I've owned the Piaget and the biggest issue I had was the bracelet. With the sharp twin triggers and lack of taper, this bracelet was one of the most uncomfortable bracelets I've ever encountered. With that said, I think the watch is beautiful and is one bracelet redesign away from being a great watch. A comparison that I would love to see is the Glashutte Original Seventies versus the Nautilus... this is where I think things could get interesting from a value perspective!
The Piaget is a solid product. There's no shame in acknowledging where the inspiration lies. For what Piaget charges -- and what they cost pre-owned -- pricing is spot-on considering what you get. Best, Tim
Price aside, I'd take the Piaget over the Patek, because I really don't care to wear an ultra-thin watch. While my shade may be more Tim, my physique is definitely more CQ, so I like my watch to have some heft.
I would go Patek Philippe here. The framed Piaget "P" as the counter weight to the seconds hand is tacky. Thank you, Tim, for highlighting the pin sleeves and clamshell clasp on the Patek Philippe. Patek Philippe could continue to modernize this watch giving it a 4 trigger clasp, like the JLC Q1628120 (Master HomeTime) and loosing the pin sleeves. Do you know if when you service an older Nautilus they replace the balance spring with a silicon one? Best, Mark
Regarding the silicon spring, I doubt it. I have yet to see a pre-2012 (screw bracelet) Nautilus with a silicon spring, and I believe that the Spiromax unit arrived in 2013. Given how many 5711s I see, if there were a hairspring replacement policy at Patek, I'd likely have seen one example of a swap in an older watch. Best, Tim
Spending a great deal of time in Geneva, I fell in love with Piaget over 40 years ago. I know the people and the company, and I won't wear anything else! The Piaget family is a family of watchmakers, a movement manufacturer since 1874. End of story.
I went with the IWC Ingenieur 3239-04 (white dial). When I went shopping around, I tried just about all of them, except the Nautilus because it wasn't available. I found the Ingenieur had the best fit. It fit like a glove, and I was instantly in love. Of course there is no comparing IWC to PP, VC (which I love) and even GP. I own a GO and love the brand but I found the Senator Seventies too chunky. I love the look and the history of the Nautilus but I don't want to pay that kind of premium. So this shows how important it is to try on a watch. You may be surprised and change your opinion. By the way, I was told my Ingenieur has a real ETA 2892, not Sellita clone (I need to verify this), and I was lucky to get it heavily discounted.
All of what you write is true. And there have been several Ingenieur references since 2005 that deserve their own chance to face the 5711 and 15400 in the ring. In many instances, I'd take the IWC. Best, Tim
Not really a valid comparison...the Patek is much more finely finished. Instead, compare the Polo to a 42mm GP Laureato. Regardless, the Patek is horribly overpriced; I simply would never pay $40k+ for a simple, three-handed stainless steel sport watch just because it has “Patek” printed on the dial.
The reason for the comparison is that Piaget took it’s inspiration for this watch from the Nautilus without a doubt hoping to cash in on Patek Philippe’s marketing success.
It's not really a comparison. Piaget basically combined the Aquanaut and Nautilus designs into a single reference and sold it for 1/3 the price of a 5711. On that basis alone, there's cause for comparison. This isn't to suggest that they're equivalents in any way. But comparing a Piaget Polo to a GP Laureato is just cross referencing two things that draw heavily on Royal Oak and Nautilus design language; I'd rather compare one of those pretenders to the real deal out of sheer intrigue. Best, Tim
Prefer the date window on the piaget, all the rest on the pp... I would wear both with pride... Cheers Tim, another cool video with an informative comparison...
A good call. The Santos likely falls short if dial lume is taken into account, but that particular Cartier could take Patek to school about how to build a modern bracelet. Best, Tim
I will admit, however, that short of an Offshore, I'd rather own the above models if I truly intend to make my machine a "swimmable" sports accessory. Best, Tim
I don't think so. 125M vs 50M water resistance means that the Nautilus at least can back up its, well, nautical heritage, unlike the Royal Oak. The RO is all about pretending to be something it is not, just look at the 8 screws that obviously can't turn anywhere in their sockets! AP definitely has the better movement for a sports watch, though, the 324 needs an upgrade badly, preferably something with hacking and a full balance bridge, along with some thickness ( ultra thin movements are not famous for being shock resistant, right? )
Or Josh Kiszka (Greta Van Fleet) and Robert Plant. I can't think of a more direct duplication of the latter by any other stylist. And GvF sounds like a Zep clone. Not a bad one, though! Best, Tim
Each to their own. After handling RO, Nautilus and Piaget in person, I purchased the Piaget. I just liked how it felt and looked on my wrist more. Not about price either-I own Lange, etc. Just didn’t like the Nautilus as much.
You buy a watch BECAUSE it costs 100k not despite this. If Nautilus was under 10k I wouldn’t give it a second look. But with this price, it gives me a special feeling when I wear it and I notice people looking at it
I know this is very expensive watch, but for me personally it looks so bad, like some cheap Chinese flea market $2 watch. Of course it is subjective thing, and there is more in it than just the looks, but I really do but understand that design.
