Brand Histories

1874 • Georges Piaget began making fob watches in the village where his family had always lived, La Côte aux Fées, in the Swiss Jura. From the outset, the precision of the movements and quality of Piaget production attracted the most prestigious watch making brands. At this time, Piaget only made movements. At the start of the 20th century, Georges Piaget’s sons began to concentrate on the manufacture of wristwatches.

1940 • Backed by both experience and success, Piaget decided to put its signature to its creations, and make its watches known worldwide.

1949 • Gérald and Valentin Piaget, the founder’s grandsons, set up Piaget SA, to give the brand an international dimension.

1950 • Gérald and Valentin Piaget developed and made their own movements, thus conferring on the company the title of Manufacture.

1957 • Piaget launched the first extra-flat mechanical movement, the caliber 9P (2mm thick).

1960 • Valentin Piaget created the flattest automatic movement in the world for its time, the famous caliber 12P, at only 2.3 mm thick (Guinness Book of Records). The mastery of the brand’s extra-flat movement opened the field to other ambitious developments, including coin watches, extra-flat profiles, square and rectangular cases and ladies’ jewel watches.

The real breakthrough for Piaget came at the start of the 1960s, when the brand daringly created and launched the first dials in hard stone: onyx, turquoise and lapis lazuli. Piaget designed outstanding jewel watches, attracting an international elite, including, among others, Jackie Kennedy, Gina Lollobrigida and Andy Warhol, who would wear the Piaget colours the world over. The brand became a trendsetter in the world of watch making.

The 1980s marked an important moment in the Piaget story. The brand acquired the status of watchmaker jeweller, and created the most expensive men’s watch for its time: 3,5 million francs, 2 years’ work, 154 grams of platinum, 296 diamonds, and a 3,85 carat blue diamond, with an exceptional luminosity.

1988 • The Vendôme group acquired 60% of the capital of Piaget shares.

1990 • Piaget launched its first jewel collections, Possession and Tanagra.

1993 • The Vendôme group became sole owner of Piaget, with Yves Georges Piaget as president.

2001 • The firm inaugurated new premises in Plan-les-Ouates, in Geneva’s watch making quarter, but movements continue to be made in the Côte-aux-Fées manufacture, the historic cradle of the brand.

2002 • Presentation of the UPSTREAM.

Today, Piaget is proud to be one of the last Swiss watch making manufactures, benefiting from an extensive mastery of the jeweller’s art. With this savoir-faire, the brand can look to the future with audacity and creative flair, while remaining faithful to its traditional values.