What goes around comes around. In 1979, the film Rocky II was a box office smash and Piaget introduced its iconic Polo watch. Along with the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Polo’s distinctive gold case with its steel stripes radically redefined the look of the sports watch in the 20th century.
Over the decades, the Polo has continued to evolve. The original Polo was a time-only watch with a quartz movement. In 2009, Piaget introduced the FortyFive— named both for the minutes in a polo match and for its 45mm case size. And this month, we spotted Michael B. Jordan sporting a FortyFive chronograph, with updated complications such as a flyback function and dual time zone displays.
Piaget Polo FortyFive timepiece
In his hit movie Creed, Jordan (shown here with his watch at the 12th annual Dubai International Film Festival) has revived the Rocky franchise in his role of Adonis Creed, the son of Sylvester Stallone’s characters most famous opponent Apollo Creed. In the film, the fictional Adonis competes for the heavyweight title. In the watch world, the FortyFive is a big watch but is also surprisingly light on its feet.
That’s because the case is made from scratch-resistant, diamond-like treated titanium. The ultra-thin, automatic Manufacture Piaget 880P movement also reduces the weight of the watch. And the ADLC-treated rubber strap features a fold over buckle with quick-change, summer/winter adjustment making the FortyFive the most comfortable oversized watch we’ve ever worn on our wrist.
Feeling and looking comfortable while making a bold sartorial statement is key to Jordan’s style. In Dubai, the actor looks relaxed rocking a polka-dotted jacket in the desert heat. Likewise, the FortyFive has a bold, black dial design with its sporty luminescent hour markers and flyback, time zone and sub seconds displays.
At the same time, elements of the Polo’s original design—dauphine hands, applied Arabic numerals and the aforementioned crossbars—lend the timepiece the elegance that makes it (and rising star Jordan) red carpet ready.
