
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Piaget Ref. 9678 Gent's Gold Wristwatch, circa 1, c. 1970
- Maker / attribution
- Piaget (maker)
- Date
- c. 1970
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- gold
- Auction house
- LiveAuctioneers auction archive
- Lot
- Item 26542882
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 60043, 2014 May 22 Timepieces #5177, Heritage Auctions (2014), via LiveAuctioneers
- Catalogue title (original)
- Piaget Ref. 9678 Gent's Gold Wristwatch, circa 1 (English)
View the source record (auction lot) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by LiveAuctioneers auction archive (lot Item 26542882), this is a wristwatch by Piaget, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1970. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
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
Lot description — Heritage Auctions
Piaget Ref. 9678 Gent's Gold Wristwatch, circa 1970's Case: No. 137522, two body, 18k yellow gold, bark finish to the bezel and sides, 32 mm x 25 mm, sapphire set crown Dial: fancy gold, radial black Roman numerals, blued steel leaf hands Movement: caliber 9P, rhodium finish, 18 jewels, adjusted to temperatures and five positions, monometallic balance, shock absorber Band: leather with 18k gold original buckle Signed: all signed Piaget
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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