The new Piaget Limelight Dancing Light (Ref. G0A36157) arrives in an elegant mix of rose gold and diamonds. It also delivers a simple, yet entertaining and playful complication that doesn’t enhance the timekeeper’s functionality, but makes it even more pleasant to look at.
Although Piaget gained its reputation building ultra-thin watches animated by super-thin mechanical calibers, the Swiss watch Manufacture doesn’t shy from making timepieces powered by cheaper quartz movements. After all, sometimes designing and manufacturing a caliber minuscule enough to power a timekeeper that is both tiny and ultra-flat is just too expensive. Perhaps, even prohibitively so.
Compensating for the electric-powered devices’ apparent simplicity, Piaget always offers them with a little twist, either putting the movement into a peculiarly shaped and meticulously decorated body or offering some other entertaining complication.
The Dancing Light was first presented this spring and, judging by the scale of the special presentation that was performed in Taiwan, is mostly targeted at wealthy Asian customers.
The small circle, which is crafted from rose gold and set with 16 brilliant-cut diamonds, and, at first glance, looks like a small seconds indicator is in fact not fixed to the dial at all!
Instead, like an oscillating weight of an automatic movement, the rotating circle is in constant motion rotating around the dial as your hand moves through space. In fact, judging by the video, the rotating circle always seems to stay on top of the diamond-set inner hour ring forming a figure “8”: a lucky number in Chinese tradition!
Okay, now, I understand that on the other side of the dial there is probably some simple oscillating weight that makes the ring constantly point north like a tumbler toy, but it is that rare occasion when resulting effect looks almost mesmerizing.
The rose gold body is, too, set with whole 68 brilliant-cut diamonds that weigh around 1.7 carats. Being 39 millimeters in diameter, the watch nevertheless doesn’t look too big for a lady’s wrist thanks to its lugless design.
Another interesting feature of the watch is that it lacks a normal setting crown in order to make the design look as pure as it is practically possible.
Ticking inside this beautiful watch is the Piaget 56P quartz caliber: the same movement that animated the Limelight Garden Party that first appeared in the beginning of the year Basel.
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WWR Verdict
Originality 5/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Overall Legibility: 4/5
Nighttime Legibility: 1/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Photos: Piaget
Piaget Limelight Dancing Light G0A36157 specification
Price: $44,000 USD (MSRP)
Movement: Caliber Piaget 56P, quartz, Swiss Made
Functions: Hours, minutes
Case: 18-karat rose gold set with 68 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximately 1.7 carats)
Shape: Round
Size: 39.00 mm
Case height: 7.90 mm
Dial: Silvered
Numerals: Roman, rose gold
Hour markers: Rose gold, baton-shaped
Hands: Rose gold, baton-shaped
Water resistance: 30 meters
Strap: Brown satin strap with 18-karat rose gold ardillon buckle set with 15 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximately 0.1 carats)
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective coating
Back: Solid, screwed-in, decorated with vertical machine-brushing