Capturing the Magic Hour

In cinema, the magic hour is that time of dusk or dawn when the light is at its most beautiful, inspiring photographers to capture it on film (or digital video, as the case may be).

In watch making, the Magic Hour is the newest watch by Piaget, which possesses its own brand of magic. Not only is it an exquisite jeweled watch — done up in diamonds and pure gold — you also get three watches in one.

The magic is in a rotating oval case that you can turn at will according to your mood: horizontal and you get a classically elegant face; diagonal for a unique, iconoclastic view; and vertical for an Art Nouveau-inspired piece in which the jeweled “12” and “6” numerals are visible.

The Magic Hour is one of the highlight pieces in Rustan’s newly renovated Silvervault. Now located on the second floor of Rustan’s Makati, the watch and jewelry boutique features a corner exclusively devoted to Piaget, with freestanding showcases and a counter where you can try on jewelry pieces.

“Our sales in the Philippines are getting very good, especially after this renovation,” observes Grace Cheng, Piaget’s sales executive for export markets. “The Philippines used to be more yellow gold-oriented. However this year they’re more into white gold and even pink gold.”

Cheng walked me through Piaget’s various collections at Rustan’s. Possession is a jewelry and watch line also based on a rotating bezel, except executed through interlocking jeweled rings. Polo, initially launched in 1979, is Piaget’s first and most iconic watch collection — a favorite of stars so named “because Mr. Piaget, his favorite sport was polo,” notes Cheng.

The gents’ watches, in particular, showcase the ultra-thin watch movement Piaget is famous for. Clocking in at 2.1 mm, this slimmest of self-winding movements opened up a whole range of possibilities for Piaget’s design team. Now they could do watches as high-fashion accessories in which mechanics would never get in the way of style, from jeweled timepieces to watches embedded in rings, brooches, coins and cuff bracelets.

While the gems and straps can vary widely in colors and materials, all Piaget watches and jewelry are crafted from 18-carat white, yellow or rose (also known as pink) gold. “We never use silver or steel,” Cheng says. “White gold is the most expensive, while yellow and pink are relatively similar in price.”

While the size and style of the Magic Hour make it more for evening or special-occasion wear, those seeking an everyday, entry-level watch should start with the small Possession with satin strap for ladies, and the best-selling Altiplano for men. Other bestsellers include the Dancer and Polo watches for men and women.

Rustan’s also carries the Emperador collection, which features Piaget’s complication movement. “In gents’ watches we have two universes,” Cheng explains. “One is the ultra-thin-movement watch, and the other is the complication-movement universe, in which you have the seconds, or date, or fly-back time, or second time zone.”

Piaget’s design approach seems tailored to the Asian market, which likes its solid-gold, diamond-studded timepieces. Among the top three watchmakers in the world, Piaget is the only vertically integrated company “with A-to-Z manufacturing.” Consequently their watches are labeled “Manufacture,” which means Piaget produces its own movement and mechanism, its own 18K gold casing, body and bracelet. “We don’t follow fashion trends; Piaget creates the trends,” says Cheng.

A family-run company, fourth-generation scion Yves Piaget currently heads the house, which belongs to the Richemont group of Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Panerai and other prestigious brands.

Georges Edouard Piaget founded the brand 134 years ago in the Swiss Jura, where his workshop eventually started supplying watch movements to other Swiss watchmakers. Constant innovation and fine-tuning led to the ultra-thin movement, and models like the first Polo in 1979. The brand went luxe with diamond watches for gents and ladies, opening its first boutique in Geneva and expanding to the rest of the world.

In 1959 Piaget created its fine-jewelry division, which launches a collection based on a particular design theme every year. Last year, champagne and disco balls inspired the glitzy Party Collection. This year it’s a Paris-New York theme, with designs spun off from the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower.

Such is Piaget’s heritage and quality that they rarely, if ever, need celebrity endorsers. Jackie O helped make the brand legendary by wearing a Piaget Limelight made especially for her in 1965, with a jadeite face and lunette watch crystal of 24 diamonds and four emeralds. (Piaget was the first to craft watch faces out of semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli, turquoise, onyx and tiger’s eye.) Today Hong Kong actress and Wong Kar Wai muse Maggie Cheung is the modern face of Piaget. If anyone would know about the magic hour in terms of cinema and watches, it would be her.

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Piaget is exclusively available at Silvervault in Rustan’s.