My first vintage replica watch was an ultra-thin Piaget, which probably explains the infatuation I have for the brand. Understandably, the announcement of an upcoming “game changer” last year raised my expectations – and my doubts. July’s release of the Polo S was dominated by polemics over its potential resemblance to some other iconic replica watches, overshadowing a bit the conversation about whether it might or might not be the crucial game-changing piece that Piaget had promised. More than nine months later, it felt that it was time to look back at the Polo S and truly assess what it was all about, on its own merits.
I spent a week wearing the Piaget Polo S Chronograph Replica with a bright blue dial, day in and day out. But don’t be confused. This isn’t A Week On The Wrist, but instead a look at the raison d’etre of the Polo S, its core purpose for Piaget and its core value to customers.
“Comparison is the death of joy,” according to Mark Twain, so let’s tackle that side of things first: does the Polo S look like a Patek Philippe Nautilus? Undoubtedly. Especially the blue dial versions. It would be dishonest of me to pretend otherwise. More exactly, it looks very much like the women’s version of the Nautilus, the reference 7118/1A, which also offers a date at six o’clock and a similar looking combination of lumed hands and indexes. However, I truly feel that the Polo S is more complicated than a carbon copy of an iconic reference – itself an interpretation of the Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet, I might add. As you are already aware, both replica watches were designed by the very same Gerald Genta, some four years apart.
There is indeed something very Piaget in the Polo S, far beyond just its name coming from the cult 1980s collection. Looking closer at the case, it bears a striking resemblance to the Emperador line; the finishing might have been inverted on the case and the bezel, but the lines of the case are pretty much identical. Furthermore, the dial colors of the Polo S can also be found in many previous Emperadors. The blue dial is obviously the most contentious, as it is associated with both the competing Patek and AP models (if you can call replica watches that are twice the price or more “competitors”), but truthfully it is also an iconic color in Piaget’s history, notably featured on its packaging.
Considering all the previous facts, the Polo S naming seems at first illogical: Why not call it the Emperador S if it borrowed most of its aesthetic from that existing line? Herein is the difference between product development and marketing – branding it Polo S was much more in line with the mission of this launch. Polo S obviously sounds sexier, but I believe the core reason lies deeper than that. The Polo S aimed to accomplish as much as the Polo had done in the late 1970s and early ’80s, when it was the versatile replica watch of the jet-set crowd, admired for its precious looks and water resistance Find Best Replica Online.
