Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Piaget Protocole 'Lapis Lazuli' Dress Watch, 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Piaget (maker)
- Date
- 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 25 mm
- Stock no.
- 40991679
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40991679)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Piaget Protocole 'Lapis Lazuli' Dress Watch (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40991679), 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. Recorded dimensions: Case 25 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
For much of its existence, Piaget operated quietly behind the proverbial curtain, producing some of the most horoligicaly impressive mechanical movements in Switzerland. But when the Piaget name was displayed on a dial, the brand embodied a distinguishable lavish style that became synonymous with a period of opulence, representative of the 1960s and 1970s. Their stunning creations were worn by icons of style – Andy Warhol, Roger Moore, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Elvis Presley, to name but a few. This example, a Reference 9154, dates to the 1970s and is housed in a 25mm x 28mm 18k yellow gold case with engraved pinstripe texturing. It features an acrylic crystal, recessed crown and Piaget's signature slim profile. Its lapis lazuli stone dial features printed Roman indices, a ‘dauphine’ handset and the Piaget's stylized signature printed at 12 o'clock. Stone dial Piagets -okay, all Piagets - hailing from this period are having a real moment and this particular piece comes loaded with all the hallmarks of a great vintage piece; an honest case and excellent, unique dial!
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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