Piaget Altiplano 900P Ultra-Thin Movement

KIH · 2014-07-10T16:29:01Z

Explore Piaget's Altiplano 900P, a record-breaking ultra-thin watch. Discover its integrated movement, innovative design, and community insights on its wearability and technical mastery.

KIH

WPS member · Piaget forum

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KIH provides an exclusive look into Piaget's presentation of the Altiplano 900P in Tokyo, offering a deeper understanding of this ultra-thin marvel. His report highlights the technical innovations and design philosophy behind a watch that redefined ultra-thin horology, making a 2014 event relevant to today's collectors interested in groundbreaking movements.

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I was invited to Piaget's presentation on Altiplano 900P - which has been talked about and discussed here so many times already - and I would like to dig a bit deeper how great this novelty is.

Venue

Andaz Tokyo in Toranomon Hills (looks and sounds familiar

)

This time the presentation/ luncheon was held in the hotel's Chapel (for weddings, I guess...) on the top floor (52nd fl.)

Inside the "Chapel".

Mr. Nicolas Jaccard, CEO, Piaget Japan ?Opening remark

And the presentation by Mr. Franck Touzeau, Watch Marketing Director, Piaget Switzerland.

I wish I could show you the presentation here, but the points are:

- Today, Piaget has 35 movements available, of which 23 are "Ultra-Thin" and holds 12 "thinness" records.

- Automatic ultra thin movement was made in 1960 (12P) and in the 50th Anniversary Year (2010), 1200P was introduced as the "new" standard.

- As for the manual ultra thin movement, it was first made in 1957 (9P), and Piaget has been pondering to make an even more impressive manual movement.

- It took 3 years and a number of new invention, technology, design concept, and paradigm shift.

- Now the movement worthy to have the designation "900P" has been completed, with 145 parts all in the 3.65 mm thick (or thin) case.

- Almost everything in it was re-invented from the thickness of stones, gears, barrel, to placement of the bridge/ dial as well as base plate.....etc.

Thanks to Fx, here is the very rare and important photo of the base plate which has been integrated with the case back.

Notice the 4h barrel space, for example, which has only the small shallow hole - barrel is suspended from the bridge on the dial side.

Last by not the least, "Altiplano" means "high plain" in Spanish and it is located in west-central South America, which happened to be at the height of 3,650m while this 900P has just 3.65 mm thickness.

After the presentation, we went out to the other side of the Chapel and enjoyed the view....

Now the watches!

Diamond Bezel version.

Very diamond version which is a bit thicker than others (5.65m, if my memory serves right - notice that the dial is "above" the bridge)

Normal version dial/ hands are "below" the bridge - why? To protect hands from the glass in case it is pressed too hard (clearance there is also very slim).

If it has to worry about such cases, it made me wonder, how "thin" the very hard sapphire glass is as well - the answer was "less than 1mm"... Okay....

You can see the winding gears and (suspended) barrel from the dial side.

Naturally, no display back. The other side of this case back works as the base plate.

"P" logo.

Well finished skeletonized bridge.

Thin - compare with my finger.

Compare with Lange 1...

Beautiful finish....

38mm is very, very well thought size as the lugs don't stick out of my wrist - 43mm thin watch would defeat the purpose, for me.

What more can I say?

Very tempting dressy watch!

Thank you so much:

Mr. Jaccard, CEO, Piaget Japan

Mr. Touzeau, Watch Marketing Director, Piaget

Ms. Imai, Communication Senior Manager, Piaget Japan

Wonderful novelty, to say the least.

Ken

This message has been edited by KIH on 2014-07-10 11:54:10 This message has been edited by MTF on 2014-07-10 17:20:32

Key Points from the Discussion

The Altiplano 900P's integrated case back and base plate design is likened to supercar manufacturing, where lightweight materials and essentialism improve power-to-weight ratios, showcasing Piaget's leadership in watch development.
A key innovation in the 900P is the placement of hands and movement parts below protective dial bumpers, preventing flex and contact with the crystal, a common issue in older ultra-thin watches.
The 38mm diameter of the Altiplano 900P is considered 'correct' for an ultra-thin watch, ensuring a balanced look even on slender wrists, and early production models were already featuring gem-set bezels.
Concerns about ultra-thin watches bending or flexing, potentially stopping the movement, are addressed by the 900P's stiffening cross-profile case back, which also functions as the movement's main plate.
The unconventional integration of the case back as an integral movement part, similar to 'super-leggera' chassis construction in race cars, demonstrates the abundance of original thought in the 900P's design.
The combination of extreme thinness and a relatively wide diameter (38mm for Piaget, 36mm for VC Histoiques 1955) makes these ultra-thin watches highly wearable.

The Discussion

docsnov

Jul 10, 2014

Ken, I read in another article on the watch

that it is so thin it can actually bend/flex and they made sure to keep the escapement as far from the crystal as possible so it wouldn't touch and stop the movement. I can't remember the brand but the article brought up some ultra thin quartz watches from the seventies that were so thin they would bend when worn on the wrist and the movement would stop running (the moving parts would contact the crystal and stop due to friction). Did you notice any flex or bend when wearing the watch? Is it del

MTF

Jul 10, 2014

How Piaget patented a way to stop flex affecting movement

docsnov, You are correct that very thin watches in the past suffered flex and imprecise timing because the glass or case back would touch the moving parts of the watch. The biggest innovation (or thinnest innovation) that Piaget introduced for the 900P is to place hands and movement parts BELOW the protective dial bumpers. if you look closely, the first thing that the glass could touch are those 'bumpers' on the dial. The hands continue safely "beneath the wall". The caseback is machined with st

docsnov

Jul 10, 2014

Thanks for the information.

I think this is an attractive watch, but I have had some reservations about its durability due to its being so thin. Your information makes me think they have addressed this concern to the best of their ability. Stewart

MTF

Jul 10, 2014

What bumpers?

Some people asked where the protective "bumpers" are. Actually they are very thin sub-dial recesses. The best illustration is the photo of the diamond-set ring around the time display. The diamonds make the protection ring more obvious but even without the stones, the hands are protected in the recess. The same for the balance wheel. Regards MTF

KIH

Jul 10, 2014

Since I did not want to break it...

.. I did not apply too much pressure, but the crystal seemed tough enough, although for precaution, the dial and hands are sunk down than the bridge surface so that the dial/ hands would be protected. Smartly designed. Ken

riverside / Henry

Jul 10, 2014

Great watch

or should I say, great but thin watch. I love it.