THERE’S SOMETHING SERIOUSLY irresistible about slim machinery.
We want our phones and laptops to be slender as possible, our game consoles, televisions and practically every other gadget too. When Tim Cook (Apple CEO) says âthinnest everâ we say, âhell yeah!â before transferring funds from Savings to Current. Slim tech is just so high-tech. So… sexy. Wouldn’t you agree?
For those of you who are nodding, we’ve got something brand-new to show you that’ll blow your socks â and maybe even your watch â off. It’s a Piaget timepiece, built with a tourbillon, that’s exceptionally thin.
Like, coin-thin.
Card-carrying members of the watch community will be reading this, looking at the photos, thinking they’re experiencing dĂ©jĂ vu. Didn’t we already see that?
We did. This is the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept. Same name as the one they’re thinking of that was unveiled back in 2018. Same thickness (2mm) and everything.
But, as mentioned above, this one boasts a tourbillon (located at 10 oâclock) â the first of its name does not. And that’s supremely impressive because it means it can handle the 30% additional power required by the complication.
To make this possible, Piaget had to start from scratch. âThe connection with the Altiplano Ultimate Concept is clear but we did far more than merely add a tourbillon,â says the brand’s CEO, Benjamin Comar, âwe reinvented everything.â
Why does it exist? âDriven by inventivenessâ Piaget embarked on a âquest for eleganceâ to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
To wit, they wanted to mark a monumental milestone with something awfully spectacular they could brandish at this week’s Watches and Wonders. Their finest watch, Now With Tourbillon!, certainly fits the bill.
It’s also fine in the other sense of the word: blue, openwork dial, PVD-treated cobalt alloy case, 41.5mm diameter. The foxy thing’s even got a tattoo. (Well, a signature.) It’s positioned on the back, next to a sapphire crystal placed under the tourbillon, and it reads, âTojoures faire meiux que nĂ©cessaireâ. French â English: âAlways do better than necessary.â
That’s ironically deep for something so very shallow.
This article originally appeared in Esquire UK.
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