Piaget Cushion-shaped White Gold Turquoise Dial Ref. 12406, 1970s

Price upon request

Identity

Piaget cushion-shaped curved rectangular contours case in 18-carat white gold, Ref. 12406, 1970s. Automatic movement, 12P micro-rotor calibre. Extra-thin case, 32 × 30 mm, reference and serial number engraved on the back, fluted crown. Turquoise blue sunburst dial, applied baton indexes, sword hands. Mineral crystal. Leather strap, steel pin buckle.

Horological context

Founded in 1874 in La Côte-aux-Fées, in the Neuchâtel Jura, by Georges Piaget, the maison first supplied movements before signing its own watches under its name in the mid-twentieth century. Piaget made itself the specialist of the ultra-thin: 1957 brought the manual-winding 9P calibre, two millimetres thick; 1960 the automatic micro-rotor 12P, then the thinnest in the world at 2.3 mm. This mastery freed the designers, who multiplied dress and jewellery watches in precious metals — hardstone dials, clous de Paris bezels, extremely slim cases. The 1970s pushed that freedom towards colour and form: curved cushion case bands following the wrist, dials in frank tones, hardstone or lacquer, far from the restraint expected of a dress watch.

Character

A creation the maison wholly owns, with faceted hands that shift from dark to bright with the angle of the light, at the centre of a dial as sunlit as daybreak over the sea. The case band curves to follow the wrist, and to hold that slimness flat against the skin.

Serviced. Very good condition. Delivered with the Contre-Temps box and the Contre-Temps 24-month warranty certificate.