Clearly, the finest watchmaker seems determined to find himself in Geneva. Finesse is a struggle, and since the 1960s, Piaget has been one of the major players. In this year celebrating the 150th anniversary of the house, this time it is unveiling a watch just 2 mm wide, but also incorporating the thinnest tourbillon in the world. And this 67 years after inventing its first ultra-thin caliber – the 9P – and six years after the creation of the thinnest watch in the world in 2018, the Altiplano Ultimate Concept.
“The challenge we set ourselves was to fit an hour-minute function into a 2 mm thickness,”
summarizes Rémi Jomard, innovation and product director of the manufacture.
What else could we add? We looked among the complications, and for us, the tourbillon was a classic complication, in itself and for the house. Coming out of the AUC Hour Minutes, we said to ourselves that we were going to set ourselves the challenge of adding a tourbillon. »
The Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon from Piaget. Piaget
With its 41.5 mm diameter, water resistance guaranteed to 20 meters and a cobalt alloy case treated with blue PVD, this Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon was designed, despite its rarity, to be worn on a daily basis.
“Within the house, we don't make the record for the sake of the record, we have to give it an aesthetic dimension, a piece that we can wear on our wrist every day. How to do this without distorting the size and aesthetics? Is this what has motivated us over the last five years? Of course, this presents challenges in integrating the vortex. It's real Swiss watchmaking, with a real Swiss lever escapement, a watch with a crown, lugs, a dial, a watchmaking classic. We can see through this tourbillon mounted on bearings, as we do in the classic way in watchmaking: there is a glass above and below. Piaget, that's it: a disruption in tradition. How can we stay on a real wearable watch while at the same time bringing these innovations in order to remain within the initial specifications of 2 mm thickness? »
The Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon from Piaget. Piaget
Contrary to what one might imagine, compared to the original Altiplano Ultimate Concept, Piaget had to develop 90% new parts, but also new machines to operate a watch thinner than the thinnest movement .
“It wasn’t just about adding a whirlwind. We redid everything
,” explains Benjamin Comar, president of Piaget. Here, to gain valuable thickness, the bottom of the case fulfills the same functions as the movement plate. Externally, it is in contact with the skin. This box is made of a blued cobalt alloy which offers the best thickness/rigidity ratio. The crown retracted into the case profile is pulled and manipulated using a dedicated stylus-shaped tool, concealing a reduction and torque control system, which restores all of its energy to the barrel.
The Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon from Piaget. Piaget
In fact, at 2mm thickness all the rules change. Thus, the machining tolerance of miniaturized components is a real challenge. When both the rim of the balance wheel and the sapphire crystal measure 0.2 mm thick, the machines must work with a precision of plus or minus 2 microns, or 2 thousandths of a millimeter. After more than 70 versions of the cage, 15 versions of the lever, 30 of the frames, the Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon was born, with within it an extra-flat tourbillon, encased between a sapphire crystal with a thickness reduced to 0, 20 mm thick on top and 0.16 mm on the bottom.
“It’s Piaget and Friends who make these AUCs,”
Rémy Jomard would like to emphasize.
The majority of AUC is manufactured in La Côte aux Fées, but we also have partners. Sometimes, there is only one company in the world that agrees to take on the challenge. For certain components, we have not found partners. So we made them in feasible thicknesses, then refined them at La Côte aux Fées. All this is made possible because the house has real expertise in designing extra-thin movements. But also real expertise in component production, and a network of partners who support us. This also helps them progress. We learned from the company that produces the ball bearings, and so did they. It is to achieve this type of thing that we do watchmaking. »
Hence the little phrase written on the back of this AUC Tourbillon, around the edge of its tourbillon cage: “always do better than necessary. " An entire program...
The Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon from Piaget. Piaget