Piaget Jade Dial Emperador Ref. 9131 - Rare Cartier-Signed Papers, 1974

Dealer description — Huntington Company

While collectors have latched onto the Piaget Polo, rightly placing it as a historically important design, the Emperador reigns at the top as the original “polo-style” Piaget. It is without a doubt one of the most important Piaget designs ever made. The Emperador was only produced for a short period beginning in the 1970’s, and paved the way to the rise of the Piaget Polo in the 1980’s. Today, collectors have recognized the important position that the Emperador holds in Piaget’s historical catalog of designs, and it has become one of the most highly sought after models. It is truly the king of all Piaget watches. The Piaget Polo was advertised by Piaget as an ultra-luxurious watch, and the Emperador takes opulence to the next level. This particular example features an unpolished fully linked bracelet, the totality of the watch weighing over 200 grams, which is just over 7 ounces of solid gold. In the 1970’s, the Emperador was a seldom produced uber-luxury watch in Piaget’s retail catalog. Several watch dealers that operated in the past decades have stated that these gold-heavy watches were often melted for scrap at a time when little value was placed on the designs, making the Emperador even rarer in the current market. On offer here is an Emperador made all the more special by three attributes. First, this Emperador features a flawless jade dial. This is the only Emperador that we are aware of that has a jade dial. While it is possible that there may be another jade dial Emperador out there somewhere in the world, it is our belief that since another one has not surfaced that this may be a unique piece that was specially ordered by the original owner. This belief is corroborated by the very special paperwork that accompanies this watch. Second, this is the reference 9131 Emperador, which houses the caliber 9P manual wind mechanical movement. The majority of Emperadors that have surfaced to the market are reference 7131, which denotes a quartz movement. The 9131 Emperador with mechanical movement is a relative rarity compared with the production of 7131 Emperadors and tells us that this is also an early Emperador that predates Piaget’s quartz era. Last, and certainly not least, this Emperador comes as a complete set with its original box and Piaget paperwork, which shows that this watch was retailed by Cartier. It is very rare to find any Piaget from this era with a complete set, but the fact that this example was retailed by Cartier makes it a true collecting paragon. In this era, watches sold by another retailer were often special order and so we believe this fact corroborates the notion that this may be a unique piece. As is often the case, the best, most desired examples of watches enter important collections and once there they may disappear for decades before resurfacing in the market. The present example is the Emperador of all Emperadors, and once sold, we may not see it again for a very long time. Specifications Model: Emperador Movement: Piaget Ultra-Thin Caliber 9P Year: 1974 Contents: Complete with the original box and rare Cartier-signed papers. Case: Unpolished 25mm 18K yellow gold case. Bracelet: A fully linked adjustable bracelet that contains many removable links. Total weight of the watch is over 200 grams, or 7 ounces of gold. Watch will fit a wrist up to 7.7 inches. Dial: Jade stone dial in flawless condition.