Although the Piaget Polo is the brand’s lineup of sports watches, Piaget is a company that is famous for both its timepieces and high jewelry, and even the decidedly sporty Polo series still offers a rather refined and elegant overall appearance. Additionally, rather than just making practical three-handed watches and chronographs, Piaget also creates premium versions of the Polo such as those with skeletonized displays, or others that are crafted from solid gold and set with diamonds. Given that the Polo collection has been around since 1979, heavy-hitter complications aren’t entirely foreign to the lineup itself, but now for the first time since its redesign in 2016, the Polo is receiving a mechanical perpetual calendar movement with the launch of the Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin.
Crafted from stainless steel and measuring 42mm in diameter, the case of the Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin offers an overall shape and profile that is very much in line with the rest of the modern Polo collection. That said, the words “ultra-thin” are in the model’s name, and the entire case of the watch comes in at a rather svelte 8.65mm-thick. Case finishing consists of horizontal linear brushing on the bezel, which is set against contrasting brushed and polished surfaces throughout the rest of the case, while flat sapphire crystals are fitted to both the dial side of the watch and its screw-on display caseback. Access to the perpetual calendar movement is granted by a signed winding crown at 3 o’clock, along with additional push-pieces that sit flush against the side of the case, and water resistance comes in at a fairly standard 30 meters to protect against daily incidental contact.
Also debuting on the Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin is the brand’s new SingleTouch interchangeable strap and bracelet system for easily swapping back and forth between the stainless steel bracelet and the included rubber strap with a deployant-style folding clasp. Additionally, while the bracelet itself largely maintains the same H-link design that can be found on the other models from the current Polo series, a subtle set of gadroons now adorns the horizontal edges of the center links, which further reinforce the watch’s aesthetic connection to the original Piaget Polo model from 1979. Given that an H-link bracelet can often offer a somewhat sporty and utilitarian design, the small gadroons on the center links help create a slightly more refined and intricate appearance, while still largely adhering to the same core lines that define the rest of the contemporary Polo collection.
The dial of the Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin is a dark emerald green color with a horizontal groove pattern and tapered baton-style hour markers filled with Super-LumiNova. A pair of centrally mounted hands display the hours and minutes, while a trio of sub-dials dedicated to the various calendar functions surrounds them, along with a moonphase display located at 6 o’clock. The date appears at 3 o’clock, the day of the week sits opposite it within the sub-dial at 9 o’clock, and both the month and leap year indicators appear inside a single dual-function register at the 12 o’clock location. Other than the circular aperture for the moonphase display, all of the various calendar functions are indicated by hands and sub-dials, which helps create a greater sense of visual symmetry compared to the approach of using a mixture of both hands and windows in the dial.
Powering the new Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin is the Caliber 1255P automatic movement, which features a micro-rotor design and comes in at just 4mm-thick. Running at a frequency of 21,600vph (3 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 42 hours, the new Piaget Cal. 1255P is based upon the core design of the ultra-thin Caliber 1200P. However, the Cal. 1255P adds an additional perpetual calendar and moonphase mechanism, while still benefiting from the extremely slender and proven design of its base caliber. Designed to not require mechanical correction of the calendar mechanism until the year 2100, the Piaget Caliber 1255P sits on display through the sapphire window in the caseback, with perlage on the mainplate, Geneva stripes on the bridges, blued screws, and a blue finished micro-rotor that is signed with Piaget’s logo.
Piaget is a premium luxury manufacturer, and even the absolute most affordable Polo models are still accompanied by five-figure price tags. Despite the fact that the watch is crafted from stainless steel, it is still powered by an ultra-thin automatic perpetual calendar movement, and the Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin is accompanied by an official retail price of $58,500 USD, which makes it one of the more expensive Polo models currently available (before you get into the “price upon request” territory). The Piaget Polo has always represented a sporty and relaxed approach to high-end watchmaking, and the new Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin pairs the brand’s most casual case design with one of horology’s most prestigious complications. For more information on the Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin, please visit the brand’s website.
