Click on the other pictures
Haute Horlogerie manufacture, Plan-Les-Ouates © Piaget
Altiplano © Piaget
Polo Chronograph © Piaget
Limelight Party © Piaget
Limelight © Piaget
Piaget boutique, Place Vendôme, Paris © Piaget

Piaget, watchmaker and jeweller

Christophe Roulet: Piaget has traditionally been associated with jewellery watches. Is this still the case today?

Philippe Léopold-Metzger, Chief Executive of Piaget: This was effectively Piaget’s image although it’s quite a different picture now, particularly as we have invested a lot in the development of our own movements. In this sense 2006 was a milestone in the brand’s history, as mechanical movements overtook quartz to account for 55% of total production, which comes to some 20,000 watches a year. Piaget can stake a strong claim in the fine jewellery complicated watch segment, which is in excellent health. The brand is very much a legitimate figure in both these fields.

From 1874 until the Second World War, Piaget was acknowledged as a movement manufacturer. Then, from the 1960s, it proved its expertise in jewellery, confirmed by its takeover of a jewellery workshop in Geneva. Piaget makes no concessions: 99.5% of its models are proposed in gold or platinum. Piaget has built three solid bases: men’s mechanical watches and jewellery watches which represent 80% of our sales, and bijoux which make up the remaining 20% of revenues and is the brand’s most recent development. In a word, from 1970 to 2000 no-one thought to mention our movements. This is no longer the case today, as we are at the head of 15 Manufacture movements including a tourbillon, our first grande complication which we launched four years ago. It should also be remembered that we do everything in-house, including watch design.

You seem to be emphasising watches. Is this intentional?

We have presented a number of new watches over the past few years. However, it’s our intention to preserve a subtle balance between our two areas of expertise which are the art of sculpting gold and the art of movements, jewellery and watches, and bring them together in models for men and women, positioned at the very high end of the market. This is no doubt the recipe that will enable us to continue the double-digit growth of recent years. In this sense we must remain true to our heritage which includes, among other achievements, some remarkable extra-thin watches. We have risen to the occasion with our tourbillon, just 3.5 mm in height, and our flyback chronograph with two time zones, at 5.65 mm high. Reliability is always uppermost in our mind, and probably the most important challenge today.

It’s important to remember that Piaget strives for elegance and excellence, not to make the world’s most complicated watch. This is a philosophy we intend communicating through the 46 Piaget boutiques, which make 35% of our sales. This network is set to expand with some ten openings a year over the coming four years. Piaget is a niche brand - a creative, contemporary yet classic brand to quote our famous three Cs - and for this reason our boutiques play an essential part in conveying Piaget’s values… values that originate in a perfect mastery of mechanical watchmaking and the finest jewellery. ■

© 2007 All rights reserved

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