Always be closing indeed.

Which is not to say gold watches are all bling and no substance.

“Gold has played an important role in Audemars Piguet since its inception,” says Stefanie Ng, Audemars Piguet CEO for Southeast Asia. “Yellow gold was first incorporated in the 29mm women’s Royal Oak II (Model 8638) designed by Jacqueline Dimier in 1976.”

This year, Audemars Piguet introduced a new sand gold material. “The sand gold colour hovers between white and pink gold depending on the angle and light, offering new aesthetic possibilities synonymous with Audemars Piguet’s continuous quest for refinement and building on its savoir faire in gold,” says Ng.

One watchmaker to capture the shift towards unapologetic glamour is Piaget with the reissue of its iconic Polo 79. The original watch, first launched by Yves Piaget in 1979, defined the aesthetic of the day (surely the glory years of the stainless steel sports watch). It was a sports watch, yes, but in solid gold, and entirely distinctive with its trompe l’oeil striped bracelet.

This is part of the reason why Piaget, this year celebrating its 150th anniversary, revived the original Polo this year. Updates include a new 38mm size and the addition of a super-thin mechanical movement rather than the original versions, which mostly ran on quartz.

“We are lucky enough to have had thousands of watch enthusiasts over the last decade who really loved, praised and pushed the Piaget vintage signatures on social media,” says Cynthia Tabet, product marketing director at Piaget, of the impact the watch has had among collectors of vintage watches.

“The clients are now younger, very educated and they learn fast, especially with these social media accounts. So this created the perfect context of course – however, the risk was to disappoint these passionate Piaget lovers. Thankfully it seems like they are on board with what we are doing at the moment.

“I would say that it made us want to deep dive into the patrimony more and tell more stories about the Piaget sagas. By reconnecting the past and present you automatically talk to a broader audience, but will a vintage client convert to modern pieces? We think so but only time will tell.”

Tabet says there’s much more to come from the “house of gold” in 2024. What’s more, she points out, many of the house’s techniques for working with gold remain unchanged – some of the know-how now restored and preserved.

“It is still the same techniques as those used in the 50s and 60s. Back then, they were doing a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces and we have found in the patrimony, for instance, more than 100 different ways to hand carve the gold,” she says.