Piaget explores archives in latest episode of video series

April 10, 2025

The company is spotlighting the creation and development of several iconic product lines with the release. Image credit: Piaget

By Zach James

Swiss jeweler Piaget is taking a look back at its history through new digital content.

For the latest entry in its ongoing “Piaget Saga: A Brief History of Piaget” series, the maison is reminiscing on its accomplishments in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Specifically, the episode delves into the histories of three of the brand’s signature timepiece designs: Sixtie, Andy Warhol and Gala.

Archival spotlight
The four-and-a-half-minute short film, titled “Play of Shapes,” was released on YouTube on April 7 as the fifth entry in the long-running content series.

Previous episodes have covered the company’s ultra-thin timepiece movements, its House of Gold initiative and its 150th-anniversary high jewelry collection, called Piaget Extraleganza. Now, it travels back to a period of history where culture and society were constantly reinventing themselves, leading to immense social and scientific progress, pushing the jeweler to explore its artistic limits.

Piaget presents “Play of Shapes”

In 1969, following the success of the Apollo 11 moon mission, Valentin Piaget, the grandson of the maison’s founder and a creative leader of the brand for several decades, ordered its designers to “do what has never been done.” This mandate resulted in the 21st Century collection, a selection of jewelry that takes on a variety of forms, serving as avant-garde accessories to the fashionably-minded populous of the time.

The collection kicked off a period of intense experimentation in the watchmaking department, particularly with watch faces. Dials took on diverse shapes, including ovals, triangles, squares, rectangles, rounded-edge polygons, teardrops, octagons, hearts and shapes-within-shapes, just to name a few.

Eventually, this softened aesthetic took a permanent form with the introduction of the Sixtie design, which features a rounded trapezoidal dial.

The next collection discussed was that of the Andy Warhol watch. Image credit: Piaget

Starting life as model 15102 in 1972, the oversized Andy Warhol design, now named after the American pop artist, was initially inspired by the look of the tube televisions of the time. Mr. Warhol took a liking to the timpeiece, adding one to his personal collection of Piaget products.

Its original run as model 15102 ended in 1977, though it was later revived with its signature renamed in honor of its most famous supporter, who passed away in 1987.

Come 1973, the brand was looking to explore a more feminine edge to its horological designs. The Limelight Gala line would fill this desire, gaining its name from the high-end parties it appeared at in Gstaad, Switzerland and Monaco.

Now known simply as Gala, the collection is renowned for its use of sparkling stones and a reversible look, which shows a six or nine depending on the viewing angle.

Stepping through time
Piaget Saga began last year as a part of the maison’s 150th anniversary celebration. Two more episodes are planned to be released in the future, wrapping the brand’s history so far.

Piaget’s throwback series is narrated by a selection of industry figureheads, with the latest presented by Charlie Miller, the watch and jewelry editor of Tatler. Image credit: Piaget

In the time since the series’ debut, a selection of prestige jewelers and watchmakers have celebrated operational milestones of their own, leading to similar initiatives.

Earlier this year, Swiss watchmakers Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet reached their 270th and 150th anniversaries, respectively.

Vacheron Constantin launched a travelling exhibition titled “The Quest: 270 Years of Seeking Excellence,” with its first stop in Abu Dhabi (see story). Meanwhile, Audemars Piguet took a quick walk through its path from a small family-founded label to a global luxury staple in a promotional short film (see story).

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