Piaget Coussin

To truly appreciate the magnitude of this masterpiece, one must first understand the legacy of Piaget. Founded in 1874 in the serene Swiss village of La Côte-aux-Fées, Piaget began as a humble workshop crafting precision movements for other watchmakers. By the mid-20th century, Piaget had transformed into a beacon of luxury, known for ultra-thin calibers and daring designs that blurred the line between jewelry and watchmaking. Piaget wasn’t just about glamour; it was about pushing boundaries. The partnership with Cartier, where they supplied movements for many of the maison’s iconic timepieces, cemented their place as a cornerstone of haute horology.

And yet, for all its innovation, Piaget’s white gold watches from the 1970s remain an oddity. The era was dominated by the warm tones of yellow and rose gold, metals that spoke to the decadence of the period. White gold, with its understated glow, was the opposite —discreet, quiet and almost shy. It just wasn’t what the market craved, and so, very few were made.

And that’s what makes this particular watch so extraordinary. It’s not just rare; it’s improbably rare. To hold it in your hand is to feel the weight of something almost mythical, a piece that exists because Piaget dared to make something the world wasn’t yet ready for.

It’s no wonder that this reference would later evolve into the Emperador, a line that carried forward the spirit of understated elegance. But there’s something about the original that feels untouchable, as though it belongs to a world we can only glimpse from the corner of our eye.

Today, white gold Piaget watches from this era are not only rare but highly investable. Their scarcity, born of their initial unpopularity, has become their greatest asset.