Just this week, Piaget formally introduced the Altiplano Ultimate Concept, powered by the 900P-UC. The result of four years of research at the hands of Piaget’s Research and Innovation division, it is touted as the world’s thinnest hand-wound mechanical watch.
You may remember that the Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P made its much-awaited debut last month, further celebrating the emblematic Altiplano, which marked 60 years in 2017. That watch—at just 4.30mm thick—is an integral part of the ultra-thin watchmaking continuum that Piaget ramped up in 1957 with the debut of the 9P caliber. The 9P was followed in the 1960s by the 12P, whose introduction was described by the Journal de Genève as “an event destined to be a milestone in the history of watchmaking.”
But it was in 2014, in honor of Piaget’s 140th anniversary, that a completely novel approach to thin watches was introduced with the debut of the Caliber 900P, which merged case and movement into one exquisitely slim timepiece. And the Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P, three years in development, took it another step further. At just 4.30mm thick, the timepiece once again fused movement and case to form a single entity, with the latter serving as the mainplate to which the exceptionally thin components (some wheels a mere 0.12mm) are attached.
Now, again merging case and movement, the brand-new 41mm Altiplano Ultimate Concept is a mere 2.0mm thick—the same thickness as the 1957-born Caliber 9P. It is crafted from a cobalt-based high-tech alloy to provide strength despite its lean dimensions, and five patents have been filed for the technological innovations the watch employs.
Here are a just a few things to note, each of which has the goal of reducing the thickness of the watch: the regulating organ (in essence, the watch’s pendulum) has been redesigned, mounted on a ballbearing mechanism fitted directly on the frame. The barrel has neither a cover nor a drum, and the ballbearing-mounted mainspring is directly integrated within the frame. The crown is a flat-shaped “telescopic” crown, recessed into the caseband and secured to the stem by a spring clip, ensuring that is is perfectly protected from impact that might damage the movement. And the crystal? It, too, has been reduced to just 0.2mm, while meeting the standards of shock resistance and water resistance. It is perfectly aligned with the bezel and precisely cemented in place.
Of course, and as with all Piaget creations, the finishing of the timepiece is paid nearly as much attention as its mechanism. The baseplate is black PVD treated, as is the caseback, while the wheels are sunburst or circular satin-brushed; the chamfered bridges are sunburst satin-brushed. The watch weighs in at 21.7g and is fitted, not surprisingly, on a ultra-thin 1.1mm alligator leather strap with a Kevlar core and a velvet calfskin lining, secured by—you guessed it—an ultra-thin pin buckle.
This concept watch, which is “non-commercialized,” according to Piaget, will no doubt garner additional interest in the ultra-thin-watch arena and lead the way to future series-produced models from the brand.
