Part 2 世界名表
1.（瑞士）伯爵 Piaget
品牌名片
品类：腕表
标志风格：华美、精致
创始人：乔治·爱德华·伯爵（Georges Edouard Piaget）
诞生地：瑞士
诞生时间：1874年
品牌阅读
It was in La Côte-aux-Fées, a small village in the Swiss part of the Jura, that Georges Édouard Piaget sketched the first strokes of what, decades later, was to become an inimitable signature in the world of luxury and fine watchmaking.In 1874，he started his first workshop on the family farm and devoted himself to making high-precision movements that he soon began supplying to the most prestigious brands.The business developed very quickly.Piaget’s fame spread far beyond the crests of the mountains around Neuchâtel, increased by demand from those who already recognized his signature on a movement as a mark of seldom-equaled expertise, and his workshop grew.
Georges Édouard’s son Timothée Piaget took over the business in 1911，displaying the same passion, demanding for quality and success as his father.Sound and solid foundations had been laid for Piaget.
An enterprising spirit, willingness to take risks and the desire never to rest on its laurels were indelibly inscribed on Piaget's DNA. In 1943，the company made a decision that was crucial to its future by registering the brand.From then on, the movement Manufacture for La Côte-aux-Fées watches was signed by and sold under its own name, created with the same close attention to aesthetics and technical performance.This rebirth can be ascribed to Gérald and Valentin Piaget, the founder’s grandsons.They also started the brand’s geographic expansion and worked to increase its international recognition.
Faithful to its pioneering spirit, Piaget began to design and build the ultra-thin movements that were to become one of the company's“signatures”，making an enduring impression on the watchmaking world. In 1957，the Manufacturer introduced the famous ultra-thin hand-wound Calibre 9P, which was only 2 mm thick.In 1960，Piaget launched the Calibre 12P, the world's thinnest self-winding movement.It measured just 2.3 mm thick.
Piaget's supremacy in ultra-thin mechanical movements has earned the brand a special place among the great Swiss watchmakers. By mastering this area of expertise while elevating boldness and creativity to the status of primary values, it was bound to cause sparks to fly.These fireworks opened the doors to international recognition for Piaget and helped the brand make a name for itself in the world of fine watchmaking and precision work.In the 1960s, the company reiterated its desire to achieve ever-increasing control over its production by purchasing several goldsmiths’workshops in Geneva.
These watches were all inspired by the brand's rich historical heritage, which they reinterpret in a forceful and distinctively modern way. Piaget's deep-felt attachment to traditions and its expertise in movement manufacturing made it a natural choice for the city of Venice as a partner in restoring the Torre dell'Orologio on St.Mark's Square, a legendary monument bearing eloquent testimony to the history of time measurement.
In order to keep pace with its growing success, the company opened the new Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie Piaget in Plan-les-Ouates in 2001，just outside Geneva. This event consolidated a visionary integration strategy already undertaken by the company in the 1960s.This high-performance facility, regrouping both watchmaking and jeweler crafts, complements the historical site in la Côte-aux-Fées where the movements were made.At the same time, Piaget continued to invest in the domain of research and development.
Within barely a decade, almost 30 new movements were to be created, including some of the most prestigious horological complications, and notably a tourbillion, a dual time-zone flyback chronograph and a perpetual calendar. Meanwhile, jewelry watches were endowed with innovative concepts adding further sparkle to the natural radiance of diamonds.
All these masterpieces are entirely in line with Piaget's proverbial inventiveness and emphatically reassert the founder's motto：“Always do better than necessary”.
乔治·爱德华·伯爵（Georges Edouard Piaget）在瑞士侏罗山区的小村庄La Côte-aux-Fées安家立业，这里数十年后成为奢华与精准腕表制造的代名词。1874年，他首先在自家农舍开设了首家机芯制造工作坊，专门为瑞士著名钟表品牌制作性能精准的高质机芯。蒸蒸日上的钟表事业得到迅速发展，而伯爵的声望也远近驰名。出自伯爵之手的钟表机芯，皆以精湛工艺制作而成，倍受各界肯定，工作坊也不断扩大。
1911年提摩太·伯爵（Timothée Piaget）从父亲乔治手中接掌家业，并秉承着其父对钟表业的热情以及对质量的一贯坚持。伯爵表厂自此打下了稳健而坚实的基础。
企业家精神——勇于尝试、永不言败的精神，深植在伯爵家族的血统中。伯爵在1943年决定将伯爵（Piaget）注册为品牌名称，并在La Côte-aux-Fées表芯的正式推出及销售冠上“Piaget”标志。在创办人的孙子杰若德和华伦太·伯爵（Gérald, Valentin Piaget）两人的掌舵下，伯爵品牌在世界各地开疆拓土，知名度与日俱增，展现出脱胎换骨的全新气象。
伯爵坚持先锋精神，投身超薄机芯的设计和制造，在钟表史上写下美丽的篇章。1957年，伯爵表厂推出著名的9P手动超薄机械腕表，厚度仅为2毫米；1960年，伯爵推出的厚度仅有2.3毫米的12P腕表，成为世界最纤薄的自动机械机芯。
伯爵超薄机械机芯的独家技术让品牌在瑞士高级制表业无可争议地享有一席之地。精湛的技术和创新第一的精神激发出创意的火花。伯爵令人目眩神迷的创新设计，为品牌赢得享誉国际的声望，并在奢华腕表与精准性能领域名声鹊起。20世纪60年代，品牌再次显示出扩大生产的雄心，在日内瓦收购了数家金饰车间。
这些表款灵感源于品牌深厚的历史传承，并以浑然有力和极具现代感的方式重新演绎。伯爵对传统的坚持和精湛的机芯制造技术，令其当仁不让被威尼斯市选定为合作伙伴，参加计时历史的传奇见证——威尼斯钟楼的修缮工程。
为顺应企业的蓬勃发展，伯爵表厂在日内瓦的Plan-les-Ouates建立了全新高级制表厂，2001年正式落成启用。制表厂的建立体现了伯爵早在60年代就已制定的富有远见的整体发展战略。在这个效率极高的表厂，同时聚集钟表和珠宝制造部门，与La Côte-aux-Fées表厂的机芯生产业务相互补足。与此同时，伯爵继续投资研发。
短短十余年，表厂已推出近30款新型机芯，其中包括珍贵的复杂功能机芯，特别是一款陀飞轮机芯、一款双时区计时机芯和一款万年历机芯。而珠宝腕表融入非凡创新理念，令散发自然光泽的美钻更加璀璨炫丽。
这些杰作均体现出伯爵家喻户晓的创新原则，更出色地证明了其创立者一贯秉持的格言：“永远比要求的做得更好。”
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