Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Piaget 18K Yellow Gold Dress Watch, 1980s
- Maker / attribution
- Piaget (maker)
- Date
- 1980s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- 18k yellow gold
- Dimensions
- Case 24 mm
- Stock no.
- 40992144
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40992144)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Piaget '18K Yellow Gold Dress Watch (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40992144), this is a wristwatch by Piaget, made in Switzerland, dated 1980s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: 18k yellow gold. Recorded dimensions: Case 24 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Analog/Shift
There’s nothing more classic and appealing than a simple dress watch. Though to be fair, when we say ‘simple’, we mean ‘uncomplicated’ — not unattractive! The 20th century saw a plethora of such watches hit the market. Generally available on leather straps and featuring two or three hands, these reliable wristwatches kept time during the classiest decades of the past 100 years. However, some were more innovative than others. Take this exquisite piece from Piaget, specialists in ultra-thin watchmaking: it’s as much akin to a piece of jewelry as it is to a more traditional wristwatch. Dating to the 1980s, it consists of a 24mm yellow gold case with an unsigned crown, a hobnail bezel, and an acrylic crystal paired to a beautiful, matching brick-work bracelet with a flip-tab closure. The elegant champagne dial features elongated ‘stick’ indices and a simple, black ‘pencil’ handset, which is powered by the 18-jewel, ultra-thin Piaget Calibre 9P manually-wound movement. Imagine the looks of curiosity — and envy — that you’ll stir up when rocking this beautiful Piaget at a cocktail party. With its eye-catching design, and awesome bracelet, this is a standout timepiece appropriate for virtually any wrist. While these beautiful Piaget pieces from the late 20th century went underappreciated for many years, we have recently seen a deserved surge in interest for these avant-garde designs. Catch this one before it’s gone!
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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