Piaget is celebrating their 150th anniversary this year, and they’ve wasted little time in making the most of the occasion. Back in February the brand took the watch world by storm by releasing the Polo 79, a callback to the original taken to the 9s with a pure gold construction. At Watches & Wonders, Piaget revealed a new world record watch with the Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon, picking things up where they left off in 2018. The new Ultimate Concept represents the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch at a mere 2mm thin.
The new Altiplano is immensely impressive as it captures the drama of a tourbillon within a completely flat environment. Piaget was forced to create a new bridge acting as the carriage surrounding the escapement, something that they’ve since patented. The gear which the escape wheel uses to make its rotation is mounted within this bridge surrounding the balance, integrating it into the movement / case (they are one and the same here).
Piaget has also released a new Polo 150th Anniversary edition with a steel case and a gold dial that incorporates the same pattern found in the original Polo. There is a pair of references in 42mm and 36mm, though the smaller example is only available with a gem set bezel and dial. These will likely be the most accessible of the new releases from Piaget, with the 42mm reference limited to 300 examples produced and priced from $14,500.
Piaget brought the stunning Polo 79 to the show as well where I was able to get a bit more hands-on time with it, and it has remained exactly as compelling as it was on release. As much as I’d like to see this watch in steel, I fear that may rob some of the power of this look. At the end of the day, I’m just happy to see Piaget embracing the strength of the concept in its original form. Piaget