18ct yellow gold Piaget ref. 1401/1 BETA 21 wristwatch with lapis lazuli dial. Made 1972

Information

• Brand: Piaget
• Made: 1972
• Model: BETA 21
• Reference: 1401
• Calibre: B 21
• Movement: Quartz
• Material: 18ct yellow gold
• Features/complications: Cushion shaped stepped case
• Dial: Lapis lazuli dial with baton hour and minute hands
• Case dimensions: 33 x 40mm
• Bracelet/strap: Leather strap 
• Accessories: N/A
• SKU: 3049

Essay

Although best known for their haute joaillerie timepieces, the history of the House of Piaget lies in fine watchmaking with an emphasis on ultra-thin mechanical movements, the most famous being the Calibre 9P. Released in 1957, the 9P was only 2mm thick and allowed Piaget to create watches where the size of the movement was negligible and the focus could be solely on design. This was most famously the demonstrated in the 21st Century collection from 1969 which included a host of integrated bracelet watches, elaborate precious metal cuff watches and pieces with wafer thin stone dials. These stone dials became a signature of Piaget and were of unparalleled beauty and quality.

The BETA 21 was created in 1969 and it was agreed by the 20 Swiss houses to produce 6,000 of these movements. Later that year, a few hundred of the BETA 21 watches were released at Basel, setting a new record at the Fair. The BETA 21 movement was accurate to 5 seconds per month, which was far superior to any automatic and manual-winding watch at the time. The design for the BETA 21 watches were also very characteristic of the era --they were generally thick, angular, and even chunky (partly out of necessity as the first generation of quartz movements were comparatively large.)