After 136 years Piaget has finally reached the point where it will have made 1,000,000 watches. That is really a lot of watches, which averages to about 7,353 watches per year. Though clearly they haven’t been consistently making that many from the beginning. Piaget  is on a modern mission to reassert itself as fine watch maker as opposed to just a luxury jewelry and timepiece maker. When people think of Patek Philippe  for example, they think of “in-house made movements.” This association is not always made with Piaget and in-house made movements, though the brand is of the several highly prestigious brands that do make their own movements.

The one millionth watch produced by Piaget is this special Emperador Full-Set Coussin Perpetual Calendar watch. The timepiece will represent watch number 1,000,000 for the brand, as well as 19 other pieces for a total of 20 pieces in this limited edition. The watch case is Piaget’s standard Emperador Coussin (cushion) – which is probably the most interesting cushion case out there – probably because it is not a true cushion case. The dial is cushion shaped, but the case itself is actually round. That combined with the design of the lugs make for an interesting optical illusion. This version of the Emperador Coussin is “Full-Set” with diamonds. The case is in 18k gold with 374 diamonds on it (7.5 carats), 12 more diamonds are on the crown, 25 diamonds are placed on the oscillating automatic rotor, and another 263 diamonds (1.2 carats) are placed on the watch dial – while the hands and hour markers are in 18k white gold. Total of 9.9 carats of diamonds on the watch.

Piaget’s history is as much jewelry as it is horology. The brand wanted to promote both of these core competencies in this celebratory watch As such, the Piaget Emperador Full-Set Coussin Perpetual Calendar focuses equally on gears and gems. Inside the watch is a complex perpetual calendar in-house made movement. It is the Piaget Caliber 856P automatic movement made and decorated entirely in Switzerland. Functions include the time, date, month, day of the week, leap year, and also a second time zone (with a mini watch dial), and a day/night indicator.

If you want one of these watches and are willing to bear the expense, you can’t just go into a Piaget boutique and pick one up. This is one of Piaget’s “secret” models. Meaning that you need to specially order one from the factory. Or you can just walk into their manufacture waving around your diamond studded check book and I am sure their staff will recommend the piece to you.

Swiss watchmaker and jeweler Piaget finds itself a suitable wrist in pop star Mika in the music video to his single ‘Rain’ from the album The Boy Who Knew Too Much. The watch, which gets a fair bit or screen time in the video, is the chocolate dial version of the Altiplano 40mm.

The ultra-thin Altiplano model is a standard bearer for Piaget and this variant doesn’t get much press so it’s nice to see the watch out and about. Aside from the dial color and the 18 carat pink gold of the case, this model is the same in every way as the regular Altiplano.

With regulators, the balance of the watch is very dependent on the how the displays are arranged and Piaget opts for an hourglass shape here, with all the displays aligned along one axis. Handsome though this piece is, the accomplishment here – at least for us – can be seen at 12 o’clock.

You might think this is the power reserve indicator but it is in fact the display for the retrograde small seconds. That’s right, retrograde small seconds. The very thought of it tickles one’s horological fancy.

Adding to the technical merits of this model is the 65-hour power reserve of calibre 835P – a rather remarkable achievement considering the constant to-and-fro buzz of the small seconds counter. The watch is available only in pink gold.

New from Piaget comes a fresh Limelight watch collection for 2009. Each Exceptional Limelight collection watch is known for being a serious haute joaillerie item of art. With Piaget’s requisite level of beauty (and diamonds) the watches are interesting, original, and most important, beautiful. Brilliant-cut diamonds cover every surface of the timepieces (as much as is possible), and materials like mother-of-pearl make up the watch dials. The cases and bracelets themselves are each done in 18k white gold.

Literally hundreds upon hundreds of hours are dedicated to putting together each watch. This has to do with the copious amounts of time required to cut and set the diamonds, as well as craft the timepieces. Piaget does a remarkable job making metal look flowing. This is real horological art and passion – and again you see their penchant for making the watches “secret.” Many Piaget Limelight watches prefer to cover the watch face when not being used, so as to give the pieces a dual watch and jewelry character.

Inside, the watches have Piaget caliber 56P Swiss quartz movements. The timepieces have an intense amount of diamonds with weight up to 40 carats, and hundreds of stones per timepiece. These women’s watches are marvelous to look at, exceedingly rare and exclusive, and of “word-class” expense. Look for them at select Piaget boutiques around the globe.

The sapphire crystal back enables to admire all aspects of the movement decoration, such as circular Côtes de Genève and blued screws which are the signature features of Piaget movements. This iconic ultra thin watch perfectly captures the modern, brightly coloured, graphic essence of this music video.

“Rain” will be in rotation on all major international musical broadcast and on-line outlets.

Source: Piaget

Swiss luxury watchmaker and jeweler Piaget is celebrating the 30th birthday of the Piaget Polo watch and Singapore will be the first city in Asia to get in on the action. From 22-30 August 2009, the manufacture is joining hands with retailer Cortina to organize the Piaget Polo Exhibition at the Paragon Atrium.

At the same time, Piaget Polo FortyFive collection, which is being launched in August 2009 in Singapore, will take pride of place at the exhibition. Of course, the exhibition also highlights the storied past of the Piaget Polo watch, from its birth in 1979 to the present day, and the celebrities who displayed a passion for the watch.

For a third consecutive time, Piaget contributes a stellar piece to the Only Watch auction, which is held every two years alongside the Monaco Yacht Show. The proceeds from the auction go towards supporting the fight against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disorder that affects one in 3,500 young boys.

Now, you may recognize this watch as the Piaget Emperador Coussin Large Moon, which we have previously covered but it has a unique distinction. The massive 12mm moon phase display – which remains in synch with the moon for more than 120 years – is marked by a footprint.

This is Piaget’s effort to replicate Neil Armstrong’s famous footprint on the moon, made in 1969. To achieve the craters on this display, the white gold plate is headed to boiling point and then cooled rapidly to maintain the irregularities.

Creating the footprint must have come after this process, making this a rather remarkable piece of work. If you want to have a closer look at the regular version of this timepiece, it will be in the following cities on the dates indicated:

Shanghai (Park Hyatt): 29 – 31 July
Geneva (Patrizzi & Co): 27 – 29 August
London (Asprey): 03 – 05 September
New York (Tourneau): 10 – 12 September
Milan (Pisa Orologeria): 17 – 18 September
Monaco (Monaco Yacht Show): 23 – 24 September