The Piaget Altiplano Skeleton watch with caliber 1200S (Ref G0A37132, $60,000) is a watch that I’ve desired to own from the moment I set eyes on it.  It does not take long to appreciate the beauty of this resolutely modern, ultra-thin skeleton watch.  A watch which also happens to be a “record holder” in not one but two categories — the world’s thinnest automatic skeleton movement (2.4mm) and the world’s thinnest automatic skeleton watch (5.34mm).  In this personal editorial, I will walk-through the finer details of the ultra-thin Altiplano Skeleton with Piaget Caliber 1200S — and tell you why I find this watch so compelling.
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SIHH 2013 preview…world’s thinnest — and Piaget’s first in-house minute repeater caliber…

In 2012 we saw the very exciting Piaget Caliber 1200S, and ultra-thin (2.4mm) skeleton caliber with platinum rotor, among other attributes. The 1200S debuted notably in the 38mm, $60,000 Altiplano skeleton automatic .  In fact when it comes to ultra-thin calibers, Piaget  more than holds its own with the world’s elite brands — arguably it is the leader.  Counting the 1200S, Piaget has developed a whopping twenty (yes, 20!) ultra-thin calibers.  Piaget even has five ultra-thin skeleton calibers — an impressive collection by any standards.

In 2013, Piaget will again raise the bar.  Not content with debuting its first minute repeater, Piaget will introduce the world’s thinnest minute repeater movement — the caliber 1290P.  At just 4.8mm thick, the 1290P and its 407 parts is a feat of micro-mechanics — and exceptional finishing.   The 1290P will debut in the Piaget Emperador Coussin XL in red gold case, seen here — limited to just 10 pieces in rose gold.  The case of this exceptional timepiece will be a sizeable 48mm but only a mere 9.4mm thick (thin).  More on the watch, and the new 1290P minute repeater caliber, below.
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SIHH 2012 getting ramped up.  Here’s the Piaget Gouverneur Chronograph, powered by the new Piaget Calibre 882P, an ultra-thin mechanical self-winding movement. This classic model is distinguished by its two-counter design reminiscent of vintage chronographs. In addition to the flyback chronograph functions – featuring a sweep seconds hand and a minute counter at 3 o’clock – the movement also drives the hour and minute hands, a 24-hour dual time-zone display in a subdial at 9 o’clock, and a date indication at 6 o’clock.

Piaget Governour Chronograph

43mm pink gold case, Manufacture Piaget 882P ultra-thin mechanical flyback self-winding chronograph movement

Here’s an early look at the 2012 Piaget Altiplano Skeleton Automatic.  When it is unveiled in Geneva next January, the watch will be the world’s thinnest automatic skeleton with the world’s thinnest automatic skeleton movement.   In my book, Piaget is the “King of Thin”, always bringing out these absolutely wafer-thin timepieces which really are amazing (recall as last year’s Piaget Altiplano Automatic).  The movement in this watch — the Piaget Caliber 1200S — is a mere 2.40mm thick.  This lends itself to an overall case thickness of just 5.34mm.   You gotta love the attention to detail and design contrasts in this watch — observe how the blackened (rhodium-finished) hour/minute hands, screws, and platinum micro-rotor contrast against the brushed, flat white gold surfaces — which themselves are finished with polished angles (edges) — it really is a case study in beauty.  This watch will be hitting the market sometime in 2012, and until then I don’t expect firm pricing , but expect something near $60,000.

More SIHH 2012 Previews:  Panerai PAM 422, Girard-Perregaux 1966 Small Second

Piaget Altiplano Skeleton Automatic Watch

38mm white gold case (5.34mm thick), automatic mechanical Piaget Caliber 1200S (2.4mm thick),

Side view — can you see it?  hehehe

Continuing my ONLY Watch 2011 previews (see them all here) — here’s a first look at the Piaget Altiplano Skeleton for Only Watch 2011.   The watch features a black-PVD finished white gold case with an openworked dial that allows for visibility of the movement.  Note also the “sunray” pattern which is incorporated on both the movement and the outer edge of the dial.

Piaget Altiplano Skeleton for ONLY WATCH 2011

white gold case with black PVD finish, manual-wind, ultra thin mechanical Piaget 838P movement with black PVD finish, sunray guilloché motif, pink gold finished hands, on a black alligator strap and matching buckle

And the Show goes on…

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year to you all!  I must say it feels good to be back behind the keyboard after some relaxing time-off over the holidays.

