BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Back in February, we covered the launch of Piaget’s curious new Polo Flying Tourbillon Moonphase watch. Piaget has lagged behind its competition on this side of the planet in getting its Polo models out there on people’s wrists. You hardly ever see the Polo in forums, and honestly, that kinda sucks. Perhaps there are markets I’m not aware of which Piaget has a firm grip on, but with so many options, it doesn’t seem to always know how to challenge the other players with reputations for making watches such as these.
But, let’s not let that take away from what we have today. The Polo is Piaget’s smart/casual sports watch line and usually features an integrated bracelet which continues to be the look of the moment. This specific model sits somewhere at the top of the tree in horological terms thanks to its complications which include a moonphase and a tourbillon. Having these two together with nothing else is quite unusual in the watch industry, at least outside of Piaget’s watches.
The calibre inside this watch is the 642P, a hand-wound affair. Interestingly, this movement isn’t round-shaped like you’d expect on a watch with a cushion case. Instead, the movement is tonneau-shaped, but having had a quick look at the range of watches it’s been in it seems it’s mostly been put in round or round-ish watch cases, most notably in the Gouverneur line. The 642P has a power reserve of around 40 hours with a 3Hz beat rate for the hairspring inside the tourbillon. The tourbillon cage featuring the ‘P’ logo and an arrow so it functions as a seconds hand is classy, and Piaget uses a hand to point to the moonphase rather than a moonphase disk which is different.
This is wrapped in a case of titanium, which measures 44mm x 9.8mm and is 100m water resistant. This is yet another interesting, if slightly strange, choice from Piaget. The titanium case is light and thin, meaning it hugs the wrist nicely, but at 44mm, it’s quite big and with that tourbillon inside, I’m not sure how much action it’ll ever see. On the other hand, it’s reassuring to know that, should you decide to get a bit active when on holiday, the watch will survive a dunk in the pool just fine. The flashes of blue on the sides and crown are also nice touches.
The light and slim case is supremely comfortable as long as your wrists can support the watch’s diameter. The blue rubber strap is of very high quality and, honestly, one of the nicest I’ve tried. Thanks to a quick-change system, you can interchange it with other Piaget straps.
Reading the time is very easy. The large silvery hands (with lume) stand out over the dial, which has a cutout to see part of the movement. The moonphase is clear, too. The only part that’s hard to focus on in person is the Piaget name printed on the underside of the crystal, but it’s hardly relevant if the name on the dial is almost invisible. That is, unless you’re one of those people, and if you are, the Piaget name is inscribed on the rubber strap.
A unique and interesting mix is probably how to best describe this one. On the one hand, it has a few oddities, such as the decision to use a tourbillon and moonphase movement and then put that movement in a wide titanium case. It would almost certainly conform to the norms more if it were smaller and made of precious metal, and with a smaller size, it would probably have a wider audience. Yet, despite this, it feels special because it has these quirks; Piaget’s watches are usually quite quirky, too, so it feels on-brand for them. With just 88 examples being made, I’m sure there are enough buyers in the world to spend the €113,000 asking price, and if Piaget ends up having to give them away, I’d take one. Wishful thinking, I know.
Author’s note: A detail I forgot to add in the review is that Piaget ships the watch with an additional blue alligator leather strap, although I wasn’t able to photograph it with this option during the photoshoot.
