The High Society Splendor Of The Piaget Polo And Its Pop-Culture Domination
5 min read
There’s no brand that came close to being the aspirational symbol for the '70s western high society as much as Piaget. Once very reserved in being the name out front, the brand originally founded in 1874 didn’t even have its own trademark up until 1943. Before, Piaget was the manufacturer of some of the most capable mechanical movements in Switzerland.
When the name Piaget made an appearance on watch dials, it marked the shift of an inclination towards catering the opulence of its times. By perpetually seducing the aristocracy and hallmarking the era’s affinity to design, Piaget leveraged its ultra-thin calibers 7P (quartz), 9P and 12P as foundational blueprints upon which a modern legacy of dressier aesthetics was established.
In many ways, Piaget’s technical innovation helped premiere a lasting legacy of aesthetic timepieces in the '60s and '70s. The said also remarkably sanctioned the creation of probably the most iconic Piaget watch ever - the Polo of 1979.
A Watch Bracelet
When the Polo was realized, its creator Yves G. Piaget famously remarked, “The entire Polo philosophy can be summed up in one sentence: it’s a watch bracelet rather than a mere wristwatch.” Even in the 1970’s age of a watch industry phenomena of integrated full-metal bracelet watches, the Piaget Polo was an obvious aside.
This 18-carat gold construction was a flamboyant distraction against the likes of the Royal Oak, the Nautilus, the 222, or the Santos. Along with its bold precious-metal realization, the earliest Polo was an exception in configuration too with its reliance on the in-house caliber 7P which was the world's smallest quartz movement of the time. The original Polo was conceived in round as well as square cased profiles and in two sizes. Only a handful of examples of the original run of the Polo were produced with an ultra-thin automatic movement.
Throughout the 1980s, the Polo was the subject of many aesthetic transformations. Down the decades, the Polo collection at Piaget demonstrated a very contemporary form and in keeping with the trends of the times, the Polo too was beefed up and rendered with a multitude of complications in the form of the Polo FortyFive models.
Still, the 2016 transformation of the Polo was remarkable as it metamorphosed into the Polo S, a result of a major facelift. The said exists in the current Piaget catalog as a very contemporary luxury sports watch. In 2024, much to the delight of the Polo purists, Piaget launched the Polo 79, a very aesthetically-honest 1:1 revival of the original Polo from 1979 in celebration of the Maison’s 150th Anniversary.
This time however, the choice of the engine was the in-house caliber 1200P1, an ultra-thin self-winding micro rotor movement. At Watches and Wonders 2025, we got a white gold makeover for this influential timepiece.
The Polo’s Cultural Clout
Piaget as a brand best translated the '70s vibes on the wrist with their eccentric creations. The Maison fiercely dominated the post-war glamor boom and with no more than a few decades worth of legacy to preserve, the brand was favorably liberated in its executions. Soon, Piaget was the leader when it came to dress watches for both men and women.
The inaugural series of the Piaget Polo witnessed rapid popularity among the affluent and influential. The model, soon after its launch, was a favorite accessory for the era’s most influential. Throughout its golden span, the Piaget Polo has embellished the wrists of many including ex-Bond girl Ursula Andress, Andy Warhol, Steve Martin, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, jazz legend Miles Davis, and so many others.
Very famously, in 1986, Miles Davis wore a unique skeletonized Piaget Polo, borrowed from founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, Claude Nobs. That particular watch was created in celebration of Piaget’s partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival and was later acquired by the brand at an auction in May 2014.
Yves G. Piaget, in forming the “Piaget Society,” took strong leverage of A-list celebs as the brand’s patrons and the resulting glitz was often witnessed on the wrists of the famous, such as including the already-mentioned and Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra, Swedish tennis player Bjorn Borg and his wife Mariana Simoniescu, Brooke Shields, and others, many of whom swore by the Polo model. American singer and actor Sammy Davis Junior too fell for the tempt of the Piaget Polo.
Robert De Niro, in his portrayal as Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein in Martin Scorsese’s mob epic “Casino” (1995) gave the Geezer-glam of the Piaget Polo significant pop-culture relevance.
Loved Then And Now
The watch loved in the past continues to be adored today and speaking of the contemporary Polo S, it seems that it has found a permanent residence on the wrists of Piaget ambassador and Hollywood actor and producer Ryan Reynolds. The said model has been extensively spotted on the wrists of many celebs such as Nacho Figueras, Hu Ge, Sam Heughan, Miyavi, and Mohammed Sultan Al Habtoor. Beyond these names, Piaget ambassadors Ella Rose Richards, Gianna Jun, Lee Jun-Ho, and Apo Nattawin have been spotted wearing the Polo watch.
The recent renewed interest in the Piaget Polo, particularly its vintage realizations, births from a current general affinity towards everything 1970s. This trend caught Michael B. Jordan, another Piaget ambassador, who has been spotted courtside wearing a vintage gold Polo model.
The Polo entice was best supplemented on the screens in the 2022 crime drama “Tulsa King” by Sylvester Stallone as well, whose character Dwight “The General” Manfredi wears a vintage Polo. Celebrities such as Rihanna, Ben Affleck, Puff Daddy, and Alicia Keys too have been captivated by the Polo’s all-gold flamboyance and spotted with the same.
A Celebrated Icon From The '70s
The vibrant sports-chic aesthetic of the '70s has been a perpetual charm in the Piaget Polo models. In each of its iterative realizations, the watch has faithfully found its fulcrum on the vivid styling codes of a very popular era.
The choice of the Piaget Polo as a wristwear for some of the most talented and followed celebs of the past and present stands as a testimony to its eternal entice and proves the point that the Polo is one of watchmaking’s greatest sartorial successes.
