Piaget turns Warhol’s camouflage into 27-piece stone marquetry

Piaget’s second annual creation with The Andy Warhol Foundation asks a more interesting question than whether a painting can fit on a dial: how can its visual logic survive a change of material and scale? The Andy Warhol Camouflage, reference G0A51242, takes the pattern from Warhol’s 1986 camouflage self-portraits but avoids reproducing a face. Instead, 27 individually shaped pieces of sodalite, turquoise, satin-finished yellow gold and polished rose gold turn the motif into a shallow architectural relief.

That material translation matters. Camouflage normally flattens an object into its surroundings; Piaget reverses the effect by making every boundary visible through colour, grain and finish. The cold blues of the ornamental stones sit against warm gold, while differences in height and reflectivity make the dial shift as light moves. Piaget says research, design and hand production of the dial take more than 100 hours.

The dial is framed by the stepped, gadroon-like cushion case descended from Jean-Claude Gueit’s 1972 reference 15102—the Piaget form most closely associated with Warhol. Here it is made in rhodium-plated 18K white gold and measures 45 by 43mm, yet remains 8.08mm thick. Dauphine hands preserve a clear two-hand display rather than competing with the marquetry.

Inside is Piaget’s automatic 501P1, running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a 40-hour power reserve. The watch is rated to 30 metres and paired with a blue alligator strap and white-gold pin buckle. Production is limited to 86 numbered pieces, matching the year of the source artwork; pricing is on request on Piaget’s French product page.