Piaget
Replica Watches
Piaget
is known as one of the world’s premier watch makers
as well as a maker of fine jewelry. The company was originally
founded in 1874 in La-Cote-aux-Fees, Switzerland.
Piaget
watches are not only watches but rather a merging of the
best of jewelry and the best of watch making. Georges Piaget
held to the tenant that one should “always do better
than is necessary” and that watchword is still part
of the company today. Not only does the company strive to
provide the highest quality jewelry watches but they can
also lay claim to some amazing technological feats.
Their
watches are produced with painstaking detail to all elements
from the physical and technical design of their time pieces
and with the very best finishes available. Each model is
first built from wax models. These wax models are revised
and revamped until each and every detail is perfected. Then
and only then is a metal prototype created. Using the metal
prototype a mold is then cast which is then used to create
identical pieces.
Nor is
the movement overlooked. Parts crafted and perfected in Piaget’s
own establishment by watch makers who have served extensive
time perfecting their trade. Stamping, machining, tapping,
and trimming are all performed with the utmost of care.
The result is a piece that is truly a master work of skill and artistry.
Piaget
has produced some memorable collections the most famous of
which is the well known Polo watch. They have followed this
with other collections such as the “Miss Protocole” and
the “Piaget Emperador.
To date
the company has declined to hire celebrity spokespeople.
They believe that the artisans, designers and engineers promote
their product adequately and it must be so as Piaget is one
of the upper echelons of the industry. That is not to say
that their watches are not sported by celebrities around
the world, only that they have not followed the trend of
many other companies of hiring celebrity spokespeople.
While
the company is still currently led by fourth generation family
patriarch Yves Piaget the company is part of the Richemont
group of companies.
Piaget Replica
Watches - A Brief History
The history of Piaget
Watch Company begins in 1874 in the village of La-Cote-aux-Fees, Switzerland.
It was there that farmer Georges Piaget supplemented his income by assembling
watches during the winter months. For many years Georges and his sons produced
the watches for other companies who engraved their own brand name onto the
face. This tradition was carried on until just after World War II.
After the war two of George’s
grandsons, Gerald and Valentin Piaget, took over the company and it is from
there that the prestigious history truly begins. They took the bold step
of branding the watches with their own name with the hope that it would give
their grandfathers company a stronger public image and presence. Their newly
released collection of wrist watches was released and met with great success.
The company quickly rose
to prominence coming to be known as the “jeweller of watch making” due
to the fine jewelry look of their collections. Throughout the period of the
fifties the company opened new branch offices such as Germany, New York and
Geneva.
It was also during the
late fifties and early sixties that two creations from Piaget won international
recognition. The first was created in 1958 and was the world’s first
mechanical ultra-thin movement, known as the nine legine “9P” movement.
The second event occurred in 1961 when Valentin Piaget produced the world’s
thinnest automatic movement the caliber “12P” just 2.3 mm thick.
This movement appeared in the Guinness World Book of Records and held that
honor until 1967.
Throughout the sixties
Piaget acquired several bracelet and case manufacturers. These acquisitions
allowed for strict quality control in manufacturing their product. The watches
themselves became more ornamental with the styles using new and unique materials.
The sixties and seventies
also saw the “quartz revolution” during which many watch manufacturers
suffered set backs and even failures. Many companies also began to focus
on sport watch collections. Not so with Piaget, they turned their focus to
jewelry watches and launched their famous Polo collection. Thanks in large
part to the success of this collection the company emerged from the seventies
as one of the most successful watch companies.
Since that time the company
has continued to build fine watches and to build upon its reputation as one
of the finest watch manufacturers in the world.
Piaget & Co. was founded
in 1874 by Georges Piaget, a farmer turned watchmaker in the village of La-Cote-aux-Fees,
who began assembling watches to earn extra money during the meager winters.
Not much is known about the company's early years, except the fact that his
sons eventually took over the business and guided their father's company
through two world wars and the Great Depression.
Prior to World War II,
Piaget watches were marketed through other companies, who engraved their
own names on the dials. Following World War II, however, the founder's grandsons
Gerald and Valentin Piaget took over and embarked on an ambitious plan to
give their grandfather's company a stronger identity in the marketplace.
A new collection of wristwatches was premiered and caused quite a sensation.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Foreign markets such as
the United States opened up during the 1950s and this led to the establishment
of branch offices in New York, Geneva and Germany. It helped that the company
introduced a number of innovative movements during this period, such as the
ultra-thin nine ligne "9P" movement. This allowed Piaget to create
a popular series of elegant, ultra-thin wristwatches for both men and women.
Another commercially successful movement was the "12P", which was
the world's thinnest automatic watch movement until 1967.
During the 1960s, the
company bought up several case and bracelet manufacturers. This allowed for
strict quality control. Over the next few years, Piaget's market focus changed.
The watches themselves took on the appearance of fine jewelry. Dials were
available in a number of styles and the materials used became increasingly
exotic. Most tellingly of all, there were more jewelers than watchmakers
employed by the House.
Nevertheless, though Piaget
did not shy away from embracing the new quartz technology, it continued manufacturing
mechanical wristwatches. As other companies, such as Rolex and Omega, began
to dominate the "sports watch" area, Piaget made a sensible marketing
decision and decided to specialize in the dress and jewelry watches.
Thanks to such successful
models as the popular Polo watch, which features an extremely appealing solid
gold bracelet, Piaget emerged from the 1970s as one of the world's most successful
watch companies. In fact, the Polo watch was such a desirable status symbol
that it spawned a number of counterfeit watches. Piaget successfully brought
the counterfeiters in Hong Kong and Italy to court, putting an end to the
problem.
Today, Piaget is known
for its bejeweled ladies watches and solid gold dress watches. Although complicated
watches continue to be assembled in limited quantities, most Piaget watches
are more or less jewelry-oriented. To wit, it should come as no surprise
that in a single year, Piaget purchases several thousand carats of the highest
quality gemstones, as well as five tons of gold. It should also be mentioned
that every component in a Piaget watch, aside from the movement, is made
of solid gold -- even the dials!
In closing, despite the
obvious intrinsic value of Piaget watches, they are also amazingly beautiful
timepieces -- refined, rare, meticulously hand-finished using the finest
materials and unique in design. Perhaps the president of Piaget put it best
when he remarked: "You don't read the time from a Piaget, you admire
it."
