Swinging sautoirs & cuff watches
To understand the evolution of Piaget’s most precious High Jewellery timepieces, one must go back to 1957, with the birth of its ultra-thin 9P hand-wound mechanical movement.
The now famous movement was revolutionary, but the decision to house it only in precious metals would set the Maison on course to be true masters of Haute Horlogerie and Haute Joaillerie at the same time.
In the late 1960s, Valentin Piaget established Piaget's own creative studio, employing designers who possessed backgrounds in jewellery rather than in watchmaking. The designers were encouraged to travel to Paris and draw inspiration from the latest couture fashion shows, drawing their designs directly on the pictures inside fashion magazines.
Building on the Maison's in-house teams of goldsmiths, jewellers and engravers, and its own gold foundry in Geneva, the maison's vision on jewellery watches unfolded.
SWINGING SAUTOIRS
In 1969 Piaget became a legend. With the launch of the “21st Century Collection”, it took the watchmaking world by surprise. It was a collection only composed of watch sautoirs and cuff watches. It was a manifesto, a revolution. It was a new way to read time. Worn languidly, layered up as necklaces or belts, swishing from side to side as their wearers sauntered, the sautoirs became known as Swinging Sautoir.
The dramatic watches in the 21st century collection were hailed in the press as the watches ‘of the international elite.’ It catapulted Piaget into a league of its own, with the creation of the Piaget Society in which a forward-looking clientele consisting of the glamorous, wealthy jet-set of the time.
Cuff watches
1969 also saw the introduction of the cuff watch, a boldly-scaled style that only continued to grow in exuberance and extravagance in terms of size and materials: deep cuffs of graphic gold openwork, heavily textured gold bracelets and vibrant coloured dials.
In 2023, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève has chosen to recognize Piaget’s expertise and bold creativity in the Ladies category with this signature cuff watch.
Cuff watches
1969 also saw the introduction of the cuff watch, a boldly-scaled style that only continued to grow in exuberance and extravagance in terms of size and materials: deep cuffs of graphic gold openwork, heavily textured gold bracelets and vibrant coloured dials.
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