Altiplano Ultimate Concept

This Altiplano started out in 2018 as a concept for the thinnest mechanical watch ever made. Many believed such an exploit could never go beyond the prototype stage, but Piaget has proved them wrong and, in 2020, confirms the record-breaking 2mm "thickness" of the manual-winding Altiplano Ultimate. This paper-thin watch again fuses case and movement so that the caseback doubles as a mainplate for the components, all the while introducing several important modifications. First of all, the sapphire crystal has been slimmed down from 1mm to 0.2mm thick. The barrel, which has no drum, is mounted on a ceramic ball-bearing and provides 40 hours of power reserve. A recessed telescopic crown sits flush with the case middle and connects to an infinite screw. The same double circular bridge that protects the off-centre time display - a combination of an hours disk and a minute hand - also surrounds the regulator. For the case, Piaget uses a cobalt-based alloy that guarantees the strength of the 0.12mm "skin" that separates movement from wrist.