Wristwatch by Piaget SA, Switzerland, 1960 — view 1 of 1
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Wristwatch by Piaget SA, Switzerland, 1960

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Piaget SA (creator)
Date
1960
Country of origin
Switzerland
Place
La Côte-aux-Fées
Object type
Wristwatch
Holding institution
German Clock Museum
Accession / object no.
Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_65325__technical_number_
Catalogue title (original)
Armbanduhrwerk, Georges Piaget SA, La Côte-aux-Fées (Schweiz), um 1960 (German)

View the source record ↗

Record summary

Held and catalogued by German Clock Museum (object number Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_65325__technical_number_), this is a wristwatch by Piaget SA, made in La Côte-aux-Fées, Switzerland, dated 1960. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. 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

Catalogue description from German Clock Museum (German)

Alle Kulturen kennen Geschlechterrollen. Diese sind historisch gewachsen und verändern sich. Deshalb ist es spannend, in die Vergangenheit zu schauen. So gehörte es im 20. Jahrhundert zum guten Ton einer wohlhabenden Bürgerin, ihren Reichtum nicht ostentativ zur Schau zu stellen. Sie trug nur dezente Schmuckstücke, zum Beispiel kleine, nichtsdestoweniger kostbare Armbanduhren. Die Schweizer Uhrenfirmen bauten dafür winzige Uhrwerke. Eines der kleinsten stammt von der Firma Piaget aus dem kleinen Ort “La Côte-aux-Fées” (die Halde der Zauberinnen). Es misst gerade einmal 13,5 Millimeter im Durchmesser, ist also kleiner als ein Centstück. Doch wie sollte man die Zeit auf dem winzigen Zifferblatt ablesen? Brille tragen galt nicht als chic. Großzügig wurde den feinen Damen deshalb gestattet, zu spät zu kommen. (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum Furtwangen)

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Historical context

Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)

Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.

The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking

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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