Celebrated watchmaker Piaget is proudly showcasing two beautiful artisan techniques in their SIHH 2016 watches. The brand has used the techniques of wood/mother-of-pearl & wood marquetry as well as gold engraving to create incredibly intricate and beautiful Yves Piaget roses on the dials of their ultra-thin Altiplano watches.
Altiplano 38mm dial in wood marquetry
Wood marquetry involves the carving out of wood in order to inlay it with other materials and was common in the 17th and 18th centuries during the Louis XIV and Louis XV style periods. Artisan Rose Saneuil chose the materials of pale pink bird’s-eye maple, light red and pink sycamore and white mother-of-pearl to create the stunning wood marquetry pieces in this collection.
Altiplano 38mm dial in white mother-of-pearl & wood marquetry
The long and delicate process selecting materials to achieve the desired color shades, “labelling” each of the 96 elements so they could be assembled and inlaid within a 32 mm diameter dial. Applying one petal at a time Saneuil was working with hundredth of a millimeter precision to create the beautiful and unique dials.
Altiplano 38mm engraved gold dial
Created by artisan Dick Steenman, this engraved gold dial also pays tribute to the Yves Piaget rose. After using a scriber to outline the petals Steenman sculpted each petal with surgical precision before sanding and smoothing out the surface. The final step was to accentuate the angles and reinforce the folds to perfect the sense of depth and thickness. The entire process takes about 30 hours.
Piaget celebrates roses with new Altiplano watches
