Monday, January 5, 2015

Piaget Slims Down Even More for SIHH 2015

If Piaget  were a person one may advise them to seek help for their constant desire to be the thinnest. In Horology however, this obsession proves to be quite desirable especially when an entirely new set of components must be created for compactness of case.
Piaget has released quite a number of record breaking slim watches such as The Incredibly Thin Piaget Emperador Coussin Ultra-Thin Minute Repeater  or the 5.25mm thick Piaget Altiplano circa 2010.

Piaget will unveil another of its record breaking thin watches following last year's real skinny 38mm Altiplano.  This year Piaget welcomes the worlds thinnest hand wound fly back chronograph coupled with a dual time feature.  The Piaget Altiplano Chronograph actually breaks two records - one for the 4.65 mm movement and one for its 8.24mm case.  This newest addition to Piaget's Size 0 watches (sorry - not sure why I keep thinking of waist size when writing about slim watches - I suppose it has something to do with "I must  lose weight" imminent and often broken New Year's Resolution ) adds to a very impressive record breaking movements: 25 ultra-slim movements and 14 record breakers.  One must remember though they are in constant competition with Vacheron Constantin over "Who is the Slimmest of Them All!"and the new competitor to the game, Bvlgari with their Baselworld 2014 Bulgari Octo Finissomo Tourbillon - thinnest tourbillon of its kind.  Gerald Genta's Octo bares eight sides making the case ideal for allowing for a slim structure.

Dimensions:


The Piaget Altiplano Chronograph is powered by the new Caliber 883P, which is based on the thinnest movement available to date -  Piaget's Caliber 880P.  To get a better perspective on how thin the Caliber 883P actually is, the chronograph gear finger is only .06mm, which is thinner than a strand of hair.  The cannon-pinion is .12mm and the barrel staff is a mere .115mm - not to mention the other 237 super thin components and although the watch is incredibly slim, Piaget did not use this as an excuse to cut corners, on the contrary the watch is incorporated with a vertical clutch and column wheel. Of course with a company like Piaget there is absolutely no room for error.  As to understanding the challenge of creating a perfect piece of machinery in dimensions opted by Piaget, think of constructing perfectly working appliances for a doll house, appliances that not only do the job but are top of the line as well.

In addition there is a 50 hour power reserve, and thus only requires winding once every two days.
The 41mm classic dial is marvelously easy to read while exuding a sense of precise confidence and an undeniably attractive elegance. Strong bold indices mark hour and minute with the sweep of baton-type hands  across a sunburst satin-brushed finish dial.  The seconds are marked by a sub dial at the six a clock position.  Precision timing is indicated via a 30 minute counter at the 3 'o'clock and a 24 hour dual time indicator at the 9 'o'clock. The flyback feature is initiated by a simple push of the button located at the 4 'o'clock position and the chronograph resets itself without further ado.


The super-slim caliber 883P is visible via a scratch resistant sapphire crystal case back where exquisitely blued screws punctuate a circular grained main plate, finely beveled bridges and finished with lovely circular Côtes de Genève.  The prominent Piaget Coat of Arms used since 2007 to certify the movement has been formed, developed, created, assembled and decorated in house.


The 41mm Piaget Altiplano Chronograph will be available in 18k rose gold and white gold.  The white gold will be garnished with a ring of brilliant cut diamonds upon the bezel. Priced at $29,000, the Piaget Altiplano Chronograph is a worthy addition to the world of horology.  Piaget


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