Piaget unveils a series of trapezoid watches which is deeply rooted in the maison’s historical codes. Dubbed Sixtie, it is yet another daring and avant-garde design which echos the flamboyance of the 1960s.
Press Release information with a quick hands-on session and commentary in italics.
New: Piaget Sixtie
Retail prices for the Piaget Sixtie is not available at time of publishing this article.
Commentary
The Sixtie is a daring reveal by Piaget. The watch case has a trapezoid shape with rounded corners. The case head is wider at the 12 o’clock position than it is at 6 o’clock. Initially, this design choice may seem like it is not stable, but this is not the case. In practice, a watch is not held in a position where this seeming top heavy design may cause it to topple over. This is an optical illusion caused by the shape.
Having held the watch in hand, it certainly does not feel that way. The immediate impression is that the watch with its bracelet is very well finished, with a quiet refinement that betrays the flamboyance of the design. The two tone model looks particularly attractive.
Release details
SIXTIE
New Wave
For Watches and Wonders, Piaget is unveiling a series of trapeze watches deeply rooted in the Maison’s historic codes. Its name? Sixtie. Its allure? Daring and avant-garde, to echo the flamboyance that marked the late 1960s, when Piaget redefined the contours of precious pieces and women’s watches.
The year 1969 marked a turning point for Piaget and the wider watchmaking world: staying true to the family motto “Do what has never been done before”, the Piaget family unveiled their 21st Century collection at the Basel Fair. By redrawing the boundaries between watchmaking and the art of jewellery, Piaget reinvented the jewellery watch, driven by its talented designer Jean-Claude Gueit. In his hands, the watch shifted from timepiece to design piece over the course of the 60s and 70s. It took on the shape of a cuff or a Swinging Sautoir with bold designs. A new way to wear time was born. Among these avant-garde creations, the trapeze shape gradually established itself as a cult design. This disconcerting shape defies convention and embodies the unpredictable, mirroring the famous trapeze dress by Yves Saint Laurent.
Almost 60 years later, Piaget is celebrating the exacting creativity of its heritage, paying homage to this golden age. Emerging from the Maison’s Ateliers de l’Extraordinaire, this creativity brings together every facet of the Maison’s expertise while drawing on a wealth of imagination. Sixtie adorns the wrist like a jewel, sublime as a talisman, revealing a free-spirited femininity that is both instinctive and inspiring. Standing out from the crowd, its trapeze shape unites the Maison’s heritage with the present day in a graceful balance between the geometrical and the delicate. A jewellery watch or a watch jewel, it epitomises a journey back through time, while carrying forward the Maison’s state of mind. Its sophistication enacts a metamorphosis, reshaping allure, cadence and elegance to transform the everyday.
A watch with character
Proportions are revisited through an intense and chromatic interplay of textures: adorned with gold down to the finest details, its supple bracelet displays interlaced trapeze-shaped links that drape over the skin, suffusing it with light. The finely chiselled gadroons on the bezel proudly echo the spirit of the iconic Piaget watch owned by Andy Warhol. On its satin-finished dial, golden hour markers and baton hands blend harmoniously with the clean lines of Roman numerals. Sixtie is a little more than just a watch: it is a jewellery watch displaying subtle extravagance, an accessory that is eloquently discreet, defying traditional proportions and convention. Either worn on its own or with other everyday treasures, Sixtie gives time a new shape, embodying an alternative form of elegance exclusively for women in the know. Its asymmetrical rounded shape epitomises timelessness and the act of going against the tide, with a unique beat: a movement that reveals the unsuspected with every second.
“At Piaget, a timepiece is first and foremost a piece of jewellery,” said Yves Piaget. Here, this unique jewellery watch breathes subtle movement into every gesture. Its opulent details and radiant lines echo the surge of freedom and emancipation of a golden age that the Piaget Society continues to champion. Sixtie represents the unique vision of the woman who wears it, the multifaceted femininity of an aesthete. Self-aware and assertive, it turns every moment into an unforgettable memory, with a feather-light presence that leaves flashes of daring in its wake. Supple and fluid, this iconic accessory curates its own history just like the woman who wears it, becoming a legend while capturing the essence of the present moment. A promise for the women destined to define our era.
