It’s a rare thing when a watch truly embodies the spirit of the decade it was born in. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso is peak 1930s design with its Art Deco case, the Universal Genève Polerouter has the meticulous attention to detail of ‘50s mid-century design, and the Piaget Polo almost oozes the bold flamboyance of the 1970s and ‘80s with its solid gold construction and quartz-powered movement.
Two years ago, on its 150th anniversary, Piaget revived that same ‘80s opulence with the debut of the Polo 79, first in pure yellow gold, then white gold, and now, in 2026, in sumptuous two-tone. In plenty of ways it’s a very similar watch to the pair of tone-on-tone executions that preceded it, but after recently spending a week with it on my wrist, I’ve come to realise just how different it is from its siblings, and why it might be the best of the bunch so far.
The most important difference it brings is the fact that its two-tone construction isn’t like most bi-metal watches you’ve ever seen. Instead of being made using the universally common pairing of steel and yellow gold, it arrives with the unmistakable heft of solid yellow and white gold. If you’ve been keeping an eye on Piaget’s recent novelties, this probably won’t come as a surprise – after all, if you’ve already released references in yellow gold and white gold, why wouldn’t you combine the two? But this combination of the two most distinctive shades of solid gold doesn’t just buck the multi-decade trend of steel and gold; it does so in a very Piaget way, dispelling any illusions of two-tone being less precious, while also nodding to its own archive of solid gold two-tone watches, made for the wrists of the ‘80s jet-set elite.
As far as specs, this latest Polo 79 shares the same dimensions as the rest of the collection, with a 38mm case diameter, a thickness of 7.45mm, 50m of water resistance, and both the front and back of the watch closed by sapphire crystal. It also has the same complex case and bracelet construction, where the polished yellow gold gadroons are individually slotted into the horizontally brushed white gold sections of the watch, with tolerances between the components so tight that no visible parts connect them.
On the wrist, it’s an impressively comfortable watch, especially given that Piaget uses around 200g of gold for each piece. The ergonomics of the case and bracelet integration have been carefully designed to drape around your wrist with enough stiffness to feel secure, but enough suppleness to move with you as you go about your day. Essentially, it feels like you’re wearing a serious watch: one that’s got heft to the point you can’t help but stand a little taller, while every point of interaction – from the crown to the clasp buttons – feels as well made as you’d expect.
Arriving at the dial, we have the same finishing treatment as the surfaces of the case and bracelet, with gently curved yellow gold gadroons catching the light thanks to their mirror polish, while the brushed white gold offers a more matte contrast. The hands are a classic dauphine shape, the minute markers are shallowly recessed into the dial, and other than the Piaget logo at 12 o’clock and 'Swiss Made' tucked away at 6 o’clock, the dial is otherwise left unadorned – a decision that only serves to emphasise the different finishes of the white and yellow gold.
Beneath the dial and powering this new Piaget Polo 79 is the automatic calibre 1200P1, which is a tried and tested manufacture movement that winds via a gold micro-rotor, ticks away at 21,600vph (3Hz), and offers 44 hours of power reserve when fully wound. What makes it particularly well-fitted to the Polo 79 is just how thin it is – measuring no more than 2.35mm from front to back – allowing the case to be less than 7.5mm thick in a nod to the original ultra-thin quartz-powered Polo references from the ‘80s.
The bracelet is invisibly secured with a double-folding yellow gold clasp, which unfortunately doesn’t have a micro-adjust mechanism to lengthen or shorten the bracelet. As a result, you’d likely need to wear your Polo 79 slightly looser than you might typically do, which does add to the energy of casual extravagance the watch is imbued with. Piaget typically doesn’t offer a micro-adjust system on any of its watches, and while that detail is certainly in line with the original references, it’s something collectors would no doubt like to see in the future as the industry at large increasingly offers almost all bracelets with adjustment systems as standard practice.
All considered, the Polo 79 isn’t Piaget’s most technically sophisticated achievement, nor is it the brand’s most daring design, but it does deliver an unmistakable sense of sophisticated opulence as soon as you close the bracelet around your wrist. When it was first imagined after a conversation between Yves Piaget and his New York distributor Efraim Grinberg, it was responding to an increasing demand both men saw for exceptionally well-made sports watches, but instead of following in the stainless steel footsteps of Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe, Piaget perfectly understood that for a certain kind of watch lover, solid gold was the only metal that would do.
It’s an icon of Piaget and one that was born for the new breed of well-heeled, internationally-minded buyer emerging in the last year of the ‘70s, and one that’s endured in the collective consciousness of watch lovers ever since – not only for its unique design, but also its persistently slender profile and unmistakable presence on the wrist. Existing in a segment that sometimes forgets that seriousness and substance aren’t synonyms, the two-tone Piaget Polo 79 is a breath of fresh air as a watch that just wants to have a good time.
Brand: Piaget
Model: Polo 79
Reference Number: G0A51150
Diameter: 38 mm
Thickness: 7.45 mm
Case Material: 18k white gold and yellow gold (satin finish with polished gadroons)
Dial Colour: 18k white gold and yellow gold (satin finish with polished gadroons)
Indexes: None
Lume: None
Water Resistance: 50 meters (5 ATM)
Strap/Bracelet: Integrated white and yellow gold bracelet with folding clasp
Calibre: Piaget 1200P1
Functions: Hours and minutes
Power Reserve: 44 hours
Winding: Micro-rotor automatic
Price: A$144,000
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