If the output of brands ranging from Anoma to the properly luxe Berneron is any indication, chances are we aren’t quite done with unconventional watch design. Not by a long shot.
It’s clear that Piaget is betting big on in 2025 with the launch of a “dramatically new” collection of ladies’ watches that, despite gender-specific marketing, will appeal to anybody with an appetite for radical shapes, decadent style and gold. Lots and lots of it.
Conveniently, the verve of these so-called ‘Sixtie’ pieces has also seeped into several of Piaget’s other new releases. Most notably, in the B.H. universe, is the Polo 79: a modern take on the eponymous 80s sports watch that, as of this year, you’ll be able to order in white gold.
RELATED: The Ceramic Polo Skeleton That Celebrates The Next Gen Of Piaget Highflyers
The New Sixtie Collection of Jewellery Watches
Rooted in the tradition of ‘extralegenza’ (elegant and extravagant) design that Piaget embarked on starting in the 1960s, the new Sixtie collection consists of four diminutive cushion-cased watches, each sized at 29mm.
Factoring in the addition of quartz-powered movements, the kneejerk impulse would be to write these off as ‘fashion watches’, but in Piaget’s universe – historically populated by such figures as Andy Warhol and Alain Delon – ‘fashion’ isn’t a dirty word.
On the contrary, the Sixtie’s design deliberately borrows from a wide range of archival references – most of which owe as much to art and jewellery as they do strict watchmaking.
Piaget’s designers distilled the trapezoidal case shape – arguably the Sixtie’s most definitive feature – from motifs presented in the 21st Century Collection: an influential moment from the brand’s history, back in the late ‘60s, involving the fusion of elaborate jewellery designs with various unusually shaped watches in “startling proportions”.
Brand historians will clock the influence of the Ref. 14101 early on – a ‘70s-era model noted for its use of the then-radical Beta 21 quartz movement and distinctive stepped bezel. The latter detail is captured in these new watches through a series of five finely chased gadroons – shapeshifting surfaces that sharpen and blur in response to even the slightest change in ambient lighting.
The Sixtie’s overarching trapezoid motif also makes its way into the bracelet. Meant to emulate the sort of chunky gold jewellery favoured by yacht-hopping socialites of yore, the design employs a fairly classic construction – large horizontal links punctuated by rounder vertical volumes.
A mixed-metal variation, consisting of steel and 18K pink gold, is best for buyers wishing to showcase the bracelet, while two diamond-set models (available in the aforementioned gold or steel) will appeal to those with icy appetites.
As for the gem-free option in solid gold? That’s almost certain to strike a chord with the ‘small watch, big vibe’ crowd.
The Polo ’79… Now In White Gold
Occupying mindshare similar to that of Vacheron Constantin’s 222, the Polo 79 is a faithful revival of Piaget’s influential unisex bracelet watch of the 1980s. It shares part of its moniker with the contemporary Polo collection, but one gets the sense that the brand is in no hurry to reimagine this weighty, cuff-like statement in stainless steel.
Truthfully, the Polo 79’s most drastic departure from its ancestor is in technology. The original watch’s launch at the height of the Quartz Crisis presented Piaget with a natural opportunity to introduce piezoelectric timekeeping. In an amusing twist, these larger and much more modern Polo revivals utilise the calibre 1200P1: Piaget’s ultra-thin mechanical micro-rotor movement.
The calibre 1200P1 was previously selected by Piaget to power the yellow gold Polo 79 from 2024. Indeed, the latest white gold variation shares most of its physical attributes with that release: mechanically powered, sized at 38mm, and constructed using the same gadrooned bracelet (which doubles up as a dial surface).
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the use of white gold does little – if anything – to diminish the Polo 79’s extravagant look and feel. There’s still plenty of visual drama to be mined from working with this much white metal (200g in total, to be precise), and that is exemplified in each of the Polo’s core design flourishes.
The play of light between polished gadroons and the bracelet’s brushed angular links is an obvious talking point. But more importantly, it’s a microcosm of the ethos underpinning almost all of Piaget’s most enduring designs: that high jewellery and exquisite watchmaking do, in fact, go hand in hand.
Check out some of our other favourites from Watches & Wonders 2025 below:
- A Legend Reborn: Cartier’s 2025 Tank à Guichets Revival
- IWC’s Ingenieur Evolution: A Design Classic Reforged For 2025
- Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Latest Creations Are A Symphony In Steel & Gold
- TAG Heuer Drops Nostalgic New Grid Of F1-Inspired Timepieces
Be sure to follow our rolling coverage of this year’s show here and via Instagram.
