If you are like me, you will find Valentine’s Day a much more difficult occasion for finding and choosing the right gift for your significant other. Christmas is easy – one just needs to find out the wishes of the other and… problem solved! But for Valentine’s Day, your dearest one will expect you to impress her/him with something that will make them let out a gasp at the first sight, something that will always help them remember this celebration of love. And since here, at Lifetime – Collectible watch stories, we are exploring the watch territories, I will suggest you something that will make your dear one smile – Piaget.

Impress her with the Piaget Limelight Gala watch

A safe bet in choosing a ladies’ watch is the Piaget Limelight Gala. With roots going back to the 70’s, this classic Piaget collection is easily recognizable and loved by everyone. Bearing the name of Salvatore Dali’s wife, this collection uses a reverse symmetry design and proportions that attract. The proposed model is a true mechanical feminine watch – the Limelight Gala Aventurine Ref. G0A47162.

Piaget Limelight Gala is a jewelry piece with a classic design. The case measures 32mm in diameter. It is large enough to express beauty without being too large and risking falling into the preposterous side due to too much of everything. The case is wonderfully decorated with proportional brilliant-cut diamonds (62 stones weighing approx. 1.64 cts). The smallest dimension starts from the prolonged lugs and grows in size as they reach the center.

Placed in a lower position, the crown is easily reachable. Setting the time poses no issue.

The Milanese white gold bracelet ends with a mobile buckle that can be easily adjusted for any wrist size (especially an advantage when the wrist tends to swell due to external climatic factors).

As its name reveals, the Piaget Limelight Gala Aventurine comes with an expressive dial made of blue aventurine glass – the closest thing to a clear night sky full of stars. The aventurine was discovered by chance some 300 years ago, when a glass artisan dropped some metal filings in his melted glass mixture and observed the three-dimensional sparkling effect. Today’s technology involves silica, copper oxide, and other metal oxides that create a spectacular effect, regardless of how strong or dim the light is.

The watch bears only the Piaget name printed on the upper side of the dial. No other markings or indexes are present – a decision to make the dial as magical and dramatic as possible.

Being still a watch (and not just a piece of jewelry), it displays the time using hours and minutes baton hands with rounded endings. Since the dial surface is relatively small, the time legibility is logical and quite good.

The Piaget Limelight Gala Aventurine Ref. G0A47162 is powered by the automatic mechanical movement 501P1. This caliber is designed and manufactured by the Maison, especially for the ladies that desire the entire horological experience of a mechanical watch but in a practical implementation (a hint to the advantages of automatic watches).

Although this reference is limited to only 300 pieces, Caliber 501P1 is very common in the Limelight line. With a diameter of only 20.8 mm (3.63 mm thickness), this movement is capable of keeping time for approximately 40 hours by beating at 4Hz.

Coming from such a fantastic brand, the decorations reflect Piaget’s prestige:  top bridge and rotor weight with circular Côtes de Genève, circular-grained plate, and beveled bridges. An exquisite detail is the engraved coat of arms on the slate grey-colored oscillating weight. As a touch of color and a lovely contrast to the golden balance wheel are the blued screws on the bridges.

Impress him with the Piaget Polo Skeleton watch

Boys tend to be easily impressed by mechanical toys – from small mechanical devices, watches, and cars to huge civil engineering constructions. So the Piaget Polo Skeleton watch Ref. G0A45004 will tick a lot of boxes. It is a mechanical watch, it is blue (men tend to like blue a lot – I am no exception, hence the choice of the watches in this article) and, most importantly, it is a skeletonized movement. This last detail is worth almost more than all the others…

Some forty years after the initial launch, the new watches benefit from the brand’s extensive experience in both ultra-thinness and skeletonization to reveal a colorful contemporary approach.

Released at the end of the ’70s, the Piaget Polo was the casual-chic piece that was destined to become an icon. As the brand’s first fully integrated bracelet, it combined technical sophistication with aesthetic elegance (source here). The Polo evolved in time, always keeping the pace with the latest style and technology.

The Piaget Polo Skeleton comes in a 42mm diameter case reduced to a thickness of only 6.5mm. And we all know that is… very thin! We find the familiar case finishes: a horizontal brushing pattern dominating the surface of the bezel, followed by a polished chamfered side. This combo can also be found on the caseband. The lugs are slightly bent and quite short, making the wear comfortable even for a smaller wrist.

The crown, manufactured from the same material as the case,, is designed to be proportional to the thickness of the watch. It might appear a tad too small for the 42mm diameter of the case, but it has a good presence and does not go unnoticed. The Piaget “P” logo has its own place in the show contributing to the elegant balance. The setting and winding are pleasant.

While the skeletonization tends to steal the show, the time reading is still fairly possible. The blue accents of the movement offer quite a bold face on which the hands and indexes are well visible.

Twelve triangular steel indexes are equally dispersed as hours’ indexes on a chapter ring. For better legibility, the chapter ring was printed with minute indexes interrupted by the Piaget name between 10 and 11 o’clock and by the “Swiss Made” marking at 6 o’clock.

The skeletonized minute- and hour-hands are quite long to allow for a precise reading. While the skeletonization took a lot of mass from the hands, they were faceted to reflect light. Thus, the skeletonized movement is kept well revealed while the legibility is still ok.

