2 days ago
Piaget’s Polo Minute Repeater Makes Luxury Chiming Loud Again
Piaget made a watch that can tell the time by ringing tiny mechanical chimes.
The watch is part of the company’s Polo collection.
It is very wide but unusually thin for a watch with this complicated mechanism.
The chimes are about as loud as a normal conversation.
A slider on the side makes it ring the hours, quarter-hours, and minutes.
Its blue dial lets people see some of the machinery inside.
The movement first appeared in another Piaget watch in 2013.
Some people may question calling such a large, leather-strapped watch sporty.
Piaget will make only five of these watches each year.
Piaget’s new Polo Minute Repeater measures 48mm wide and 9.3mm thick.
Its white-gold case and movement produce chimes reaching 64 decibels.
The watch uses Calibre 1290P, originally developed for Piaget’s 2013 Emperador Coussin.
Its blue, partly openworked guilloché dial requires about 50 hours of finishing.
Piaget plans to produce only five Polo Minute Repeaters annually, with pricing available on request.
- Who
- Piaget is making the Polo Minute Repeater.
- What
- It is an automatic minute-repeater watch that chimes the time on demand.
- Where
- The watch is presented as part of Piaget’s Polo line; its regulator is marked “La Côte-aux-Fées.”
- When
- The new watch follows the 2013 introduction of Calibre 1290P; production is planned at five pieces annually.
- Why
- The design repackages Piaget’s thin chiming movement in a contemporary Polo case while providing space for sound resonance.
Supportive view
Skeptical view
Mechanical achievement
Supportive view
The watch remains impressive because its automatic chiming movement is only 4.8mm thick, produces a clear 64-decibel sound, and uses sophisticated resonance engineering.
Skeptical view
The underlying Calibre 1290P is not new, having first appeared in 2013, and other manufacturers have since made thinner movements.
Sport-watch identity
Supportive view
The large case helps create room for resonance and keeps the movement thin while preserving the Polo’s recognizable design.
Skeptical view
At 48mm, on leather and with 30 metres of water resistance, the watch appears difficult to describe as genuinely sporty.
Value of exclusivity
Supportive view
Limited production of five pieces annually, elaborate finishing, and a rare complication make the watch highly exclusive.
Skeptical view
Its six-figure positioning, undisclosed official price, and reliance on an older movement make the product look more like a refined repackage than a breakthrough.
Key facts
- Case size
- 48mm wide and 9.3mm thick
- Material
- Rhodium-finished white gold
- Sound level
- Up to 64 decibels
- Movement
- Calibre 1290P automatic minute-repeater movement
- Power reserve
- Approximately 40 hours
- Dial finishing
- About 50 hours of hand finishing per dial
- Production
- Five pieces planned every year
- Water resistance
- 30 metres
Sources
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