Piaget / The Art Of Ornamental Stones

Key Highlights

• Piaget renews its Art of Colour for 2026 with ornamental stone dials, jewellery watches and an Altiplano tourbillon.
• The Maison’s stone-dial story began in 1963, enabled by the ultra-thin 9P movement.
• New creations revisit the Sixtie cuff, Andy Warhol watches and the 1972 Kimono pocket watch in contemporary forms.
• Ornamental stones are cut extremely thin and, in some timepieces, integrated into movement components.
• The Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon now showcases ornamental stone within its 2mm profile.

A Heritage Written in Colour

Colour has been central to Piaget since the early 1960s, when the Maison dressed gold dials in lapis lazuli, turquoise, malachite and tiger’s eye. The ultra-thin 9P movement enabled broad stone dials and led to the 1969 21st Century Collection, where lapis lazuli, jade, mother-of-pearl and onyx transformed watches into wearable artworks.

From 1963, Piaget presented gold jewellery watches with stone dials for men and women, pairing engraved or woven bracelets with textured stones. The Decor Palace engraving echoed the depth of the dial and became a lasting signature of the Art of Colour.

The Cult of Distinction

Stone-dial watches appealed to clients seeking relaxed yet recognisable luxury and helped define the cosmopolitan Piaget Society. Ornamental stones supported a taste for individuality and led to Piaget’s Style Selector, a demi-bespoke system introduced in the mid‑1960s.

With the Style Selector, clients composed jewellery watches by choosing bracelets, dials and bezels; stones such as tiger’s eye, lapis lazuli, malachite, opal, mother-of-pearl, coral, rhodonite and ruby root could be paired with different numerals and diamond settings, embedding personalisation into Piaget’s approach.

2026: A Living Legacy of Stones

For 2026, Piaget reconnects past and present through colour universes linked to emblematic chapters in its history. Blue tones salute the Maison’s signature hue on models such as the Sixtie on a strap, the Piaget Polo 36mm in pink gold and Andy Warhol watches with blue quartz dials, while another Andy Warhol model appears with reddish-brown bull’s eye stone framed by a studded Clou de Paris case first seen in 2024.

Piaget also presents a High Jewellery interpretation of the Sixtie built around opal and Decor Palace engraving. The Maison revisits the 1972 Kimono pocket watch as three Swinging Pebbles necklaces, each pebble-shaped watch carved from a single stone—golden tiger’s eye, grass green verdite or pietersite—and suspended from a twisted gold chain with the case and dial integrated into the stone body.

Four gem-set interpretations

The 2026 ornamental stone line-up is distilled into four focused creations:

• Blue quartz Andy Warhol pieces emphasise Piaget’s blue universe and reconnect with its pop-era icons.
• The Sixtie opal cuff brings a High Jewellery vision framed by Decor Palace engraving.
• Swinging Pebbles necklaces reinterpret the 1972 Kimono pocket watch as pebble-shaped pendants carved from a single stone.
• Clou de Paris cases frame bull’s eye dials and link recent designs with the 2026 stone collection.

Ultra-Thin Craft in Stone

Piaget cuts ornamental stones to extreme thinness, sometimes to 0.4mm, then polishes them into forms that can withstand assembly despite a high risk of breakage. In certain pieces, stones are mounted on parts integral to the movement, and components are meticulously cleaned with needles as fine as 0.15mm to protect both mechanics and material.

This ornamental stone story extends into high watchmaking with the Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon, renowned for its 2mm profile and now presented with an ornamental stone integrated into its architecture. The Art of Colour appears alongside Altiplano, Piaget Polo, Limelight Gala, Possession, Piaget Sunlight, Piaget Rose and Extremely Piaget collections.

Why It Matters

For collectors in the GCC, Piaget’s renewed focus on ornamental stones brings together high jewellery aesthetics, craft and a clear heritage narrative. The 2026 creations offer colour-rich, personalisable pieces that align with regional preferences for precious materials and expressive design while remaining rooted in the Maison’s expertise in ultra-thin watchmaking.

To explore Piaget’s latest ornamental stone watches and jewellery, speak with your preferred authorised boutique or client advisor for information on upcoming pieces and private presentations.