There is a seductive allure to the Piaget Polo Skeleton Automatic Steel, reference G0A45001, that stands apart in the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary luxury sports watches. Piaget’s ability to engineer extreme thinness with assured wearability, packaged in the unmistakable chic of the Polo collection, gives this watch exceptional character. It is a modern reinterpretation that balances heritage, elegance, and technical prowess in a most compelling fashion. I had the opportunity to enjoy it for a long weekend, so I used the Concours of Elegance Germany and the shores of Lake Tegernsee as a background for my tests.
From 1979 Origins to Modern Iterations
The Piaget Polo was unveiled in 1979 during a pivotal era for luxury watchmaking. Unlike many of its competitors, Piaget broke convention by introducing a bracelet-integrated, all-gold sports watch, designed as much to be worn as a bold item of jewellery as a timekeeper. The parallel gadroons of the bracelet, the fully integrated design, and its status as Piaget’s first named model set it apart. The Polo quickly became a signifier of 1980s luxury, documenting its place on the wrists of celebrities and the elite alike.
Over the years, the Polo evolved both technically and stylistically, adopting mechanical and quartz movements and experimenting with a multitude of variations, including gem-set iterations and distinctive dial materials. A major transformation arrived in 2016, with the Polo S, an expression of the sportive-chic genre delivered this time in steel, and with more contemporary lines yet still recognisably a Polo.
The advent of the Polo Skeleton brought Piaget’s illustrious history full circle. Here, skeletonisation, long a Piaget signature, crosses with ultra-thin engineering to produce a wholly modern timepiece that is strikingly airy, technical, and versatile. The G0A45001, with its exquisitely open architecture and monochromatic grey finish, demonstrates the Maison’s rich savoir-faire.
The Dial: Airy, Light, and Legible
The dial of the G0A45001 eschews traditional notions of a “face.” Instead, it amplifies the very essence of openworked watchmaking: a transparent interplay of light and shade, allowing the eye to travel through a web of finely finished bridges and wheels. There is a breathability to the whole construction: the wide, cushion-shaped aperture, framed by the elegant steel case, creates the sensation of machinery suspended in space.
Legibility is handled with a surprising deftness. Although both the hands and the movement are skeletonised, the applied, faceted hour indices mounted on the chapter ring and the contrasting finish of the hands ensure the time remains readable in routine conditions. The minutes and hours are indicated with long and well-proportioned skeletonised hands, faceted to catch the light. The printed minute ring, broken only by the Piaget signature and “Swiss Made” text, gives subtle context without cluttering the view.
Yet, it is the play of the light—dappled across bevelled bridges and satin-finished components, filtered through the sapphire crystal and caseback that lends the watch genuine theatre. The movement architecture becomes the dial, and the Piaget blue or grey finish (here in monochromatic grey) defines the distinct, contemporary presence of the piece.
Calibre 1200S1: Mastery in Ultra-Thin Skeletonisation
At the heart of the Polo Skeleton beats the manufacture calibre 1200S1. This is an ultra-thin, automatic skeleton movement, just 2.4mm high yet replete with carefully considered detail. Piaget’s tradition of svelte engineering, traced from the legendary Calibre 12P in the 1960s, is carried forward with aplomb. The entire movement is exposed, inviting all to appreciate the interplay of the gear train, open barrel, and escapement.
The finishing is no less impressive: the skeletonised mainplate displays a sunburst brushing, while the bridges are nicely bevelled and hand-polished. Wheels feature circular and sunburst satin-brushed surfaces, with contrast provided by black screws and blind tapped screws and bolts, each with highly polished heads. The oscillating weight, visible through the caseback, is rendered in platinum for lower inertia and a subtle flash of luxury, finished in a slate grey hue with the Piaget coat of arms inscribed. The entire spectacle runs at a stately, reliable 3Hz (21,600vph), offers 44 hours of autonomy, and provides a secure dual-anchor balance bridge for greater stability.
Technical specifications for the calibre 1200S1 include 25 jewels, a 31.9mm diameter, and a sapphire display caseback, with the overall watch being just 6.5mm thin – an extraordinary feat, particularly for a skeleton automatic movement.
Sleek, Integrated, and Comfortable
The 42mm case of the G0A45001 commands attention with its cushion silhouette and perfectly round bezel, immediately recognisable as a contemporary Piaget Polo. The satin-brushed and polished surfaces play effortlessly with the light, reinforcing the sense of depth and contrast first introduced on the dial and movement. The reduction in thickness, down to just 6.5mm, is not an empty technical gesture; it emboldens the sporty, modern identity of the watch while enhancing daily comfort.
The gentle curvature of the case and lugs ensures that, despite the generous diameter, the watch wears organically on the wrist. An integrated H-link steel bracelet with alternating brushed and polished links is both visually distinctive and practical, equipped as it is with a quick-release system for effortless switch to the accompanying alligator leather strap. The water resistance, rated at 3 bar, signifies suitability for day-to-day life, if not the swimming pool.
Wearability, Modern Appeal, and Piaget Traditions
The Piaget Polo Skeleton G0A45001 is a supremely wearable timepiece, exuding a lively, modern feel while upholding the traditions for which the Maison is celebrated. Its slim, integrated case slips beneath a cuff with ease, but it also draws glances when catching the light on the wrist. The fast-changing strap system is a welcome addition, lending the watch versatility whether for casual or smart occasions.
What’s especially satisfying is the sense of continuity: this is a piece that would make sense for a modern-day Miles Davis, comfortable both in a jazz club and within the eclectic mix of today’s style landscape. It is a watch born of a celebrated past but unmistakably designed for the present, a marriage of audacious design, expert finishing, and technical innovation that feels quintessentially Piaget in every regard.
In sum, the Piaget Polo Skeleton Automatic Steel Ref. G0A45001 is not only a showcase of the brand’s watchmaking expertise and boldness. It manages to fuse the architectural purity of skeletonisation, the flair of ultra-thin haute horlogerie, and a modern, everyday sensibility – a rare feat and a joy to experience.
Piaget Polo Skeleton Technical Specifications
Ref. G0A45001 – 31 600 € / £ 26 500 / $ 32,200 / ¥ 239,000 / HK$ 240,000 / ¥ 4,620,000 / 43 200 S$ / AED 119,000 / SAR 126,000 / LEI 157.000
Movement
- Self-winding
- Shape: Round
- Movement functions: Minutes, Hours
- Power reserve (in hours): 44
- Frequency (vph): 21600
- Frequency (Hz: )3
- Diameter (lines): 14.25
Diameter (mm): 31.9 mm - Number of jewels:25
- Thickness (mm): 2.4 mm
- Movement finishings:
- Bevelled bridge,
- Circular Satin brushed wheels,
- Coat of arms engraved oscillating weight,
- Sun Burst Satin brushed plate,
- Sun Burst Satin brushed bridge,
- Polished screws,
- Tungsten oscillating weight,
- Bevelled plate,
- Slight grey coloured screws
Case
- Stainless Steel Cushion
- Case diameter: 42 mm
- Case thickness: 6.5 mm
- Waterproofness: 3 bar
Dial
- Skeleton
- Index: Batons
Strap
- Grey alligator with buckle
- Steel bracelet with triple folding buckle
