Pushing the boundaries of Haute Horlogerie now comes the new Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon. Its dimensions, which truly stretch the limits of watchmaking feasibility, with a diameter of 41.5 mm and a thickness of only 2 mm, make it the thinnest tourbillon watch on the market. The blue PVD-treated cobalt alloy case is water resistant to 20 meters and the watch is simply unreal. A glorious way to celebrate 150 years of history at Piaget.
The position of the watch components was maintained. The dial displaying the hours and minutes is still slightly off-centered, as it was on its predecessor. The tourbillon is located at 10 o’clock, with a seconds indicator engraved on the tourbillon ring. The most crucial constraint of all was thinness: a prerequisite, unchangeable, and fundamental. All its parts had to fit within 2 mm. The Piaget AUC Unique Piece comes in a 41.5 mm case made of a cobalt-based high-tech alloy. This bold choice of material is in perfect harmony with the dark slate PVD base plate that has been sandblasted. The case back, case band, bezel and lugs have all been satin brushed making a nice contrast against the winding crown that is highly polished.
Working with the same diameter, the same case height, and components just as thin, the difficulty lay in how to insert a tourbillon when the space inside the watch was already full. To fully understand how Piaget overcame the challenge of adding a tourbillon to an already beyond ultra-thin watch, you can check out the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Unique Piece here and the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Watch here. The AUC Tourbillon bears the engraving ‘150th Anniversary’ on the ratchet wheel sitting on top of the mainspring barrel.
The timepiece is paired with an extremely thin black fabric strap that does not exceed 1.5 mm in thickness in keeping with the watch’s ultra-thin design. The AUC Tourbillon is powered by the in-house Piaget calibre 970P-UC with a power reserve of 40 hours. Turning the watch over reveals a small opening where the back of the tourbillon can be admired with a special engraving of Piaget’s motto and La Côte-aux-Fées —the location of Piaget’s Manufacture. The engraving reads in French ‘Toujours Faire Mieux Que Nécessaire’ —always do better than necessary.
Incredibly light and impressively thin, the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon has a total weight —including the strap and pin buckle— of only 21.2 grams, almost as light as the Richard Mille RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal which you can see here.
On the wrist, the watch is as light as a feather and simply like nothing else out there. One of the wildest watches we’ve perused in our life and one that will for sure remain as a record-breaking timepiece with its tourbillon and impressive case construction.
Sticker Price USD 650,000. For more info on Piaget click here.
