— Piaget Replica Watches is kicking off the 60th anniversary of the iconic Altiplano collection with two brand new versions.
True to the company’s pioneering spirit, in 1957 Piaget launched the 9P manual calibre, which was just 2 mm deep. Three years later, in 1960, the company unveiled the 12P, the slimmest automatic movement in the world, measuring just 2.3mm deep. Widely recognised for its technological expertise, the watchmaker based in La Côte-aux-Fées began to specialise in the design and manufacture of ultra-thin movements, which became one of the company’s signatures. Thanks to their reduced bulk, these two mechanical calibres and their successors opened up new horizons for Piaget’s designers, giving their creativity free rein. For example, in the 1960s Piaget became the first watchmaker to use mineral crystals. The Altiplano line has evolved over the decades to incorporate ever more advanced technical features, including calendar and chronograph functions, without losing any of its slender elegance. The Manufacture has also produced several high jewellery models which retain the essential features of the record-breaking Altiplano collection, named for the high plateau of South America. The undisputed master of ultra-thin Swiss replica watches, Piaget set a new record for thinness with the Altiplano 900P, unveiled at the 2014 SIHH, which measures just 3.65 mm deep in total.
Piaget Manufacture 9P ultra-thin hand-wound movement, launched in 1957. © Piaget Fake Watches
Drawing inspiration from the aesthetic codes of its first ultra-thin models, in 2017 Piaget celebrates the 60th anniversary of its iconic collection with the launch of two brand-new models ahead of the SIHH 2017. Both feature a sunburst dial in the historic Piaget blue, an intense shade somewhere between cobalt and midnight blue, representing vintage elegance with a contemporary twist. The understated blue cross, picked up from historical Piaget models, contrasts with the applied white gold hour markers and the slim baton hands typical of the collection.
The dial of the Altiplano Self-Winding 43 mm bears the historic inscription “Piaget Automatique”, with a subtly updated letter A. This timepiece, in a limited edition of just 460, is equipped with the calibre 1200P, representing the fourth generation of Piaget’s ultra-thin self-winding movements (just 2.35 mm deep). This calibre, the culmination of a three-year development process, was launched in 2010 to mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary 12P. The sapphire crystal back of this 18K white gold watch gives a view of the gold rotor engraved with the Piaget coat of arms, as well as the exquisitely finished bevelled bridges decorated with circular Geneva stripes, the circular-grained mainplate and blued screws.
The second watch being unveiled by Piaget is the Altiplano 38 mm. It is driven by the 430P calibre (2.1 mm deep), the second generation of manual movements entirely designed, developed, manufactured and decorated by the Manufacture Piaget. Purity and timeless elegance converge in this ultra-thin 18K white gold timepiece, also produced in a limited run of 460.
Piaget Altiplano 60th Anniversary Collection 38 mm & 43 mm versions. © Piaget
But that’s by no means the end of the Altiplano 60th Anniversary collection. To see the rest, you’ll have to wait a little longer, however. More surprises are planned for 16 January 2017, the opening day of the SIHH, and you can expect further launches throughout the year.
