Long before social media there was simply social cache, and in the 1970s, a timepiece on the wrists of celebrities and well-connected women at exclusive parties and political galas all but assured its success.

The timepiece of the moment was Piaget’s Limelight Gala. And the marketing genius behind it was Yves Piaget, a fourth-generation scion of the Swiss watchmaking family, who had befriended many artists and other creative types.