The Piaget Polo Skeleton is the new release that’s been popping up on everyone’s feed ahead of Watches&Wonders 2021.
We were lucky enough to get an exclusive hands-on look at the model a couple of days ago. Here’s what we think!
A Short Introduction to Piaget
Put very simply, Piaget is a brand which is nowhere near talked about enough.
Not a lot of people know that the watchmaker has actually been around for a long time. As well as making their own watches with in-house movements, they were suppliers for some very big brands.
Aside from their very many proprietary aesthetic canons, Piaget’s bread and butter is undoubtedly the ultra-thin watch. They are in a league of their own when it comes to these types of watches with their Altiplano collection.
(well, maybe joined by Bulgari in recent years)
The Piaget philosphy can be summarised into 5 key aspects: allure, boldness, continuous self-betterment, freedom, and sharing happiness. These 5 fundamental values led Piaget to set up another business stream: jewellery. In fact, Piaget was the first watch brand to have this “additional” business.
Given this “duality”, Piaget’s timepiece production was overwhelmigly in gold (over 70%). This led to the introduction of the Polo line in 1979, a seemingly dichotomous gold sports watch collection. In 2016, this collection was reintroduced in a steel version, and today, its skeleton variant has appeared.
Why is the Piaget Polo Skeleton important?
If we look at Piaget’s catalogue, we find that they are quite the specialists when it comes to skeletonised watches.
For those unfamiliar with this grotesque-sounding design complication: in short, it’s the art of “less is more”. If you would like to learn more about this technique, look no further than our dedicated article!
Whilst we’re here, it is also worth mentioning the difference between skeletonised and open-worked. The former essentially means that the internals of the watch are stripped out so that just the bare minimum remains. Instead, open-worked simply means that the whole movement is exposed.
Piaget Polo Skeleton: DNA
So, the Piaget Polo Skeleton is a triple cross-roads: skeletonisation, ultra-thin, and sports watches.
The result? A steel-cased timepiece measuring 42mm across and a paper-thin 6.5mm, as well as having a 3 bar waterproof rating. Let’s get into more detail.
Since Piaget boasts an impressive 46 totally in-house movements, we expected nothing less for the Piaget Polo Skeleton. As such, this new release is equipped with Piaget’s cal. 1200s – a revisitation of their 1200 to account for the ultra-thin skeletonisation, as well as the addition of a microrotor!
Two chromatic variants are available for the actual movement, which in a way, means that the “dial” has variants, too: one in blue PVD, and the other in anthracite grey.
Piaget Polo Skeleton: Shapes and Details
By now we are all familiar with the “non-round sports watches” phenomenon: Royal Oaks, Nautiluses, Aquanauts, etc.
You’ll notice that, for all of these types of watches, the entire design and all its features are based around the geometrical shape of the case. But, the Piaget Polo is actually the opposite: the case is “perfectly” round, yet the dial manages to take a cushion shape. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
Like many other sports watches, the Piaget Polo Skeleton comes with an integrated bracelet. Piaget has also thrown in an extra crocodile leather strap with the quick-release buckle.
We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: if you’re buying a watch, always buy it with a bracelet. You can always swap it out for a strap of your choice later. It’s far harder to find an original bracelet on the market than it is to find a strap.
So, thanks Piaget! They’ve made it so that we don’t have to worry about that choice!
Piaget Polo Skeleton: On the Wrist
After speaking to Gianfranco Ritschel, who was the first person to turn my attention not only to this watch but also the brand, I was fortunate enough to try it on my own wrist.
At first glance, the best word that I can think of to describe it is “intruiguing”. This is mostly thanks to the different optical effects that the skeletonisation has on the light. It may appear quite large on my wrist in the photos, but believe me, this watch wears very well. Also, it’s comfortable and extra thin, so bonus points for that!
Personally, I prefer the blue version because of the chromatic contrast that it creates – the grey is a little too plain for me.
The bracelet conforms around the wrist very nicely, making it incredibly comfortable and giving it an ultra-modern look. However, when I asked if I could test out the leather strap, I must say, I was very pleasantly surprised.
The blue version of the Piaget Polo Skeleton, especially when paired with the crocodile strap is simply stunning, exceeding all expectations. It just might be the perfect watch for daily wear, but also for a formal occasion. It’s packed with details, it’s incredibly light, and just brings a smile to my face.
Although we’ve mostly talked about the blue crocodile strap, the “H” bracelet is worthy of praise.
This has no doubt been manufactured with ergonomics as the top priority. Despite them being large-ish links (more similar to an Oyster bracelet than something like a beads-of-rice), it feels like silk!
This timepiece has been very well done, and I can’t wait to further discover the wonderful world of Piaget and see what else they have in store for 2021. Let us know what you think of the Piaget Polo Skeleton in the comments below!
Stay tuned on IWS for more releases!
-Translated by Patrick R.
