When one ventures into the Altiplano universe, one enters a discourse where refinement and audacity coexist. Piaget has, over the decades, nurtured a unique language of ultra-thin watchmaking, where each fraction of a millimetre carries the weight of decades of innovation. This year, the Maison revisits its champion of slender horology with two new interpretations: the Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon and the Altiplano 910P, both elevated by a khaki green chromatic theme and tinged with the richness of precious metals and innovative alloys. Together, they epitomise Piaget’s identity as both master watchmaker and jeweller.
Mechanical Canvases in Khaki Green
The Altiplano has long been associated with purity and uncluttered lines, and these novelties remain faithful to this philosophy while deepening it with new detail. The AUC Tourbillon greets the eye with what Piaget terms a monobloc dial, where hours and minutes are displayed on discreet discs that integrate directly into the architecture of the calibre itself. The flying tourbillon is not merely an animation; it becomes the locus of the entire composition, hosting the small seconds on its carriage. Everything here is conceived to reduce the sensation of mechanics intruding on elegance. The hour disc and baton-shaped minute hand, set against the refined khaki backdrop, strike an equilibrium that invites contemplation rather than ostentation.
The Altiplano 910P, by contrast, embraces the traits of Piaget’s emblematic Ultimate Automatic, where the dial is less a surface and more an aperture into the life of the calibre. Here, bridges finished in shimmering green tones become visual protagonists, accented by the peripheral oscillating weight in slate grey and green. Once again, Piaget integrates the materiality of mechanical components into the language of design, rather than concealing them beneath a layer of decorative redundancy. The subdued vibrancy of khaki green ensures that this watch remains both striking and versatile, a companion suited to the intimacy of daily wear.
Finely Drawn Ultra-Thin Engines
At the heart lies Piaget’s longstanding mastery of horological slenderness. In the Ultimate Concept Tourbillon, the calibre 970P-UC is not housed within a case; the case is the calibre. The mainplate is the very back of the watch, a triumph of integration achieved at just 2 mm in total thickness, sapphire crystal included. Hand-wound, this ultra-thin engine oscillates at 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour), offering a minimum of 35 hours of power reserve. The tourbillon, fully flying, rotates in plain view, supported by a system of ball bearings rather than classic pivots, an architecture that significantly contributes to the watch’s slenderness. Technical surfaces are no longer raw, but elevated with satin brushing and polished angles, with a cross-shaped motif reinterpreted subtly upon the ratchet wheel, balance and screw layout. Beyond function, these flourishes reveal a maison constantly intertwining its past with modern innovation.
The 910P, by contrast, is Piaget’s ultra-thin automatic construction first unveiled in 2017, here reinterpreted in yellow gold and green. With a total thickness of only 4.3 mm, the self-winding calibre integrates the case and mechanism into a single construction. Thirty jewels punctuate its architecture, ensuring precision despite the limitations imposed by radical thinness. The peripheral rotor—an invention of sleek ingenuity—allows uninterrupted visibility of the movement’s architecture while preserving a profile unmatched by traditional winding systems. The movement is rendered with surfaces treated in complementary shades of green, emphasising that ultra-thin watchmaking, for Piaget, is not an end in itself but a canvas for mechanical artistry.
Radical Thinness Recast in Gold and Cobalt
If the calibres define the soul, the cases craft the silhouette. For the Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon, Piaget retains its pioneering cobalt alloy case, an engineering material not chosen for extravagance alone but for its resistance. With a mere 2 mm of overall thickness, the watch is an exercise in defying conventional case construction, now adorned with, for the first time, a sapphire caseback. This allows an unexpected view of the ultra-thin calibre, framed by engravings that anchor the watch in Piaget’s identity: “Always do better than necessary” and “La Côte-aux-Fées”, the birthplace and enduring home of the Maison.
In the Altiplano 910P, the story unfolds differently. Crafted in yellow gold for the first time, the 41 mm case adds warmth and preciousness to the contemporary vibe of the khaki dial. While larger in profile compared to its radical sibling, the watch remains faithful to Piaget’s tradition of slimness, at just 4.3 mm thick, sapphire included. Water resistance is, in both models, discreet at 2 bar, a reminder that these watches are conceived for elegance and connoisseurship rather than robustness. The straps reinforce this artistic dialogue: rich khaki alligator leather for the 910P and an intricate calfskin “polish mesh” strap for the Tourbillon, echoing Piaget’s expertise as a jeweller.
Piaget’s Dialogue Between Heritage and Future
What Piaget achieves with these two Altiplano novelties (Ref. G0A50126 – 40 500 € and Ref. G0A50530 – 730 000 €) is not the multiplication of records but the refinement of a language of horology it has spoken for nearly seven decades. In the AUC Tourbillon, the synthesis of case and calibre attains an unprecedented form of purity. With its khaki and cobalt palette, it becomes less a watch to be worn than an essay on the possibility of rendering mechanics invisible. In the 910P, one finds the democratic partner in this dialogue, a daily expression of the same philosophy rendered in the warmth of yellow gold, where elegance and ingenuity coexist with complete naturalness.
Taken together, the pair embody Piaget’s extraleganza: a rare fusion of extravagance and elegance, where each fraction of a millimetre opens a window onto an entire world of artisanal mastery. They are intimate, sophisticated instruments, not trophies of excess but rather companions for those who find beauty in restraint and audacity in precision.
