watchmakers

 

 

 

See the ultra-revolution first-hand with this new Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept unveiled at 2020 Watches & Wonders Geneva.

Meet the thinnest mechanical watch ever.

The incredible ultra-thin revolution is brought into a new era with this record-breaking watchmaking creation from Piaget. This re-energized version of Piaget’s iconic 9P movement, the 900P-UC movement is based on the luxury manufacture’s concept of fusing the case and the movement.

These Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept watches display innovation upon innovation. 4 years to produce and a lifetime to admire, wear record-breaking thinness on your wrist with this open-work design, and see the ultra-revolution first-hand. In cobalt alloy, this unbelievably thin watch is the product of years of obsession paid off, a groundbreaking feat of microengineering. The new Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept is the world’s thinnest mechanical hand-wound watch: 2 mm. The timepiece presents a total fusion between the case and the Manufacture movement.

A groundbreakingly-thin watch for men with a blue technical textile strap and a cobalt ardillon buckle.

“This luxury watch for men also features our other innovations, from the integral winding crown, ultra-thin crystal, new constructions for
the barrel and energy regulation. With wheels as thin as 0.12 mm and a 0.2 mm sapphire crystal case, this exceptional watch is only 2
mm thick,” says Piaget.

“In 2018, after four years of research and development, the watch-and-jewelry brand achieved a new level of horological slimness with the Altiplano Ultimate Concept watch, whose case was an astounding 2 mm thick. Following two years of further refinements, the model still has “Concept” in its name but is now commercially available,” commented Bloomberg in its review of Watches & Wonders novelties.

The Altiplano Ultimate Concept began in 2014 as an idea and an ambition.

The high-end manufacture assembled some of its finest engineers, watchmakers, and designers and asked a simple question: “How can we reduce thickness to the very limits of feasibility, while making no sacrifice to reliability or aesthetic appeal?” The challenge was set.

To meet this challenge, the most talented men and women in their professions would have to find innovative new solutions. To save precious tenths of a millimetre, they chose a new ultra-rigid and robust cobalt-based high-tech alloy, stopping the watch from buckling due to its extreme slenderness. They erased the distinction between movement and case, by making the case both an exterior component and the movement main plate. And, discovering solutions to challenges that had never before been set, they filed five patents for the technological innovations essential to making the Altiplano Ultimate Concept possible.

But what people wanted to know was whether or not such a complex and technically advanced watch could ever be produced commercially and, if so, would it be a practical proposition for daily use?

In 2020, Piaget is proud to announce that the answers to those two questions are ‘yes’ and ‘yes’ -because the Altiplano Ultimate Concept is no longer just an ambitious experiment in breaking the boundaries of horological micro-engineering, but a fully developed and tested watch that is now available for watch lovers and collectors to buy, own and use.

Bespoke finishes and unique features are often considered key to luxury, a fact that Piaget recognised more than 50 years ago when it introduced its innovative ‘Style Selector’ at its New York boutique in order to offer customers the opportunity to choose the shape of their watch case, the type of dial and bracelet and the extent of the gem setting. The idea proved so popular that it was rolled-out to Piaget stores around the world -and it has been revived today by making the Altiplano Ultimate Concept extensively customisable to the requirements of individual owners.

As a result, buyers may specify the color of the bridge and dial, the finish of the hands and the main plate and select straps that match or contrast -a range of options that will allow the Altiplano Ultimate Concept to be created in more than 10,000 permutations, thus ensuring that few will be alike and most will be truly unique. The Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept will, of course, be a rare watch in any event -but, with so many different combinations of colors and finishes available, there is little to no chance of a meeting anyone else wearing an identical example.