Watch & Learn: Matt Damon’s Piaget Gouverneur Chronograph

by Natasha Wolff | January 15, 2016 10:50 am

Here’s the funny thing about fashion rules: many of the edicts involved with formal dressing are based on traditions that are not that deeply rooted in the first place. For example, some style arbiters would have you believe that wearing a watch with a tux is a no-no. Others will say only the simplest of complication, such as an hour-and-minute timepiece is acceptable for formal occasions.

Yet, considering that even wearing a wristwatch only became cool after WWI, we believe that all so-called conventions are made to be challenged. That’s why we were so happy to see unconventional actor Matt Damon win Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for his role in The Martian at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards[1]. And we were over the moon (and Mars) when we spotted him wearing an unconventional Piaget Gouverneur Chronograph[2] in white gold to pick up his award.

The Piaget Gouverneur Chronograph watch

Damon is one of the few A-listers who have won awards in drama and humor categories (and don’t forget that he also got a Golden Globe for best screenplay for Goodwill Hunting). Likewise, there are many things that are iconoclastic about the Gouverneur collection. First of all, there’s the aesthetic. First introduced in 2012, the case shape is unique in the world of watches. Because it is, in essence, a round watch with an elliptical dial, it defies categorization. It isn’t quite a cushion, nor could it be considered sporty or minimalistic.

And then there’s the expectation that dress watches are meant to be uncomplicated. As part of Piaget’s Black Tie collection, this chronograph was conceived as a dress watch. Yet it is tricked out with technical innovations such as Piaget’s in-house, ultra-thin self-winding 882P movement. In addition to its fly back chronograph functions, it also displays hours, minutes, a second time zone and the date. And though the dial has a retro feel in its classic configuration, just flip the watch over to admire the black PVD coated oscillating weight (which nicely complements the chic alligator strap).

And just as Damon’s roles in blockbuster franchises like the Bourne series can sometimes make us underestimate just how much range he possesses, Piaget has become so renowned for its success in the luxury jewelry business that some folks could be forgiven for forgetting that they started out as a watch manufacture. Piaget’s crossover success means that the company knows how to fashion a uniquely elegant timepiece that looks at home on the red carpet.

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