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Don’t call it a one-hit wonder. Long before the model’s official revival in January 2024, it was nearly impossible to scroll through Watch Instagram without seeing Piaget’s gratuitously opulent Polo at least once. Prices for vintage versions were way up and the vibes were even higher. The release of the yellow-gold Polo 79 felt like a godsend—even if its $79,000 price tag caused sticker shock among a collector base who should be inured to such figures. Now, the sequel has officially landed: the Piaget Polo 79 in white gold.
Despite their popularity on social media, actual sales of the revived Polo were hardly guaranteed. “I can still vividly remember the feeling of uncertainty in January right before launching the Piaget Polo 79,” Benjamin Comar, Piaget’s CEO, said in an email. But the Polo 79 was a smash success, generating so much interest that a white-gold version was the natural next step for Piaget. “Revamping a long-awaited icon was a real challenge but the result was far beyond our expectations. After the gold Polo 79 release, the first thing some very faithful clients asked for was the white-gold edition. As you probably know, it was quite rare in the ’80s—only a handful were produced—so we decided this was the time to continue a beautiful moment.”
If you thought the yellow-gold version of this watch was ridiculous, this variation is even more special. Hardly any of the Polos made during the original run were produced in white gold. It’s estimated that less than 200 ever existed. And since the original weighed a whopping 132 grams of pure gold, who knows how many were melted down in a pure and lucrative cash grab. Plus, many of the vintage white-gold versions proudly read “quartz” on the dial, referencing the cheap-to-produce movement inside. Still, contemporary collectors were willing to overlook that detail when hunting for whatever vintage versions of the Polo they could find.
The rise of the Polo was fueled by a new taste for extravagance among collectors. After years of spartan steel sport watches ruling the day, there was suddenly an insatiable appetite on the market for stone dials, bejeweled cases, and outlandish designs—all things Piaget are known for, to the point that we named the jeweler GQ’s Watchmaker of the Year for 2024. The pair of Polo 79 releases are like an irresistible dessert—massive hunks of gold weighing in at a ridiculous 200 grams.
This latest white-gold Polo 79 release remedies both the original’s rarity and quartz movement. Customers who have been hunting down vintage versions of the piece can now inquire for one at their local Piaget boutique. And when their Polo eventually arrives, it won’t read quartz on the dial: The new P79 features the brand’s excellent automatic movement, visible through the see-through caseback.
In a world free of the tyranny of steel sport watches, Piaget is positioned to be a major winner. In addition to the Polo 79, the maker recently refreshed and renamed Andy Warhol’s famous cushion-shaped watch. Last year, Alain Borgeaud, Piaget’s director of patrimony, described the original Polo as a “jewel which gives time.” That sentiment remains as true—and lucrative—as ever, nearly five decades after the model’s original release.