By Dhananjay Pathak
The genesis of the Only Watch auction goes back to the year 2005 and since then the Charity event has been able to aggregate millions of Euros, which have been utilized to finance many scientific and medical research programs. Over and above the charitable intent behind the auction what I love even more is that it gives an opportunity to both manufactures and collectors alike to create and be able to collect something unique respectively. So, on that note let us have a look at another interesting offering for Only Watch 2017, the Piaget Black Tie vintage watch. This watch features a distinctive looking cushion case with an artistic looking dial made out of hard stone.
The Piaget Black Tie vintage watch for Only Watch 2017 has quite a few intriguing elements, so let us begin by talking a little about the case. This watch comes with a cushion style case made out of 18karat Yellow gold and is 43mm wide and 45mm long, which should make for a comfortable wear on the wrist. Although it is difficult to describe the exact shape of this case in words, it is one of my favorite aspects of this watch and gives the watch a distinctive demeanor. It starts with a broad base, followed by multiple steps leading to a relatively narrow top, giving the watch an art deco feel. Flipping the watch over we have a screw down case back with the engraving “Only Watch 2017- Unique Piece” signifying the exclusivity of this timepiece.
Powering this watch is Piaget’s in-house 534P Self-winding mechanical movement. The movement is made up of 196 components and offers a power reserve of around 42 hours operating at a frequency of 3Hz. Piaget also mentions that the movement has been decorated using Circular Côtes de Genève, Blued Screws and some beveling on the bridges, but unfortunately the luck owner of this watch would be bereft of that visual pleasure courtesy of the closed case back.
Being a watch enthusiast I spend a considerable amount of time looking at watches on a daily basis and whether or not a watch makes it to wish list is to an extent dependent on how attractive do I find the dial on that watch. So, in case you are wondering about how I feel about the dial on the Piaget Black Tie Vintage, I would say, I quite like it for what it is. The dial on this watch has been made out of brown Pietersite, a powerful protection stone, making the dial look like a piece of abstract art. The brilliant flashes of brown along with churning cloud like patterns which are an intrinsic part of the stone seem to be a perfect fit for this watch providing a nice contrast against the Golden case and stick shaped hands. One of the major quibbles that comes along with an artistic timepiece is sacrificed legibility and which I am afraid is to an extent also the case with this watch. Even though the golden hand set does stand out against the dial, the lack of hour and minute markings does make reading time a tad difficult. So in case you are purist who yearns for accuracy in timekeeping I would say this is not the watch for you.
The Piaget Black Tie vintage watch for Only Watch 2017 is an elegant looking watch and can be a worthy contender for becoming a dressy wild card timepiece in one’s collection. So, in case you want to get your hands onto this one be sure to be there at the Only Watch auction as only one of these would ever exist. The watch would come accompanied on a brown alligator strap and is estimated to be sold in the price range of CHF30000 – 50000.