Piaget Polo Skeleton is powered by the manufacture caliber 1200S. This movement has royal heritage, being a direct descendant of the legendary Caliber 12P. To achieve its remarkable 2.35mm thinness (one of the thinnest automatic mechanical movements in the world), all of its components were reduced as much as possible. In this way, some of the gears measure only 0.12mm. Also, the free space between the wheels was reduced to 0.1mm, leaving no room for unwanted tolerances.

The stripping down of material and tolerances was done without compromising the technical features. The Piaget 1200S features a balance stop, a power reserve of approximately 44 hours and a platinum off-center rotor weight which ensures that the 3Hz escapement has enough energy stored in the skeletonized barrel.

The 189-component movement bears a modern touch in its wild blue color – the Piaget blue and the interesting architecture, still paying a tribute to classic haute horlogerie. The skeletonized mainplate reveals a fine sunburst brushing, well visible in the light. The brushed bridges are hand-beveled and finished with a superb polish. Some of the wheels are also skeletonized and adorned with satin-brushed circular or sunburst motifs. Everything is kept in place by black screws on the plate and bridges, polished blind tapped screws and blind bolts. The polished heads make a nice contrast with the beveled slots.

An entire show is offered by the slate-grey platinum oscillating weight. The weight features the Piaget name engraved on the watchmaker’s side (this time well visible due to skeletonization) and the Piaget coat of arms.

Piaget Extremely Lady Lapis Lazuli watch

In case your significant feminine other is not into mechanical gimmicks but still appreciates a fantastic artisanal work, the Piaget Extremely Lady Lapis Lazuli watch is a great choice. In this watch, Piaget’s traditional expertise combines elegance with outstanding craftmanship.

This watch is powered by a Piaget quartz movement that will tell the right time for a long period of time.

Although Piaget is known for its magnificent Décor Palace, the Extremely Lady Lapis Lazuli watch comes with a more complex and complicated engraving. The entire bracelet is undergoing a brutal process of removing chunks of metal using various angles and depths.

The artisan’s skill is revealed by the precise pattern left behind. An amazing detail and witness to his craft skill is the Piaget hammered logo surrounded by a handmade groove. In the end, the bracelet is polished just enough not to have any dangerous burrs.

The game of lights and shadows is one of the most spectacular in the industry and reveals, one more time, the well-established place of the Maison as a jewelry maker.

Piaget decided that such spectacular craftsmanship deserves an example of nature’s own beauty and chose Lapis Lazuli as the decorating stone for the oval dial.

Just like in Limelight Gala, the dial is left empty of superficial add-ons, adorned only with the Piaget name. Time is displayed with slender simple hands.

Diamonds – a girl’s best friend: Piaget Possession

In case one is not sure if a diamond watch is enough to win a smile from the loved one, there is always the back-up plan represented by the Possession collection.

The Piaget Possession ring G34P3O00 comes set with 174 brilliant-cut diamonds in four rows. My favorite details of this ring are the two cool inner moving rings that can be used both for fun and as an anti-stress device.

The Piaget Possession pendant G33PE600, just like the ring, is a known and loved accessory. Recognized only by those familiar with the brand’s collection, the Possession line offers various “low profile” jewelry with discrete and elegant designs.

The pendant is a subtle presence following the beautiful lines of the feminine body and highlighting the decolletage. 55 brilliant-cut diamonds assure the sparkling of this rhodium-finished 18K white gold piece.

With the Possession earrings G38PV900, Piaget experiences versatility – the chain and ball are separate pieces that can be worn either in front of or behind the ear lobe, or the earrings can even be worn completely without them. Combinations are welcome.

The playful pair is adorned with 184 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx. 1.47 ct).

Why not something that can make both of you happy – Piaget Polo Skeleton watch

The “traditional” sporty collection from Piaget, the Polo watch is presented here in a green splendor Ref. G0A47010 – a 42mm rose gold watch featuring a green dial and a green leather strap. It is a wonderful spot of color that can upgrade any outfit.

The combination of horizontal brushing and polished surfaces is already familiar for the blue skeleton version presented above. The difference lies in the easily-changing strap. And if you dare enough, you can attach this leather strap to that Piaget blue marvel.

The dial of the green Polo Date watch is using its real estate in a pleasant and balanced approach. An outer printed register serves as second and minute markers using indexes and Arabic numerals. The hours are well delimited by hand-applied rose gold indexes filled with SuperLuminova. The faceted minute and hour hands were cut and filled with luminescent material. A nice detail is the central seconds’ hand with Piaget’s “P” counterweight.

An aperture on the lower side of the dial reveals a practical complication: the date.

The Polo Date is powered by the in-house Caliber 1110P. For a reason that escapes me, I forgot to photograph the movement and I used a stock image.

The movement is the follower of the robust Caliber 800P. As one might expect from Piaget, the dimensions are small: 25.58mm in diameter and only 4mm in thickness. Despite its reduced physical proportions,  Caliber 1110P offers a power reserve of 50 hours.

Just like on the previously presented movements, the decorations we find here include the hand-finished perlage on the mainplate and the thermally blued screws, chamfered bridges and the circular Côtes de Genève at the top sides.

Piaget Polo Date watch with a leather strap is a clever gift. Every time your loved one “forgets” to wear it, you can take it for a ride yourself.

It is fun to share watches. If size scares you (in one direction or another), I can confide that the smallest watch I wear is a 33mm, while, from time to time, my wife can sport a 45mm piece. It is all about the mood, all about having fun and being happy.

Besides watches, diamonds and any other expensive gift, don’t forget to share your heart and your love. Love conquers all.

All the products presented in this article were made available by Piaget through their boutiques and official partners and dealers.