Cover Piaget Polo 79 in white gold with a sodalite dial and white gold gadroons
Piaget Polo 79 in white gold with a sodalite dial and white gold gadroons
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For 2026, Piaget extends its enduring design signature—the gadroon—across the Polo collection, from a new sodalite-dial Polo 79 in white gold to a fresh Polo Signature Date
Among the many signatures that have shaped Piaget’s identity over the decades, one of the most recognisable is its gadroons. These polished horizontal ridges, which alternate with satin-brushed surfaces to create a rhythmic play of light and shadow, have long distinguished the Piaget Polo from other luxury sports watches on the market. Decorative, certainly, but their significance runs deeper: for Piaget, gadroons represent a way of thinking about design in which form, ornament and craftsmanship are inseparable.
That philosophy traces back to 1979, when Piaget unveiled the original Polo into a market already being reshaped by a new generation of integrated-bracelet sports watches. Steel dominated at the time and industrial finishing was the prevailing language; exposed mechanics, a mark of seriousness. Piaget moved in the opposite direction. Rather than producing a tool watch adapted for luxury, it created an object of luxury from the outset—forged entirely in gold, its case and bracelet unified by gadroons that flowed uninterrupted across the whole. Conceived by Yves G. Piaget—the fourth-generation family member who transformed the brand into a global luxury and cultural force during the 1970s and 1980s—the watch reflected a vision of elegance that was as much about lifestyle as it was about watchmaking.
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Above The Piaget Polo Signature Date in steel is available in 36mm with diamond-set bezel and beige rubber strap and 42mm with khaki green rubber strap, both with silver gadroon dials
The Piaget Polo Signature Date in steel is available in 36mm with diamond-set bezel and beige rubber strap and 42mm with khaki green rubber strap, both with silver gadroon dials
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As Yves G. Piaget put it: “It is a bracelet featuring a watch, not a watch featuring a bracelet.” The hierarchy embedded in that statement—jewellery logic applied to a sports watch—proved remarkably durable. Where most luxury sports watches derive their identity from a bezel profile, a case shape or a movement architecture, the Polo has always expressed itself through its surfaces. The gadroons create structure without heaviness and decoration without excess. They lend movement to metal, animating what might otherwise be simple geometric forms.
Their origins also sit within Piaget’s broader creative history. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the maison established itself as one of the great innovators of hardstone dials, textured goldwork and jewellery watches. Designers and artisans experimented with engraving, finishing and relief to create pieces that treated precious metals as expressive materials rather than passive settings. The gadroon emerged from that culture of experimentation—not as a functional detail, but as a surface language capable of carrying the full character of a watch.
Nearly five decades on, that language continues to define the collection. For 2026, Piaget has chosen not merely to preserve the signature but to expand it, migrating the gadroon motif across a wider family of references and connecting contemporary models directly back to the 1979 original.
Above Piaget Polo Signature Date in steel with a blue gadroon dial and diamond-set indices
Piaget Polo Signature Date in steel with a blue gadroon dial and diamond-set indices
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One of the most outstanding expressions is the new Polo 79 in white gold with a sodalite dial. Piaget was among the pioneers of hardstone dials in the 1960s and 70s, employing lapis lazuli, tiger’s eye and onyx long before such materials became fashionable elsewhere; the Polo 79 previously carried onyx and lapis lazuli versions of its own. Sodalite is a first for the contemporary range. The stone’s deep blue surface, veined with natural variation, introduces an organic counterpoint to the precision of the gadroons. Against the disciplined geometry of the bracelet and case, the mineral dial brings an element of unpredictability. The contrast sharpens both, allowing the stone to read richer, the gadroons more architectural.
Also new for 2026 is a two-tone gold Polo 79, still at 38mm and powered by the ultra-thin automatic calibre 1200P1—the movement that has long underpinned Piaget’s argument that finesse and sport-chic are not incompatible.
Elsewhere, the gadroon motif migrates to the Polo Signature Date for the first time, traversing silver and blue dials across a range designed for everyday wear. The move creates a stronger visual continuity between the Polo 79 and a collection that had previously maintained a more restrained aesthetic. New executions span steel references, diamond-set variations and rose gold models at both 36mm and 42mm—demonstrating the adaptability of a design language that has always sat equally at home in watchmaking and jewellery.
Evidently, the gadroon is not a stylistic flourish applied after the fact but a structural element that shapes the entire watch: dictating how light moves across a surface, how the eye reads volume and proportion, how the object sits on the wrist. It is the reason the motif has endured and now, nearly half a century after its debut, those simple horizontal lines remain an immediate expression of what the Piaget Polo is.
Credits
Images: Piaget
Annabel Tan is the Editor of Watches and Jewellery at Tatler Singapore, where she covers all things luxury timepieces and fine jewellery across both print and digital platforms. She is also the Editor of Tatler GMT Singapore, a role that deepens her fascination with the ever-evolving world of watchmaking. Outside of work, she’s usually on the hunt for her next favourite watch that she can’t afford, planning her next beach getaway, or catching up on the latest Formula 1 race.
