New Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin
Eqotime has taken a look at the new Tudor Ranger, a watch with a solid history tested under harsh conditions.
Text: Aleksandar Mladenovic
Piaget are well known for making thin, mechanical movements. Their iconic Polo is now launched with a new ultra-thin movement and, for the first time, with a perpetual calendar.
The Piaget Polo saw the light of day for the first time in 1979 and was one of the hottest watches on the market during the 1980s. It came in a great many different versions and metals (mainly precious ones) and was mainly driven by Piaget's calibre 7P, which was a quartz movement.
Piaget later took a fresh run at the whole collection in 2016 and since then we have seen a range of different models, mainly chronographs and "three-handers" but also skeletonised ultra-thin versions. For the first time in the Polo's history it is now fitted with a perpetual calendar.
If we start from the outside and work our way inwards – the Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin has a case in stainless steel measuring 42mm in diameter and 8.65mm thick. Like its siblings the case is cushion-shaped in its own slightly sporty elegant way, and the brushed case sides and the crystal ring are alternated with polished surfaces.
The dial is green and goes by the name emerald green and it seems to shift into a green-blue tone depending on different light conditions, which we at the editorial office think is delicious. As usual the dial has the horizontal pattern found on most other models in the family.
The calendar's functions are read off in the various subdials, and at 12 o'clock we find the leap year indicator and the month, at 3 o'clock the date, at 6 o'clock the moon phase indicator and at 9 o'clock the days of the week. The layout feels well balanced and easy to read.
The watch is delivered on both a steel bracelet and a green rubber strap where the dial's pattern is reflected in the design. Thanks to Piaget's SingleTouch-system, changing the strap is a process that only takes a few seconds.
As is fitting on a watch with a beautiful and complicated movement, it is possible to get a look into the mechanics through the case back. The calibre ticking inside the Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar is their own and completely new, in-house, calibre 1255P. This calibre is a further developed version of the calibre 1200P from 2010, which in turn is a further development of the calibre 12P from the 1960s, which at the time was the world's thinnest mechanical movement.
The movement is only 4mm thick and consists of 238 components and is beautifully decorated with, among other things, a blued micro-rotor. The watch has a power reserve of 42 hours and is mechanically programmed to show the correct day/date/month and leap year up until the year 2100.
The Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin ref. G0A48005 has a list price of 705,000 kronor, which is perhaps a bit too steep for a perpetual calendar in steel if the editorial office may have its say. But aesthetically and mechanically it is appealing.
Read more about the model here.
