Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Piaget 18K YG Tank (Ref. 91543) Onyx Dial, 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Piaget (maker)
- Date
- 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- PGT91543
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (PGT91543)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1970s Piaget 18K YG Tank (Ref. 91543) Onyx Dial (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number PGT91543), this is a wristwatch by Piaget, made in Switzerland, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. 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 — Craft & Tailored
There is a certain dignity that can only be found in a rectangular case. Something that no round case can replicate and no odd shape can imitate. The Cartier Tank is often the first to come to mind but there are many others who have played the rectangular game and come out, at least in our opinion, far ahead. This 18k gold, engraved case, onyx dial Piaget is a faultless example. SPECS Stock # PGT91543 Brand Piaget Style Tank Model 91543 Serial 34XXXX Size Men's/ Unisex Material 18K Yellow Gold Dial Onyx Stone Millimeters 25x28 Bracelet 2pc Leather Strap CASE & BRACELET What is not to love about this case? Piaget didn't stop at just throwing a movement in a gold box like many other manufactures. The entire case is engraved in an interlocking pattern as if the watch itself is covered in the gold bricks it was made from. The corners are cut and the engraving continued, giving the watch a certain extra dose of refinement. This Piaget comes supplied on a 2pc leather strap. DIAL & HANDS The dial is made of deep black onyx stone. The piece's thin gold hands point out into the black. It's sleek and markerless design tells you only the thing you were asking it when you glanced down at your wrist. ACCESSORIES Non. The watch is keeping time, previous service history is unknown.
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.
Related records
Wristwatches · c. 1980
Piaget wristwatch, ref. 7141 C5, c. 1980
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1984
Piaget Polo Square ''zebra'', ref. 7131 C 701, c. 1984
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1990
Piaget Lady Gold and Diamond Watch, ref. 16033, c. 1990
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 2000s
Piaget wristwatch, ref. PI0002, Limelight, circa 2000s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · 1970
Wristwatch by Heno, Switzerland, 1970
Museum Rotterdam
Wristwatches · 1960–1986
'Tri-Compax' calendar chronograph wristwatch in gold case, by Universal, Geneva, Switzerland, 1960–1986.
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1969–1970
Beta 21 Quartz wristwatch movement, made in Switzerland, 1970.
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · c. 1969
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, ref. 145022-69st, c. 1969
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva