions in their category: the 1208P with small seconds at 2.35mm high, launched in 2010; the 1200S skeleton calibre (2.4mm) released in 2012, and this year’s 1205P with small seconds and date (3.00mm). Each embodies the classicism tinted with elegance, and occasionally a touch of extravagance, that is Piaget’s signature style.

“These movements demonstrate all Piaget’s savoir-faire. As a fully integrated Manufacture, Piaget refuses that any of its watches be sold other than equipped with a movement which has been entirely developed and manufactured in-house,” Philippe Léopold-Metzger continued. “And this is just one of our two core businesses, as jewellery has an equally important place in our activity.” To illustrate his words, he presented a fully gem-set model adapted from one of the year’s new pieces and which had been specially made for the fair, the first of its kind to be held in Asia. The watch in question, a gem-set Emperador Coussin Minute Repeater Exceptional Piece, is driven by the 1290P calibre with 407 parts and a mere 4.8mm in height. Setting the stones alone required more than one hundred hours.

Investing for the future

Such detail is inherent to the message Piaget wants to deliver. As Philippe Léopold-Metzger, speaking at the fair, explains, “information is of the essence so that the public can follow Piaget’s trajectory right up to its complicated movements and Fine Jewellery. It’s a fact that brands are becoming increasingly sophisticated and competition more intense. This is particularly true on the Asian continent as markets such as China have become something of a drug for the different watchmaking Maisons, not to mention the stream of tourists from these countries. In this context, we have to stand out and, as I mentioned earlier, Piaget is perfectly equipped to do so with its two pillars encompassing technical expertise and elegance. What’s more, we live in a world which is more and more attuned to brands and beautiful products.”

Philippe Léopold-Metzger’s view is therefore that markets are focusing on powerful brands, and Piaget is very much one of them. Hence why, despite the downturn in Swiss watch exports to Hong Kong and China since January (-8.9% and -16.2% respectively between January and August 2013), he remains confident: “Piaget is part of Richemont, and in view of the group’s results, which show a 9% increase in sales at constant exchange rates over the first five months of its current financial year to end August, there is every reason to expect this to be a highly satisfactory year. Hence the importance of Watches&Wonders. We are investing for the future.”