The interview: Piaget’s Remi Jomard on the story behind its latest Sixtie collection, and why luxury means wearability

Piaget’s 2025 collection at Watches and Wonders married dramatic versatility and sheer panache. On the one hand, you have the technical mastery (not to mention the poise, the breathtakingly elegant understatement) of the maison’s revered Altiplano line; and on the other hand, the perfectly pitched exuberance of its sixties-inspired jewellery watches.

Boulevard caught up with Remi Jomard, Piaget’s director of product and innovation, to talk through the pieces, the inspiration, and the unabashed pizzazz.

Inside the Piaget showroom at Watches and Wonders Geneva. Top: Altiplano Ultimate Concept and Tourbillon.

Boulevard: Piaget has such a rich heritage in both jewellery and watchmaking—how do you balance these two universes?

Remi Jomard:  It’s a single identity for the whole brand. Our DNA and roots are based on design. All the technical exploration we’ve done, and will continue to do—it always serves an aesthetic purpose. For example, the Ultra Thin wasn’t about thinness alone, but about creating space to express ourselves through cases, dials, ornamental stones, vivid colours and new ways of wearing time.

This year’s new collection shows that same spirit, with Swinging Sautoirs featuring chains and trapezoidal watch cases. So it’s always a balance of both.

Blvd: For the new collection, what elements were drawn from your heritage, and how have you evolved them?

Jomard: We often use vintage codes, but with a twist. For example, the shape of the cases, the colours, and the ways of wearing them are inspired by the past, but updated with modern technology.

Left: ‘Sixitie’ Swinging Sautoir watch-cum-pendant. Right: Remi Jomard, Piaget’s director of product and innovation.

Blvd: And what do you think your clients most admire? Are they drawn to the brand’s heritage, its storytelling, or to particular pieces and novelties?

Jomard: All of the above. We have clients who love gemstones— strong vivid colours, ornamental stones, and new shapes. I’m a tech guy, so I don’t really know much about the clients themselves, but I do know that we need to create beautiful, striking pieces.

So this year we launched a new collection called ‘Sixtie’, inspired by the historical codes of Piaget’s golden era in the late sixties and early seventies. There’s a Swinging Sautoir that keeps the same case-shape, showcasing our chain-making expertise—the chain links and twisted rope are all done by hand in our manufacture—with a magnificent opal dial. It picks up some classic Piaget forms, but with a twist: it’s designed so that when the client wears it, she can just flip it up to see the time.

Blvd: So for a piece like the sautoir, where does your creative process begin?

Jomard: It all started with the designer’s vision. We received a drawing—a gouache of this kind of piece. Then we worked with our artisans to figure out how to create the décor, the setting and the chain. We worked together to achieve the perfect finish. We believe that nothing is impossible when it comes to designing watches—it just takes time.

Essence of Extraleganza emerald-encrusted enamel dial watch (left) and knitted gold cuff watch.

Blvd: What other novelties are you showcasing this year?

Jomard: So we also have the Warhol watch in white gold with a tiger eye dial and rhodium with a polished finish and satin-brushed bezel—these are novelties in the Andy Warhol collection. Also coming from the past is a very special décor that used to be on the dial, which we’ve now put on the bezel, paired with a blue meteorite dial. 

Blvd: And how thick is that watch with the tiger eye dial?

Jomard: I don’t know the exact number of thickness by heart, but it’s very thin. And it has an automatic winding movement inside. The vintage piece used to have a quartz movement, but we wanted an automatic one for everyday wear—that’s how we bring past design into today’s way of wearing.

Then we also have the Polo 79 collection. We relaunched this watch last year—40 years after the original was first introduced—entirely made in yellow gold. This year, we’re offering a pair in white gold, with the same finishing, same ultra-slim movement with micro-rotor, open case back, and the balance of polished gadroons and satin-finished links on the bracelet. The watch and bracelet are fully integrated, and the minute markers around the dial are polished dots.

Blvd: Clearly, a lot of technical complexity goes into achieving this kind of simplicity. Does your team have to experiment a lot to get these finishes right?

Jomard: Of course. For example, with the size of the case, we made several different versions to test and make sure it fits perfectly on different wrists. It’s the same with how the bracelet sits on the wrist. So yes, we experiment a lot, and we test everything physically by wearing it. 

We also did the same for the Swinging Sautoir. It’s a timepiece but also a necklace, so we had to find the perfect placement of the watch, determine the length of the chain, the weight, and so on. And it’s made of small components linked together, which makes it very supple. 

That’s why, back in 1969, the Piaget family sent all the stylists and designers to Paris to find inspiration at the fashion shows. They studied how fabrics move on the body and looked for new ways to wear jewellery and watches. That was the starting point for the Swinging Sautoirs and the delicate mesh we use on our bracelet.

Altiplano Glowing Weave high jewellery watch.

Blvd: Lastly, looking at the Altiplano Ultra-Thin—which isn’t really a jewellery watch but still so elegant—how does this piece fit into your overall vision?

Jomard: This is a real breakthrough. For example, I’ve been wearing it every day for four years now. If you’re wondering how we make sure it fits perfectly on the wrist—it’s by wearing it, testing it, and relying on our long expertise and deep knowledge of how it should feel. That’s why I wear the Altiplano Ultra-Thin Concept every day.

Here, the technology serves the aesthetic purpose. Ultra-Thin is not about being thin for its own sake—it creates space for expression. It’s about colours, like the blue, the mesh on the strap—all these elements let us express our design vision. That’s the point.

Blvd: To have that level of complexity and intricacy, yet still feel so light, is really inspiring. So it’s not just about the technical achievement—it’s also about how wearable it is, right?

Jomard: Of course. That’s exactly the point—it should not move around as much on the wrist and should feel natural, which is what makes the lightness so special. We work a lot to achieve that balance of complexity and lightness. We always think about how our clients, customers and friends of the brand will actually wear each piece. For us, comfort and wearability are just as important as the aesthetics and the technology inside. For example, the Altiplano is only 2mm thick, and last year we launched the Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon to push that even further—but again, the goal isn’t just to be thin, it’s to make sure it feels effortless to wear.

Building on that same philosophy, we’re really proud of what we’re showcasing this year. We’re excited to present a new feminine jewellery watch collection with five references, featuring steel and gold, gold bezels, gadroons, ornamental stone dials and more.

Jewellery watches are the main highlight this year, like the very expressive Swinging Sautoirs—pieces that bring together all the expertise and craftsmanship of our brand DNA, our watchmakers, artisans and our manufacture.

Go further with the 2025 edition of the Watches and Wonders in Geneva.

Read next:

• The interview: Grand Seiko’s Akio Naito on the brand’s journey from functional mastery to emotional storytelling
• The interview: Franck Muller’s Nicholas Rudaz reveals the stories behind the brand’s bold new novelties and takes us inside Watchland