Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Piaget · Limelight Gala
Piaget Limelight Gala 41 mm Ice Ceramic
Reference 42185OR.41
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Piaget
- Collection
- Limelight Gala
- Model
- Piaget Limelight Gala 41 mm Ice Ceramic
- Reference number
- 42185OR.41
- Year / era
- 1960 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Dial type
- Ice blue
- Strap / bracelet
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 41 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Bezel
- Emerald-set
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Ice blue
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 21E — In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 5 days
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- GMT second time zone, date
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1960 – 1973
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Piaget Limelight Gala 41 mm Ice Ceramic sits within Piaget's Limelight Gala line, introduced in 1960. It carries the house codes established since 1874 — ceramic case, ice blue dial and in-house automatic, chronometer certified — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
The House
Piaget
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1874
- Founder
- Georges-Édouard Piaget
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Polo, Altiplano, Limelight Gala, Possession, Piaget Andy Warhol
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Certified chronometer regulation · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house automatic chronograph · In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Notable watches
- Piaget Polo 41 mm Salmon 18k (1988) · Piaget Polo 36 mm Salmon 18k (1974) · Piaget Polo 39 mm Black Ceramic (1970) · Piaget Polo 41 mm Ice Grade (1977)
Brand history
Piaget has spent more than 152 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Polo, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Georges-Édouard Piaget established Piaget in 1874, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Piaget calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1874
Georges-Édouard Piaget founds Piaget in Switzerland.
1899
Piaget earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Piaget to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Piaget enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Piaget continues to produce Polo, Altiplano, Limelight Gala and other icons in limited numbers.