After four long years and five patents, luxury watchmaker Piaget has broken its own record of the thinnest mechanical hand-wound watch in the world by introducing the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept at this year’s SIHH watch show. The history of the concept watch dates back to 1957, when Piaget made the Caliber 9P. It was one of the thinnest movements ever made, measuring only 2mm thick. The Altiplano Ultimate Concept, staying true to the lineage, measures two millimeters thick. Not the movement but the entire watch measures just 2mm, which is just 50 microns thicker than a nickel. It’s is almost unbelievable how the Piaget engineering team managed to shave a full 1.65mm off the AUC’s predecessor, 2014’s record-setting Altiplano 900P.
To make the timepiece, the Piaget engineers had to use a series of unconventional design choices. The Piaget AUC is made from a new high-tech cobalt-based alloy that makes it possible for the watch to be that thin without compromising on its structural integrity. The main plate and the case back are machined in its 41mm case and treated with black PVD, while the wheels are either engraved with a sunburst motif or circular-grain. The sapphire crystal covering the ultra-thin movement measures just 0.2mm. The AUC is fitted with a special 1.1mm thick alligator leather strap, reinforced with a Kevlar core and finished with a comparably svelte pin buckle. As the name suggests, the watch is just a concept and is not available for sale.
[Via:Ablogtowatch]