As you may know, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious watch shows occurs this month in Geneva, Switzerland — the Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie 2011, or ‘SIHH 2011″ for short.  Bringing you the newest watches that 19 of the world’s greatest luxury brands unveil at this show is something we here at Perpetuelle enjoy very much, and we are ready to deliver again in 2011!  This will be our third year running a dedicated SIHH Forum Feed, and we hope you will tune into our real-time coverage starting January 17th.  You will not find more comprehensive and timely coverage anywhere on the ‘Net.  Also as in years past, I will be discussing my favorite and new watches coming out of SIHH 2011 here on the blog.

In keeping with tradition, each brand at SIHH usually pre-releases one of its new watches in the weeks and/or months leading up to the big show in order to whet our appetites, but a couple brands are yet to tip their hats this year.  I’ve already covered most of these SIHH 2011 pre-releases as you can see here (two of my favorites are the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Small Seconds and the Panerai Luminor Composite PAM 386).

Which brings us to today — the SIHH 2011 preview from Piaget, the Piaget Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Automatic Ultra Thin (say that three times fast).

Piaget Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Automatic Ultra Thin

46.5mm case in white or pink gold, featuring new manufacture Caliber 1270p

A look at the pink gold model:

Piaget Caliber 1270P

5.5mm thick, automatic, tourbillon, front-facing micro-rotor

“Veuve Clicquot yellow” subdials…

For the second year in a row, Piaget was the official timekeeper of the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, one of the world’s most high profile polo matches.  While the 2010 match will be remembered by most for the unfortunate “Royal Tumble” by Prince Harry, the horologically impassioned may rather prefer to take note of the limited edition version Piaget Polo FortyFive Chronograph which was created to commemorate the event.  The specially designed timepiece keeps form and function with the Polo FortyFive models — except for its “Clicquot Yellow” on the subdials and the “New York” designation on the outer edge of the dial.

Piaget Polo FortyFive Veuve Clicquot Classic Chronograph

Limited Edition of 10 pieces

So why “New York”  on the dial?  I have no idea, but I do think that Piaget could and should have come up with a better phrase to mark this watch.  “New York” seems so generic.

If you ask me, Piaget collectors could better spend their time chasing down the Piaget Polo FortyFive “Marcos Heguy” edition which I profiled last week.

For the “Kobe Bryant” of Polo…

This is a very nice looking and very limited (45 pieces) edition Piaget Polo FortyFive watch.  It was created in tribute to Piaget’s ambassador to the world of polo, superstar sportsman Marcos Heguy.  Heguy is a legendary polo player from Argentina, one of the world’s powerhouses of the sport.   The watch was officially unveiled at the USPA Piaget Gold Cup tournament which was held in Florida in April 2010.  It is now available for purchase — I don’t know the price but I would expect $25,000 at a minimum.  More about the watch’s “Handicap 10″ marking on the dials — and Marcos Heguy — below.

Piaget Polo FortyFive Marcos Heguy Limited Edition (Ref. GOA34620)

Titanium case, brushed bezel with polished steel accents, screw-down crown in rubber and titanium, Piaget caliber 880P automatic movement (double barrel), steel triple-folding clasp on rubber strap (with steel inserts)

Blue counters on a black dial incorporating the words “10 Handicap”

The “Marcos Heguy” signed sapphire crystal case-back is not pictured.

Did You Know?

Marcos Heguy is captain of the Pilará Piaget team in Argentina’s famous Triple Crown series.  Heguy was first awarded his 10-goal handicap rating in 1987.   A “10″ handicap is as good as one can earn — it basically means you are the “best of the best” in the sport of polo.  The Federation of International Polo website currently lists just 25 players with a perfect “10″ rating.  Thus the “Handicap 10″ marking on the dial of the Piaget Polo FortyFive Marcos Heguy Limited Edition!

Thin is in!

First Vacheron Constantin, now Piaget.  At SIHH 2010 in Geneva Piaget will be introducing a new ultra-thin Piaget Altiplano.  The watch is 43mm diameter but a mere 5.25mm thick.  Clean, simple and beautiful as we expect from Piaget.  43mm diameter does seem a bit large, though.  A couple pics below – click here to see the full press release and more pictures.

Watch collectors and enthusiasts around the world will surely enjoy these new and visually stunning watch ads from Piaget.  First In Watches was certainly quite impressed by the ads, which will be appearing in media worldwide starting this September 2009.  

The simplicity of the ads are what makes them great, in my view – Piaget let’s the technical sophistication and visual appeal of their watches speak for themselves.  No gimmicks needed!  The ads were created by the acclaimed ad agency Saatchi and Saatchi and feature the ultra-thin Piaget Altiplano, the new Polo FortyFive (both men’s watches) as well as the new Limelight Magic  Hour.  Enjoy!

Piaget Altiplano

Piaget Polo FortyFive

Piaget Limelight Magic Hour